I. ON MAN AND HIS PARTS. 'Natura' (nature) is so called from the fact that it makes something be born ('nasci'); for it has the power of begetting and of making. Some have said that this is God, by whom all things were created and exist. 'Genus' (kind, birth) is named from begetting ('gignere'), a name derived from the earth ('terra'), from which all things are begotten; for in Greek earth is called ge. 'Vita' (life) is so called on account of vigor ('vigor'), or because it holds the power ('vis') of being born and of growing; hence trees too are said to have life, because they are begotten and grow. 'Homo' (man) is so called because he was made from the soil ('humus'), as it is said in Genesis (2:7): 'And God created man from the dust of the earth.' But by a loose usage the whole man is spoken of as consisting of both substances, that is, of the union of soul and body; for properly 'homo' is from 'humus'.
The Greeks, moreover, called man anthropos, because, lifted up from the ground, he looks upward to the contemplation of his Maker. This the poet Ovid designates when he says (Metamorphoses 1.84): 'And whereas the other animals look prone upon the earth, he gave to man an upraised countenance and bade him behold the heavens and lift his upturned face to the stars.' Man, therefore, gazes upright at heaven so that he may seek God, not that he may fix his eyes upon the earth like the cattle, which nature has fashioned prone and obedient to the belly. Man, moreover, is twofold: inner and outer. The inner man is the soul, the outer man the body. The soul ('anima') received its name from the pagans, because it is wind ('ventus'); hence too in Greek wind is called anemos, because, drawing air with the mouth, we seem to live.
But this is most manifestly false, because the soul is begotten long before air can be drawn in through the mouth, since it already lives in the mother's womb. The soul is therefore not air, as certain men supposed who could not conceive of its incorporeal nature. That the spirit is the same as the soul the Evangelist declares, saying (John 10:18): 'I have power to lay down my soul, and again I have power to take it up.' Concerning this same soul of the Lord, at the time of His Passion, the same Evangelist spoke thus, saying (John 19:30): 'And bowing His head, He gave up the spirit.' For what is it to give up the spirit but to lay down the soul? But it is called 'anima' (soul) because it lives ('vivit'); and 'spiritus' (spirit) either on account of its spiritual nature, or because it breathes ('inspiret') within the body.
Likewise, 'animus' (mind) is the same as 'anima' (soul); but the soul belongs to life, the mind to counsel. Hence the philosophers say that life remains even without mind ('animus'), and that the soul endures even without intellect ('mens'), whence come the 'amentes' (the demented). For the intellect is so called that it may know; the mind ('animus') that it may will. And 'mens' (mind, intellect) is so named because it stands out ('emineat') in the soul, or because it remembers ('meminit'); whence the forgetful ('inmemores') are called demented ('amentes'). Therefore it is not the soul, but that which excels in the soul, that is called mind, as it were its head or its eye. Hence man himself, according to his mind, is called the image of God. Now all these are so joined to the soul that they are one thing; for the soul has obtained diverse names according to the effects of its operations. For memory too is mind, whence the forgetful are demented. While, then, it gives life to the body, it is 'anima' (soul); while it wills, it is 'animus' (mind).
while it knows, it is 'mens' (intellect); while it recollects, it is 'memoria' (memory); while it judges rightly, it is 'ratio' (reason); while it breathes, it is 'spiritus' (spirit); while it perceives something, it is 'sensus' (sense). For hence the mind is called 'sensus' on account of the things it perceives ('sentit'), whence 'sententia' (opinion) too received its name. 'Corpus' (body) is so called because, being corrupted ('corruptum'), it perishes; for it is dissoluble and mortal, and must at some time be dissolved. 'Caro' (flesh) is named from creating ('creare'); for 'crementum' is the seed of the male, from which the bodies of animals and men are conceived; hence too parents are called 'creators'. Now flesh is compacted from the four elements; for earth is in the flesh, air in the breath, water in the blood, fire in the vital heat. For the elements have each their own part in us, and when the frame is dissolved, what is owed to each returns to it.
