Koen Gh,
"Was "pleasant scent" ever represented as a visible cloud before modern cartoons? (I don't know, but the question seems important in this context). "
In the Aristotelian view (see De Anima & De Sensu), scent was understood as a property of the odorous thing, that gives "form" to the moisture in the air, just like a signet that is imprinted in wax gives the wax the form of the seal, without the wax carrying any of the metal from the signet. The air is thus acted upon by the scent, but the air does not perceive it: perceiving is the job of the sense organs of humans and animals.
In Problems, he also ponders whether smells are more like smoke or more like vapor. This is a real problem for him because on the one hand, he notes that heat enhances smells, but on the other, that they need moisture to be perceived.
What I am thinking is that the shape we see here is the "form" given to the moisture in the air, or a representation of scent as vapor. I have yet to find a version of Aristotle's works where these processes are illustrated.
"Was "pleasant scent" ever represented as a visible cloud before modern cartoons? (I don't know, but the question seems important in this context). "
In the Aristotelian view (see De Anima & De Sensu), scent was understood as a property of the odorous thing, that gives "form" to the moisture in the air, just like a signet that is imprinted in wax gives the wax the form of the seal, without the wax carrying any of the metal from the signet. The air is thus acted upon by the scent, but the air does not perceive it: perceiving is the job of the sense organs of humans and animals.
In Problems, he also ponders whether smells are more like smoke or more like vapor. This is a real problem for him because on the one hand, he notes that heat enhances smells, but on the other, that they need moisture to be perceived.
What I am thinking is that the shape we see here is the "form" given to the moisture in the air, or a representation of scent as vapor. I have yet to find a version of Aristotle's works where these processes are illustrated.