Louis (Budé, 1956) · Ogle (1912)
Ogle (1912)
Greek line numbers are exact. The translations carry no Bekker numbers of their own, so those beside the English are aligned to the Greek: upright = fixed (anchored to this point in the text), italic grey = approximate (interpolated estimate).
Book 4,Chapter 1 (676a22–676b15)
676a
Τὸν αὐτὸν δὲ τρόπον ἔχει τὰ περὶ τὰ σπλάγχνα καὶ τὴν
κοιλίαν καὶ τῶν εἰρημένων μορίων ἕκαστον τοῖς τετράποσι
μὲν ᾠοτόκοις δὲ τῶν ζῴων καὶ τοῖς ἄποσιν, οἷον τοῖς ὄφεσιν.
25 Καὶ γὰρ ἡ τῶν ὄφεων φύσις ἐστὶ συγγενὴς τούτοις· ὁμοία
γάρ ἐστι σαύρῳ μακρῷ εἰ καὶ ἄποδι. Τούτοις δὲ καὶ τοῖς
ἰχθύσι πάντα παραπλήσια, πλὴν τὰ μὲν ἔχει πλεύμονα διὰ
τὸ πεζεύειν, οἱ δ' οὐκ ἔχουσιν, ἀλλὰ βράγχια ἀντὶ τοῦ πλεύμονος.
Κύστιν δὲ οὔτε οἱ ἰχθύες ἔχουσιν οὔτε τούτων οὐδὲν
30 πλὴν χελώνης· τρέπεται γὰρ εἰς τὰς φολίδας τὸ ὑγρὸν
ὀλιγοπότων ὄντων διὰ τὴν ἀναιμότητα τοῦ πλεύμονος, καθάπερ
τοῖς ὄρνισιν εἰς τὰ πτερά. Καὶ ἐπιλευκαίνει δὲ τὸ
περίττωμα πᾶσι καὶ τούτοις, ὥσπερ καὶ τοῖς ὄρνισιν· διόπερ
ἐν τοῖς ἔχουσι κύστιν ἐξελθόντος τοῦ περιττώματος ὑφίσταται
35 ἁλμυρὶς γεώδης ἐν τοῖς ἀγγείοις· τὸ γὰρ γλυκὺ καὶ
πότιμον ἀναλίσκεται διὰ κουφότητα εἰς τὰς σάρκας. Τῶν δ'
THE account which has now been given of the viscera, the stomach, and the other several parts holds equally good not only for the oviparous quadrupeds, but also for such apodous animals as the Serpents. These two 25classes of animals are indeed nearly akin, a serpent resembling a lizard which has been lengthened out and deprived of its feet. Fishes, again, resemble these two groups in all their parts, excepting that, while these, being land animals, have a lung, fishes have no lung, but gills in its place. None of these animals, excepting the tortoise, as also no fish, has 30a urinary bladder. For owing to the bloodlessness of their lung, they drink but sparingly; and such fluid as they have is diverted to the scaly plates, as in birds it is diverted to the feathers, and thus they come to have the same white matter on the surface of their excrement as we see on that of birds. For in animals that have a bladder, its excretion when 35voided throws down a deposit of earthy brine in the containing vessel.
676b
1 ὄφεων οἱ ἔχεις πρὸς τοὺς ἄλλους ἔχουσι τὴν αὐτὴν διαφορὰν
ἣν καὶ ἐν τοῖς ἰχθύσι τὰ σελάχη πρὸς τοὺς ἄλλους·
ζῳοτοκοῦσι γὰρ ἔξω καὶ τὰ σελάχη καὶ οἱ ἔχεις, ἐν αὑτοῖς
ᾠοτοκήσαντα πρῶτον. Μονοκοίλια δὲ πάντα τὰ τοιαῦτά ἐστι,
5 καθάπερ τἆλλα τὰ ἀμφώδοντα· καὶ σπλάγχνα δὲ πάμπαν
μικρὰ ἔχει, ὥσπερ τἆλλα τὰ μὴ ἔχοντα κύστιν. Οἱ δ' ὄφεις
διὰ τὴν τοῦ σώματος μορφήν, οὖσαν μακρὰν καὶ στενήν, καὶ
τὰ σχήματα τῶν σπλάγχνων ἔχουσι διὰ ταῦτα μακρὰ καὶ τοῖς
τῶν ἄλλων ζῴων ἀνόμοια, διὰ τὸ καθάπερ ἐν τύπῳ τὰ σχήματα
10 αὐτῶν πλασθῆναι διὰ τὸν τόπον. Ἐπίπλοον δὲ καὶ
μεσεντέριον καὶ τὰ περὶ τὴν τῶν ἐντέρων φύσιν, ἔτι δὲ τὸ
διάζωμα καὶ τὴν καρδίαν πάντ' ἔχει τὰ ἔναιμα τῶν ζῴων,
πλεύμονα δὲ καὶ ἀρτηρίαν πάντα πλὴν τῶν ἰχθύων. Καὶ τὴν
θέσιν δὲ τῆς ἀρτηρίας καὶ τοῦ οἰσοφάγου πάντα τὰ ἔχοντα
15 ὁμοίως ἔχει διὰ τὰς εἰρημένας αἰτίας πρότερον.
