And now that all the parts and members of the mortal animal had come together, since its life of necessity consisted of fire and breath, and it therefore wasted away by dissolution and depletion, the gods contrived the following remedy: They mingled a nature akin to that of man with other forms and perceptions, and thus created another kind of animal. These are the trees and plants and seeds which have been improved by cultivation and are now domesticated among us; anciently there were only the will kinds, which are older than the cultivated. For everything that partakes of life may be truly called a living being, and the animal of which we are now speaking partakes of the third kind of soul, which is said to be seated between the midriff and the navel, having no part in opinion or reason or mind, but only in feelings of pleasure and pain and the desires which accompany them. For this nature is always in a passive state, revolving in and about itself, repelling the motion from without and using its own, and accordingly is not endowed by nature with the power of observing or reflecting on its own concerns. Wherefore it lives and does not differ from a living being, but is fixed and rooted in the same spot, having no power of self-motion. Now after the superior powers had created all these natures to be food for us who are of the inferior nature, they cut various channels through the body as through a garden, that it might be watered as from a running stream. In the first place, they cut two hidden channels or veins down the back where the skin and the flesh join, which answered severally to the right and left side of the body. These they let down along the backbone, so as to have the marrow of generation between them, where it was most likely to flourish, and in order that the stream coming down from above might flow freely to the other parts, and equalise the irrigation. In the next place, they divided the veins about the head, and interlacing them, they sent them in opposite directions; those coming from the right side they sent to the left of the body, and those from the left they diverted towards the right, so that they and the skin might together form a bond which should fasten the head to the body, since the crown of the head was not encircled by sinews; and also in order that the sensations from both sides might be distributed over the whole body.

[77a] Ἐπειδὴ δὲ πάντ΄ ἦν τὰ τοῦ θνητοῦ ζῴου συμπεφυκότα μέρη καὶ μέλη͵ τὴν δὲ ζωὴν ἐν πυρὶ καὶ πνεύματι συνέβαινεν ἐξ ἀνάγκης ἔχειν αὐτῷ͵ καὶ διὰ ταῦτα ὑπὸ τούτων τηκόμενον κενούμενόν τ΄ ἔφθινεν͵ βοήθειαν αὐτῷ θεοὶ μηχανῶνται. τῆς γὰρ ἀνθρωπίνης συγγενῆ φύσεως φύσιν ἄλλαις ἰδέαις καὶ αἰσθήσεσιν κεραννύντες͵ ὥσθ΄ ἕτερον ζῷον εἶναι͵ φυτεύουσιν· ἃ δὴ νῦν ἥμερα δένδρα καὶ φυτὰ καὶ σπέρματα παιδευθέντα ὑπὸ γεωργίας τιθασῶς πρὸς ἡμᾶς ἔσχεν͵ [77b] πρὶν δὲ ἦν μόνα τὰ τῶν ἀγρίων γένη͵ πρεσβύτερα τῶν ἡμέρων ὄντα. πᾶν γὰρ οὖν ὅτιπερ ἂν μετάσχῃ τοῦ ζῆν͵ ζῷον μὲν ἂν ἐν δίκῃ λέγοιτο ὀρθότατα· μετέχει γε μὴν τοῦτο ὃ νῦν λέγομεν τοῦ τρίτου ψυχῆς εἴδους͵ ὃ μεταξὺ φρενῶν ὀμφαλοῦ τε ἱδρῦσθαι λόγος͵ ᾧ δόξης μὲν λογισμοῦ τε καὶ νοῦ μέτεστιν τὸ μηδέν͵ αἰσθήσεως δὲ ἡδείας καὶ ἀλγεινῆς μετὰ ἐπιθυμιῶν. πάσχον γὰρ διατελεῖ πάντα͵ στραφέντι δ΄ αὐτῷ ἐν ἑαυτῷ περὶ ἑαυτό͵ [77c] τὴν μὲν ἔξωθεν ἀπωσαμένῳ κίνησιν͵ τῇ δ΄ οἰκείᾳ χρησαμένῳ͵ τῶν αὑτοῦ τι λογίσασθαι κατιδόντι φύσει οὐ παραδέδωκεν ἡ γένεσις. διὸ δὴ ζῇ μὲν ἔστιν τε οὐχ ἕτερον ζῴου͵ μόνιμον δὲ καὶ κατερριζωμένον πέπηγεν διὰ τὸ τῆς ὑφ΄ ἑαυτοῦ κινήσεως ἐστερῆσθαι. Ταῦτα δὴ τὰ γένη πάντα φυτεύσαντες οἱ κρείττους τοῖς ἥττοσιν ἡμῖν τροφήν͵ τὸ σῶμα αὐτὸ ἡμῶν διωχέτευσαν τέμνοντες οἷον ἐν κήποις ὀχετούς͵ ἵνα ὥσπερ ἐκ νάματος ἐπιόντος ἄρδοιτο. [77d] καὶ πρῶτον μὲν ὀχετοὺς κρυφαίους ὑπὸ τὴν σύμφυσιν τοῦ δέρματος καὶ τῆς σαρκὸς δύο φλέβας ἔτεμον νωτιαίας͵ δίδυμον ὡς τὸ σῶμα ἐτύγχανεν δεξιοῖς τε καὶ ἀριστεροῖς ὄν· ταύτας δὲ καθῆκαν παρὰ τὴν ῥάχιν͵ καὶ τὸν γόνιμον μεταξὺ λαβόντες μυελόν͵ ἵνα οὗτός τε ὅτι μάλιστα θάλλοι͵ καὶ ἐπὶ τἆλλα εὔρους ἐντεῦθεν ἅτε ἐπὶ κάταντες ἡ ἐπίχυσις γιγνομένη παρέχοι τὴν ὑδρείαν ὁμαλήν. μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα σχίσαντες περὶ τὴν κεφαλὴν τὰς φλέβας [77e] καὶ δι΄ ἀλλήλων ἐναντίας πλέξαντες διεῖσαν͵ τὰς μὲν ἐκ τῶν δεξιῶν ἐπὶ τἀριστερὰ τοῦ σώματος͵ τὰς δ΄ ἐκ τῶν ἀριστερῶν ἐπὶ τὰ δεξιὰ κλίναντες͵ ὅπως δεσμὸς ἅμα τῇ κεφαλῇ πρὸς τὸ σῶμα εἴη μετὰ τοῦ δέρματος͵ ἐπειδὴ νεύροις οὐκ ἦν κύκλῳ κατὰ κορυφὴν περιειλημμένη͵ καὶ δὴ καὶ τὸ τῶν αἰσθήσεων πάθος ἵν΄ ἀφ΄ ἑκατέρων τῶν μερῶν εἰς ἅπαν τὸ σῶμα εἴη διάδηλον.