Bodleian Library MS. Barocci 131

...the spirits, like the bodies, [exist in degrees], some more and some less; for many are mortal, while others are immortal. The mortal ones are such on account of matter, whereas the immortal are so on account of the five-fold intelligible perfection. For neither bile itself, nor seed, nor the other things within us arise from diet [alone]; and the rest of the members are for use. The stomach and the parts around it effect the casting down and diffusion of food. And some of these are distributed into the blood-vessels; others have their outlets as sources for evacuation.

As for the seeds, one part is for generation, being vital and proper; the other is for the irrigation of the members and the respiration of the body. The power of the humors, through the vital essence, takes on both nature and constitution and authority; but through the life-bearing food, it receives motion and the power of sensation. In all plants and animals, the plant is that which is nourishing and growing, whereas the animal is that which is perceiving. And some have sight, while others do not; and some respire in the vital [part], while others in the sensory [part]. Such are the seed, the blood, the spirit, the hot, the moist, the dry, and the cold. All these exist in the body and in the soul.

concerning seed

The generation of seed arises from food and from blood; and some seed is found in the brain, and some in the testicles. There is both female and male; for it comes from the whole body and possesses every power. And Nature, being an artisan, makes all things: both the just and the unjust, the violent and the noble. Generation does not endure for a short time, but through all time, and it persists through the seed. She who gives birth alone receives the seed and brings forth the infant; for through the womb, [sustenance] goes toward the navel of the child. For the navel is nourished through the blood. And since embryos [are in the womb], the child is made a "womb-mate" (delphon); hence it appears that the mother, to the child, [is] the womb itself (delphon); and those from the same womb are brothers (adelphoi).

These things are so, and the ancients [held] other views regarding the spirits themselves, and the motive and sensory [powers]; and the rest, the generative and augmentative; and clearly, the organs of life. The stomach, the viscera, and the other parts in the body—some are without, and some are within; some are external, and some are internal. The navel lies in the center; and his spirit—that is, the navel—holds the spirit of life and respiration. And for this reason, animal bodies are so called from their generation and life. These same possess both breath and sensation. [Sensation is] not in the lips, the teeth, or the tongue; but the voice, the respiration, and the utility of the tongue [are there].

In the animal, smell, hearing, and sight are distributed from the head. Sensation [operates] through nature and the emission of the spirit; but through the body, it participates in perception. The assurance of nature, power, and essence [comes] along with faith and knowledge. It also makes use of names. The rest [are] those things in the body, those in the soul, and those in the intellect: some pertaining to the knees, some to the feet, and some to the hands. And the rest are also in the body; all the members of the body, both those in motion and those at rest. And [it is known] that generation is through the mixture and pleasure of the body. These same are the principal parts of the body and the parts of motion. The rest are thus, both spirits and bodies; these are the parts of animals. But in plants, there is not the beauty of nature and of life, nor the breath of nature; but the life of the body and of the soul [exists] through the utility of the navel and the breath of respiration.