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CHAPTER 10 442A12–B26 442a12 As colors come from mixture of white and black, so flavors from sweet and bitter. 442a13 And these are also according to proportions, for each is more or less, whether according to numbers in the mixture and the change, or indeterminately . But the ones that cause pleasure are only those mixed numerically. 442a17 The sweet flavor is rich-tasting; bitter and salty are almost the same; pungent, harsh, astringent, and sharp are in the middle. 442a19 The species of moistures and of colors are almost equal. If one posits seven species of each, then, as it is reasonable for gray to be a kind of black, it follows that yellow belongs to white as oily does to sweet. And in the middle between black and white are punic, alurgon, green, and cyanum. And the others are mixed from these. 442a25 As black is privation of white in the transparent, so bitter and salty are of sweet in the nourishing moist. Therefore the ash of all burnt things is bitter , for the potable has been evaporated from them. 442a29 Democritus and most students of nature—whichever ones speak about the senses—do something very inconsistent: they make all sensible objects, objects of touch. If this is so, it is clear also that each of the other senses is a kind of touch. But it is not difficult to discern that this is impossible. 442b4 Moreover, they treat the common objects of all the senses as if they were proper. Size and shape, rough and smooth, and the sharp and dull that are in masses, are common objects of the senses—if not of all of them, then of sight and touch. Therefore they are deceived about these, but they are not deceived about the proper objects; for instance, sight is not deceived about color or hearing about sounds. 442b10 Some reduce the proper objects to these, as Democritus does. Of white and black, he says that one is “rough,” the other “smooth.” And he reduces flavors to shapes. 442b13 But to know the common objects belongs either to no sense, or above 88 all to sight. If it were above all to taste, then, since it belongs to the surest sense to discern what is smallest in any genus, taste would have to be best at perceiving the other common objects, and best at discerning shapes. 442b17 Moreover, all sensible objects have contrariety, for example of white to black in color, and of bitter to sweet in flavors. But shape is not thought to be contrary to shape. For to which of the polygons is the circumference contrary? 442b21 Moreover, since there are infinite shapes, there would necessarily be infinite flavors. Why then does this one cause a sensation but not that one? 442b23 Something, then, has been said about flavor and the object of taste. Other affections of flavors have their proper consideration in the philosophy about plants. Commentary 442a12 After the Philosopher has determined the generation of flavor , here he distinguishes species of flavors. On this point he does three things. First he shows the generation of intermediate flavors in general. Second he shows how intermediate flavors are diversified, where he says And these are also according to proportions (442a13). Third he shows how sweet and bitter are related to one another, where he says As black is privation of white (442a25). Accordingly he first says that as intermediate colors are generated from mixture of white and black, so intermediate flavors are generated from mixture of sweet and bitter, whether from these in themselves or from mixture of the causes of sweet and bitter. Heat causes the sweet flavor by thoroughly digesting the moisture. The cause of bitterness is privation of this completely digested moisture. Other flavors are caused according as the moisture is in an intermediate state because it is neither wholly consumed nor wholly undigested. Flavor more immediately follows from moisture than from heat. Therefore, one should consider the intermediate and extremes not in relation to heat, but in relation to moisture affected in a way by dryness and heat, for the nature of flavor principally consists in this. Otherwise, if the intermediate and extremes in flavor were taken in relation to heat, sweet and bitter would not be extremes, but sweet would be intermediate . For intense heat that consumes the cold, but does not digest , causes bitterness; heat that, because of the dominance CHAPTER 10 89 [3.134.104.173] Project...

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