'Caro' (flesh) and 'corpus' (body), however, signify different things. In flesh there is always body, but not always flesh in body. For flesh is that which is alive, which is also body; the body which is not alive is not flesh. For a 'body' is spoken of either as what is dead after life, or as what is formed without life. Sometimes too there is body together with life, and yet not flesh, as with grass and wood. The senses of the body are five: sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. Of these, two are opened and closed, two are always open. They are called 'sensus' (senses) because through them the soul stirs the whole body most subtly with the power of perceiving ('sentiendi'). Hence too they are called 'praesentia' (things present), because they are 'prae sensibus' (before the senses); just as what is 'prae oculis' is close before the eyes. 'Visus' (sight) is that which by the philosophers is called the glassy humor.
Some assert that sight is produced either by the external ethereal light, or by an inner luminous spirit coming through fine channels from the brain, and, once the coverings are pierced, passing out into the air, and then, by mingling with like material, giving sight. 'Visus' (sight) is so called because it is livelier than the other senses and more excellent, or swifter, and flourishes more amply, as memory does among the other functions of the mind. For it is nearer the brain, whence all things flow; whence it comes about that, of things which pertain to the other senses, we say 'see': as when we say 'See how it sounds,' 'See how it tastes,' and so with the rest. 'Auditus' (hearing) is so named because it draws in ('auriat') voices; that is, when the air is struck, it takes up sounds. 'Odoratus' (smell) is, as it were, the contact of the air with an odor; for it is perceived when the air is touched.
So too 'olfactus' (the sense of smell), because it is affected by odors. 'Gustus' (taste) is named from the throat ('guttur'). 'Tactus' (touch), because it handles ('pertractet') and touches ('tangat') and spreads the vigor of sensation through all the members; for by touch we test whatever we cannot judge by the other senses. There are two kinds of touch: for either what strikes comes from without, or it arises within, in the body itself. To each sense, moreover, its own proper nature has been given; for what is to be seen is grasped by the eyes, what is to be heard by the ears; soft and hard things are appraised by touch, savor by taste, odor is drawn in by the nostrils. The first part of the body is the head ('caput'); and this name was given to it because all the senses and nerves take their beginning ('initium capiant') from it, and from it arises every cause of vigor; for there all the senses appear.
Whence, in a manner, it bears the person of the very soul, which takes counsel for the body. The 'vertex' (crown) is that part where the hairs of the head are gathered together, and on which the head of hair turns ('vertitur'); whence it is named. 'Calvaria' (skull) is so called from the bare ('calvis') bones, by a lack, and it is pronounced in the neuter gender. 'Occiput' is the back part of the head, as it were 'contra capitium' (opposite the front of the head), or because it is behind the head. 'Capilli' (hairs) are named as it were 'capitis pili' (hairs of the head), made both to lend adornment and to fortify the brain against cold and defend it from the sun. 'Pili' (hairs) are named from the skin ('pellis') from which they come forth; just as a 'pilo' (pestle) is named from the 'pila' (mortar), where pigment is pounded. 'Caesaries' (a head of hair) is named from cutting ('caedere'), and therefore belongs only to men; for it befits a man to be shorn, but does not befit a woman.
'Comae' (locks) are properly hairs that have not been cut, and the word is Greek; for the Greeks call locks komai, from cutting, whence they also say keirein (to shear). Hence too they are called 'cirri' (curls), which these same Greeks call mallos. 'Crines' (tresses) belong properly to women; and they are called 'crines' because they are parted by fillets ('vittae'). Hence too the 'discriminalia' (parting-pins) are named, by which the divided tresses are bound back. 'Tempora' (temples) are the parts that lie below the skull to right and left. They are so named because they move, and by their very mobility change, as it were, at certain intervals like the seasons ('tempora'). 'Facies' (face) is named from likeness ('effigies'); for there is the whole figure of the man and the recognition of each person. But 'vultus' (countenance) is so called because through it the will ('voluntas') of the mind is shown.
For according to the will it is changed into various movements, whence the two differ from each other. For 'facies' is taken simply of the natural aspect of each person; but 'vultus' signifies the disposition of the mind. 'Frons' (forehead) is named from the openings ('foramina') of the eyes. This is a certain image of the mind, which expresses by its appearance the movement of the intellect, when it is either glad or sad. 'Oculi' (eyes) are so called either because the coverings of the eyelids conceal ('occulant') them, lest they be hurt by the impact of any incoming injury, or because they have a hidden ('occultum') light, that is, one secret or placed within. These, among all the senses, are nearest to the soul. For in the eyes is every sign of the mind, whence the mind's disturbance or cheerfulness appears in the eyes. 'Oculi', moreover, are the same as 'lumina' (lights).
