It will be remembered (p. 167) that Aristotle, De gen. animal., II, v, ascribes the vegetative soul to the female, and the sentient to the male. I am apt to think that St Thomas knew the work De generatione animalium only through some Mahommedan commentator, -- not Averroes, for the Commentator always gives the full Aristotelian text. This doctrine of three successive souls in man, two perishable and one permanent, is noteworthy; and though not now generally accepted, there is still something to say for it.

Of God and His Creatures: 2.88