Section 3 The Action Of Water12
The action of water on3 our food4 is very important. There5 would be no carrying of food into the system but for the agency of water. It dissolves everything6 that7 we take8, and nothing9 that we take as food can10 become nutriment that11 is not dissolved in water.—Dr. Lankester.
Notes
1 ‘action’, here = operation, Wirkung, f.
2 Use the gen. of the def. art. The definite article is always required before nouns representing the whole of a given class, and before abstract nouns taken in a general sense.
3 on = upon.
4 food = victuals, Speisen, pl.
5 This sentence must be construed in a somewhat different way; say: ‘Without the agency (Vermittelung, f.) of water, no food (Nahrung, f.) would be conveyed into the body,’ würde dem Körper keine Nahrung zu´geführt werden.
6 everything = all.
7 ‘that’, here was. The indefinite relative pronoun was is the pronoun generally required after the indefinite numerals alles, etwas, manches, nichts, viel, and wenig, after the indefinite demonstrative pronoun das, and also after a superlative used substantively; as Das Schönste, was ich habe.
8 ‘To take’, when used of food, may be rendered by essen, trinken, or genießen, which latter verb should be used here.
9 ‘nothing — food’, may be briefly rendered by ‘keine genossene Speise‘.
10 can — nutriment = can serve as nutriment (Ernährung, f.). The verb dienen requires the prep. zu, which governs the dat. and must here be contracted with the def. art. into zur: see N. 2.
11 that — water = before (ehe, see App. § 17) the same (f.) is dissolved in water.