And they are called 'lumina' (lights) because light ('lumen') flows from them, or because from their very beginning they hold an enclosed light, or, having received it from without, they pour it back by presenting it to the sight. The 'pupilla' (pupil) is the middle point of the eye, in which the power of seeing resides; and because there small images ('parvae imagines') appear to us, they are therefore called 'pupillae'; for little children are called 'pupilli'. Many call this the 'pupula'; but it is called 'pupilla' because it is pure and undefiled, as girls ('puellae') are. The natural philosophers say that those about to die within three days do not have those same pupils which we see in the eyes, and when these are not seen, despair is certain. But the circle by which the white parts of the eye are separated from the pupil by a distinct blackness is called the 'corona' (crown), because by its roundness it adorns the circuit of the pupil.
'Palpebrae' (eyelids) are the folds of the eyes, so called from 'palpitatio' (fluttering), because they are always moving; for they run together in turn, so that by constant motion they refresh the gaze. They are fortified with a rampart of hairs, so that, when the eyes are open, if anything falls in it may be repelled, and when they close in sleep, the eyes may rest hidden as though wrapped up. At the very edges of the eyelids, at the places where each meets the other when closed, there stand, in an ordered row, hairs grown there to render protection to the eyes, lest they easily take in rushing injuries and be harmed thereby: to ward off the contact of dust or any coarser matter, or by cutting through the very air to soften it, that they may make the sight fine and clear. Some think that 'lacrimae' (tears) are so called from the 'laceratio' (rending) of the mind;
others think it is because the Greeks call them dakrua. 'Cilia' (eyelashes) are the coverings by which the eyes are covered, and they are called 'cilia' because they conceal ('celent') the eyes and cover them with a safe guardianship. 'Supercilia' (eyebrows) are so called because they are placed above the eyelashes ('super cilia'); and they are clothed with hairs for this reason, that they may stretch out defenses before the eyes and drive off the sweat that flows down from the head. The 'intercilium' is that middle space between the eyebrows which is without hairs. 'Genae' (cheeks) are the lower parts of the eyes, where the beard begins; for in Greek 'beard' [is genys]. Hence too 'genae', because the beards begin to be born ('gigni') there. 'Malae' (cheekbones) are the parts jutting out beneath the eyes, placed there for their protection.
They are called 'malae' either because they project below the eyes into a roundness, which the Greeks call myle, or because they are above the jaws ('maxillae'). 'Maxillae' (jaws) are so called by diminution from 'malae'; just as 'paxillus' (small peg) from 'palus' (stake), 'taxillus' (small die) from 'talus' (knucklebone). 'Mandibulae' (mandibles) are the parts of the jaws, from which the name too is made. The ancients called it 'barba' (beard) because it belongs to men ('viri'), not to women. To the ears ('aures') the name was given from drawing in ('auriendis') voices, whence Virgil (Aeneid 4.359): 'And the voice with these ears...' Or because the Greeks call the voice itself aude, from hearing; for by a change of letter the ears ('aures') are named as it were 'audes'. For the voice, echoed back through their windings, makes the sound by which they take in the sense of hearing. The 'pinnula' (tip) is the topmost part of the ear, named from its point ('acumen').
For the ancients used to call anything sharp 'pinnum', whence too 'bipennis' (double-axe) and 'penna' (feather, point). The 'nares' (nostrils) are so named because through them either odor or breath does not cease to flow ('nare'), or because they warn us by odor to know ('norimus') and be aware of something. Hence, on the contrary, those who are ignorant and untaught are called 'nescii' (unknowing); for the ancients used to say 'to have smelt' for 'to have known'. Terence (Adelphoe 397): 'And would they not have smelt it out fully six months before he began anything?' The straight part of the nostrils, because it is stretched out equally in length and roundness, is called the 'columna' (column); its extremity is the 'pirula', from the shape of the pear-fruit ('pirum'); the parts to right and left are the 'pinnulae' (little wings), from their likeness to wings; and the middle is the 'interfinium' (partition).
