On the Generation of Animals

"This translation of Aristotle's ON THE GENERATION OF ANIMALS by David Bolotin aims above all at fidelity to the Greek. He translates on the assumption that Aristotle has something of importance to teach us about his subject matter. Hence, he tries to convey the meaning, to the extent possible in English, of his every word. Bolotin's translation is a sequel to his translation of Aristotle's DE ANIMA (On Soul) and, more immediately, to his translation of his PARVA NATURALIA: with ON THE MOTION OF ANIMALS. As Bolotin argues in his Introduction, it seems likely that, at least at some point, Aristotle intended for this treatise to be read immediately after ON THE MOTION OF ANIMALS and before the final two treatises of the PARVA NATURALIA. At all events, the beginning of the treatise explicitly links its theme of the generation of animals to the question of the cause of motion as such, a question that is brought into focus in ON THE MOTION OF ANIMALS. Bolotin has examined the available evidence from the surviving manuscripts, and he has sometimes chosen to translate the reading present in one or more of them in passages where modern editors--in a misguided attempt, in his view, to smooth over difficulties--have emended the text. For those who wish to study ON THE GENERATION OF ANIMALS with care, this translation offers access that has hitherto been unavailable in English to the meaning of Aristotle's treatise"-- Provided by publisher.