A difficulty is raised as to why this does not occur in other
animals, unless indeed it does occur and has entirely escaped
observation. We must suppose the reason to be that woman alone among
animals is subject to troubles of the uterus, and alone has a
superfluous amount of catamenia and is unable to concoct them; when,
then, the embryo has been formed of a liquid hard to concoct, then
comes the so-called mola into being, and this happens naturally in
women alone or at any rate more than in other animals.
8
Milk is formed in the females of all internally viviparous
animals, becoming useful for the time of birth. For Nature has made it
for the sake of the nourishment of animals after birth, so that it may
neither fail at this time at all nor yet be at all superfluous; this
is just what we find happening, unless anything chance contrary to
Nature. In the other animals the period of gestation does not vary,
and so the milk is concocted in time to suit this moment, but in
man, since there are several times of birth, it must be ready at the
first of these; hence in women the milk is useless before the
seventh month and only then becomes useful. That it is only
concocted at the last stages is what we should expect to happen also
as being due to a necessary cause. For at first such residual matter
when secreted is used up for the development of the embryo; now the
nutritious part in all things is the sweetest and the most
concocted, and thus when all such elements are removed what remains
must become of necessity bitter and ill-flavoured.
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