'Os' (mouth) is so called because through it, as through a door ('ostium'), we both send food within and cast out spittle without; or because through it food enters and speech comes forth. 'Labia' (lips) are named from licking ('lambere'). The part that is above we call 'labium'; the lower part, because it is thicker, 'labrum'. Others say that men have 'labra', women 'labia'. Varro thinks the name 'lingua' (tongue) was imposed from binding ('ligare') food; others, because it binds words together by articulate sounds. For just as the plectrum strikes the strings, so the tongue is struck against the teeth and produces a vocal sound. The Greeks call teeth odontes, and from this the name seems to be drawn into Latin. Of these, the first are called 'praecisores' (incisors), because whatever is taken in, they first cut it ('incidunt').
The next are called 'canini' (canines), of which two are in the right jaw and two in the left. They are called 'canini' because they exist after the likeness of a dog's ('canis'), and a dog breaks bones with these, as a man does; so that what the front teeth cannot cut through, they hand over to these to break up. The common people call these 'colomelli' (little columns) on account of their length and roundness. Last are the 'molares' (molars), which grind down and crush and knead into a mass what has been cut and broken by the front teeth; whence they are called 'molares' (millstone-teeth). The quality of the sex distinguishes the number of the teeth; for in men there are more, in women fewer. The 'gingivae' (gums) are named from the begetting ('gignere') of teeth. They were made also for the beauty of the teeth, lest, being bare, they should stand as an object of horror rather than of adornment.
Our 'palatum' (palate) is set like the sky ('caelum'), and hence 'palatum' from 'polus' (the pole of heaven) by derivation. And the Greeks likewise call the palate ouranos, because by its concavity it has a likeness of the sky. The 'fauces' (throat) are named from the pouring-forth ('fundere') of voices, or because through them we utter ('famur') voices. The 'arteriae' (windpipe) are so called, either because through them air, that is, breath, is carried from the lung, or because by their narrow and cramped passages they retain the vital breath, whence they send forth the sounds of the voice: which sounds would all sound in one way, were it not that the movement of the tongue produces the distinctions of the voice. The 'toles' (tonsils) are so called in the Gallic tongue, which the common people call by diminution 'tusillae' (little tonsils), which are wont to swell in the throat. The 'mentum' (chin) is so called because the jaws take their origin ('oriantur') there, or because they are joined ('iungantur') there.
'Gurgulio' (windpipe/gullet) draws its name from the throat ('guttur'), whose passage extends to the mouth and nostrils, having a way by which the voice is transmitted to the tongue, that it may be able to strike words together; whence too we say 'garrire' (to chatter). The 'rumen' (gullet) is next to the windpipe, by which food and drink are swallowed down. Hence beasts which bring back their food and chew it again are said to 'ruminate'. The 'sublinguium' (epiglottis) is the little lid of the windpipe, as it were a little tongue which uncovers or covers the opening of the windpipe. The 'collum' (neck) is so called because it is rigid and rounded like a column ('columna'), bearing the head and supporting it as if it were a capitol: of which the front part is called the 'gula' (gullet), the back part the 'cervix'. And 'cervix' is so named because through that part the brain ('cerebrum') is directed to the marrow of the spine, as it were the way of the brain ('cerebri via'). The ancients, moreover, used to say 'cervices' only in the plural number;
霍爾滕西烏斯最先以單數說「cervix」。而「cervix」單數指這肢體本身；複數則常指頑抗（contumacia）。西塞羅在《控維勒斯》（5,110）中：「你竟要控告執政官？扭斷他們的頸（cervices）吧。」「肩」（umeri）之名彷彿「armi」，用以區分人與無言的走獸，故人有肩（umeri），獸有前腿（armi）；因為「armi」嚴格說屬於四足獸。「肩後突」（ola）是肩頂的後部。「臂」（bracchia）之名源自力量；因為希臘文 baru 意謂重而強。因為臂中有肌腱之肉（lacerti），肌肉那顯著的強力便在其中。這些就是「隆肌」（tori），即肌肉；它們稱為「tori」，是因那裡的肉看似擰結（torta）。「肘」（cubitum）之名，是因我們臥靠（cubamus）在它上面進食。
Hortensius was the first to say 'cervix' in the singular. And 'cervix' in the singular number signifies the member itself; but in the plural it often denotes stubbornness ('contumacia'). Cicero in the Verrines (5.110): 'Would you accuse the praetor? Break their necks ('cervices').' The 'umeri' (shoulders) are so called as it were 'armi', to distinguish man from the dumb beasts, so that these are said to have shoulders ('umeri'), those forelegs ('armi'); for 'armi' belong properly to quadrupeds. The 'ola' is the hinder part of the top of the shoulder. The 'bracchia' (arms) are named from strength; for baru in Greek signifies heavy and strong. For in the arms are the muscles of the sinews ('lacerti'), and there exists the notable strength of the muscles. These are the 'tori', that is, the muscles; and they are called 'tori' because there the flesh seems to be twisted ('torta'). The 'cubitum' (elbow) is so called because on it we recline ('cubamus') to take our food.
