Page:Greek Biology and Medicine.djvu/142

 GREEK BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE might say, the end or goal of the activity cor- responding to the attractive faculty. For the actual bringing up of nutriment from the veins into each of the parts takes place through the activation of the attractive faculty, whilst to have been finally brought up and presented to the part is the actual end for which we desired such an activity; it is attracted in order that it may be presented. After this, considerable time is needed for the nutrition of the animal. Whilst a thing may be even rapidly attracted, on the other hand to become adherent, altered, and entirely assimilated to the part which is being nourished and to become a part of it, cannot take place suddenly, but requires a con- siderable amount of time. But if the nutritive juice, so presented, does not remain in the part, but withdraws to another one, and keeps flow- ing away, and constantly changing and shift- ing its position, neither adhesion nor complete assimilation will take place in any of them. Here too, then, the [animal's] nature has need of some other faculty for ensuring a prolonged stay of the presented juice at the part, and this not a faculty which comes in from somewhere outside but one which is resident in the part which is to be nourished. This faculty, again, [ 120]