The 'ulna', according to some, is the span of both hands extended; according to others, the forearm ('cubitus'); which is the truer, because in Greek the forearm is called olene. The 'alae' (armpits) are called 'subbrachia' (under-arms), because from them the movement of the arms begins after the manner of wings ('alae'); some call them 'ascillae', because from these the arms are 'celluntur', that is, moved; whence too 'oscilla' are named from the fact that by these the faces ('ora') are 'cillantur', that is, moved. For 'cillere' is to move. Some call these 'subhirci', because in very many men they give off the stench of he-goats ('hirci'). The 'manus' (hand) is so called because it is the service ('munus') of the whole body; for it ministers food to the mouth; it performs and manages all things; through it we receive and give.
By a loose usage 'manus' also means skill or a craftsman, whence too we say 'manupretium' (workmanship, wages of labor). The 'dextra' (right hand) is named from giving ('dare'), for it is given as a pledge of peace; it is employed as a witness of good faith and of well-being; and this is that saying in Tully (Catiline 3.8): 'By order of the senate I gave the public pledge,' that is, my right hand. Hence too the Apostle (Galatians 2:9): 'They gave me their right hands.' The 'sinistra' (left hand) is so called as it were 'sine dextra' (without a right hand), or because it lets ('sinat') a thing be done; for from 'sinere' (to allow) the left is named 'sinistra'. The 'palma' is the hand with the fingers spread, just as the 'pugnus' (fist) is the hand with them drawn in. And 'pugnus' is named from 'pugillus' (handful), just as 'palma' is named from the spread branches of the palm-tree ('palmae rami'). The 'digiti' (fingers) are so named either because they are ten ('decem'), or because they are seemly ('decenter') joined; for they have in them both a perfect number and a most seemly order.
The first is called 'pollex' (thumb), because among the rest it is strong ('polleat') in strength and power. The second is the 'index', and the 'salutaris' or 'demonstratorius' (the greeting- or pointing-finger), because with it we generally greet or point. The third is the 'impudicus' (obscene finger), because through it very often the reproach of insult is expressed. The fourth is the 'anularis' (ring-finger), because upon it the ring ('anulus') is worn; the same is also the 'medicinalis' (medicinal finger), because with it ground eye-salves are gathered up by physicians. The fifth is the 'auricularis' (little finger, ear-finger), because with it we scratch the ear ('auris'). We call the 'ungulae' (nails) from the Greek; for they call these onychas. The 'truncus' (trunk) is the middle part of the body, from the neck to the groin. Concerning which Nigidius (fragment 108):
'The head is carried by the neck, the trunk is supported by the hips and knees and legs.' The 'thorax' is what the Greeks call the front part of the trunk from the neck to the stomach, which we call the 'arca' (chest, coffer), because there is the 'arcanum', that is, the secret, by which the rest are shut off ('arcentur'); whence too 'arca' (chest) and 'ara' (altar) are so named, as being secret things. Its projecting fleshy parts are the 'mamillae' (breasts); between which that bony part is called the 'pectus' (breast, chest), and to right and left the 'costae' (ribs). The 'pectus' is so named because it is combed ('pexum') between the projecting parts of the breasts; whence too the 'pecten' (comb) is so called, because it makes the hairs combed ('pexos'). The 'mamillae' are so named because they are round like apples ('malae'), by diminution, of course. The 'papillae' (nipples) are the tips of the breasts, which sucklings grasp.
And they are called 'papillae' because infants, as it were, 'pap' at them ('pappant') while they suck milk. Accordingly, the 'mamilla' is every prominence of the breast, but the 'papilla' is that short part from which the milk is drawn. The 'ubera' (udders, teats) are so called either because they are laden ('uberta') with milk, or because they are moist ('uvida'), being full, that is, with the humor of milk after the manner of grapes ('uvae'). 'Lac' (milk) draws the force of its name from its color, because it is a white liquid; for the Greeks call white leukos; and its nature is changed from blood. For after childbirth, if any blood has not yet been consumed in the nourishment of the womb, it flows by a natural passage into the breasts, and, whitening by their virtue, takes on the quality of milk. The 'cutis' (skin) is that which is outermost on the body, so called because it, being placed over the body, first suffers incision ('incisio'); for kytis in Greek means incision.
The same is also 'pellis' (hide), because by covering it drives off ('pellat') the external injuries of the body, and endures rains and winds and the burning heat of the sun. But the hide, as soon as it is drawn off and dressed, is now called 'corium' (leather). And 'corium' by derivation was named from 'caro' (flesh), because the flesh is covered ('tegatur') by it; but this is proper to brute animals. The pores ('pori') of the body are called by a Greek name, which in Latin are properly called 'spiramenta' (breathing-holes), because through them the life-giving breath is ministered outward. 'Arvina' is the fat clinging to the skin. 'Pulpa' is flesh without fat, so called because it quivers ('palpitet'); for it often springs back ('resilit'). Many also call this 'viscus' (birdlime, flesh), because it is glutinous. 'Membra' (limbs) are the parts of the body. The 'artus' (joints), by which the limbs are bound together, are so called from binding tight ('artare').
The 'nervi' (sinews) are named by a Greek derivation, which they call neura. Others think they were called 'nervi' in Latin because the junctures of the joints ('artus') cleave to one another by them. That the sinews make up the greatest substance of one's strength is most certain; for the denser they are, the more abundantly do they cause firmness to increase. The 'artus' (joints) are so called because, bound together in turn by the sinews, they are drawn tight ('artentur'), that is, constrained; of which the diminutives are 'articuli' (small joints). For we call the greater members 'artus', such as the arms; the smaller members 'articuli', such as the fingers. The 'conpago' (joining) are the heads of the bones, so called because, joined tight ('conpacta') to one another, they cleave together by the sinews as if by a kind of glue. The 'ossa' (bones) are the solid supports of the body; for in them rests every position and strength.
The 'ossa' (bones), moreover, are named from 'ustum' (that which is burnt), because they used to be cremated by the ancients; or, as others think, from 'os' (mouth), because there they lie open ('pateant'); for everywhere else they are covered and hidden by skin and flesh. The 'medulla' (marrow) is so named because it moistens ('madefaciant') the bones; for it irrigates and strengthens them. The 'vertibula' (vertebrae) are the topmost parts of the bones, gathered into a ball by thicker knots, so named because at the bending of the members they turn ('vertantur'). The 'cartilagines' (cartilages) are soft bones without marrow, of which kind are the ears, the partition of the nostrils, and the extremities of the ribs; or they are the lids of the bones, which move. And they are called 'cartilagines' because with a gentle rubbing ('leni attritu') they lack ('carent') pain while they are bent. Some think the 'costae' (ribs) are so called because by them the inner parts are guarded ('custodiantur'), and all the softness of the belly is walled about and kept safe.
'Latus' (side) is so called because, when we lie down, it lies hidden ('latet'); for it is the left part of the body. But to the right side belongs the more nimble movement; to the left, a stronger one, and one better suited to bearing a burden. Hence too the left is called 'laeva', because it is more fit for lifting ('levandum') something and carrying it; for it bears the shield, the sword, the quiver, and the rest of the burdens, so that the right may be free ('expedita') for action. The 'dorsum' (back) extends from the neck to the loins. And it is called 'dorsum' because it is a harder surface of the body, after the manner of a rock, strong both for carrying and for enduring. The 'terga' (back), because on it we lie supine on the ground ('terra'), which man alone can do; for the dumb animals lie only either on the belly or on the side. Hence too in animals 'terga' are spoken of by a loose usage.
The 'scapulae' (shoulder-blades)... The 'interscapilium' is the space that is between the shoulder-blades, whence too it is named. The 'palae' are the members projecting to the right and left of the back, so called because we press ('premimus') them in wrestling, which the Greeks call palen. The 'spina' (spine) is the joining of the back, so called because it has sharp little points ('radioli'); the joints of it are called 'spondilia' (vertebrae), on account of that part of the brain which is carried through them in a long course to the other parts of the body. The 'sacra spina' (sacrum) is the bottom of the continuous spine, which the Greeks call hieron ostoun (the sacred bone), since it is born first when the infant is conceived, and therefore this part was first given by the pagans to their gods from a victim, whence too it is called the 'sacred spine'. Varro says the 'renes' (kidneys) are so called because from them arise the streams ('rivi') of obscene humor.
For the veins and the marrow sweat out a thin liquid in the kidneys, which liquid again, released from the kidneys by the heat of Venus, runs down. The 'lumbi' (loins) are so called on account of the wantonness of lust ('libido'), because in men the cause of bodily pleasure is in them, just as in women it is in the navel. Hence too it was said to Job at the beginning of the discourse (38:3): 'Gird up your loins like a man'; that in these there might be a readiness to resist, in which the accustomed occasion of lust for domination lies. The 'umbilicus' (navel) is the middle place of the body, so called because it is the 'umbus' (boss) of the flanks ('ilia'). Hence too the boss ('umbo') is the name of the place in the middle of a shield, from which it hangs. For from it the infant hangs in the womb, from it also it is nourished. The 'ilium' is named by a Greek word, because there we wrap ourselves around ('obvolvamur').
For in Greek 'to wrap around' is called [eilein]. The 'clunes' (buttocks) are so called because they are near the 'colum', which is the large intestine ('longao'). The 'nates' (buttocks) are so called because upon them we prop ourselves ('innitimur') while we sit. Hence too the flesh is heaped up in them, lest the bones should ache under the weight of the pressing body. The 'genitalia' (genitals) are the parts of the body which, as the very name teaches, received their designation from the offspring to be begotten ('gignenda soboles'), because by these it is procreated and begotten. These are also called 'pudenda' (shameful parts) for modesty's sake, or from 'pubes' (the pubic region); whence too they are covered with a garment. But these are also called 'inhonesta' (unseemly), because they do not have that appearance of comeliness which the members have that are placed in open view. The same is also the 'veretrum', because it belongs only to a man ('vir'), or because from it is emitted the virus; for 'virus' is properly the term for the humor flowing from a man's nature.
The 'testiculi' (testicles) are so called by diminution from 'testes', of which the number begins at two. These minister the seed to the 'calamus' (reed, i.e., the male member), which seed both the kidneys and the loins take up from the marrow of the spine for the favor of procreating. The 'fiscus' (scrotum) is the skin in which the testicles are. The 'posteriora' (hinder parts) are so called because they are behind ('retro') and turned away from the face, lest, while we purge the belly, we should defile the sight. The passage ('meatus') is so named because through it pass ('meant'), that is, are cast out, the excrements. The 'femora' (thighs) are so called because in that part the male sex differs from the female ('femina'). They are from the groin to the knees. But the 'femina' (thigh-parts) are, by derivation from 'femora', the parts by which, in riding, we cling to the backs of horses; whence too warriors of old were said to have lost their horses from between their thighs. The 'coxae' (hips) are, as it were, 'coniunctae axes' (joined axles).
for by these the thighs are moved. The hollows of these are called vertebrae (vertebra), because in them the heads of the thigh-bones turn (vertuntur). The hams (suffragines) are so called because they break beneath (subtus franguntur), that is, they bend below and not above, as happens in the arms. The knees (genua) are the joinings of the thighs and the legs; and they are called knees because in the womb they are set opposite the cheeks (genis). For there they cleave to one another, and they are akin to the eyes, the signs of tears and of mercy. For the knees (genua) are named from the cheeks (genae). Indeed, a human being is begotten and formed folded up, so that the knees are aloft, by which the eyes are shaped, that they may become hollow and set deep within. Ennius says: 'And the pressed-in cheek presses the knees together.' Hence it is that when people prostrate themselves to their knees, they at once weep.
For nature willed that they should recall the mother's womb, where they had sat as if in darkness before they came forth into the light. The legs (crura) are so called because with them we run (currimus) and take our steps. They extend from below the knees down to the calves. The shin-bones (tibiae) are named as though 'pipes' (tubae). For they are similar both in length and in appearance. The ankle (talus) is named from tolus. For a tolus is a projecting roundness: whence also the pinnacle of a round temple is called a tolus. The ankle (talus) lies below the leg, and the heels below the ankle. The feet (pedes) have obtained their name from a Greek etymology. For the Greeks call them PODES, since by alternating movements, planted upon the ground, they advance.