1For the sweet and fresh elements, being light, are expended on the flesh.
Among the Serpents, the same peculiarity attaches to vipers, as among fishes attaches to Selachia. For both these and vipers are externally viviparous, but previously produce ova internally.
The stomach in all these animals is single, just as it is 5single in all other animals that have teeth in front of both jaws; and their viscera are excessively small, as always happens when there is no bladder. In serpents these viscera are, moreover, differently shaped from those of other animals. For, a serpent's body being long and narrow, its contents are as it were molded into a similar form, and thus come to be themselves elongated.
All animals that 10have blood possess an omentum, a mesentery, intestines with their appendages, and, moreover, a diaphragm and a heart; and all, excepting fishes, a lung and a windpipe. The relative positions, moreover, of the windpipe and the oesophagus are precisely similar in them all; and the reason is the same as has already been given.
Among the Serpents, the same peculiarity attaches to vipers, as among fishes attaches to Selachia. For both these and vipers are externally viviparous, but previously produce ova internally.
The stomach in all these animals is single, just as it is 5single in all other animals that have teeth in front of both jaws; and their viscera are excessively small, as always happens when there is no bladder. In serpents these viscera are, moreover, differently shaped from those of other animals. For, a serpent's body being long and narrow, its contents are as it were molded into a similar form, and thus come to be themselves elongated.
All animals that 10have blood possess an omentum, a mesentery, intestines with their appendages, and, moreover, a diaphragm and a heart; and all, excepting fishes, a lung and a windpipe. The relative positions, moreover, of the windpipe and the oesophagus are precisely similar in them all; and the reason is the same as has already been given.
Book 4,Chapter 2 (676b16–677b10)
Ἔχει δὲ καὶ χολὴν τὰ πολλὰ τῶν ἐναίμων ζῴων, τὰ μὲν
ἐπὶ τῷ ἥπατι, τὰ δ' ἀπηρτημένην ἐπὶ τοῖς ἐντέροις, ὡς οὖσαν
οὐχ ἧττον ἐκ τῆς κάτω κοιλίας τὴν φύσιν αὐτῆς. Δῆλον δὲ
μάλιστα ἐπὶ τῶν ἰχθύων· οὗτοι γὰρ ἔχουσί τε πάντες, καὶ οἱ
20 πολλοὶ πρὸς τοῖς ἐντέροις, ἔνιοι δὲ παρ' ὅλον τὸ ἔντερον
παρυφασμένην, οἷον ἡ ἀμία· καὶ τῶν ὄφεων οἱ πλεῖστοι τὸν
αὐτὸν τρόπον. Διόπερ οἱ λέγοντες τὴν φύσιν τῆς χολῆς
αἰσθήσεώς τινος εἶναι χάριν, οὐ καλῶς λέγουσι. Φασὶ γὰρ
εἶναι διὰ τοῦτο, ὅπως τῆς ψυχῆς τὸ περὶ τὸ ἧπαρ μόριον
25 δάκνουσα μὲν συνιστῇ, λυομένη δ' ἵλεων ποιῇ. Τὰ μὲν γὰρ
ὅλως οὐκ ἔχει χολήν, οἷον ἵππος καὶ ὀρεὺς καὶ ὄνος καὶ
ἔλαφος καὶ πρόξ. Οὐκ ἔχει δὲ οὐδὲ ἡ κάμηλος ἀποκεκριμένην,
ἀλλὰ φλεβία χολώδη μᾶλλον. Οὐκ ἔχει δ' οὐδ' ἡ φώκη
χολήν, οὐδὲ τῶν θαλαττίων δελφίς. Ἐν δὲ τοῖς γένεσι τοῖς
30 αὐτοῖς τὰ μὲν ἔχειν φαίνεται, τὰ δ' οὐκ ἔχειν, οἷον ἐν τῷ
τῶν μυῶν. Τούτων δ' ἐστὶ καὶ ὁ ἄνθρωπος· ἔνιοι μὲν γὰρ
φαίνονται ἔχοντες χολὴν ἐπὶ τοῦ ἥπατος, ἔνιοι δ' οὐκ
ἔχοντες. Διὸ καὶ γίνεται ἀμφισβήτησις περὶ ὅλου τοῦ γένους·
οἱ γὰρ ἐντυχόντες ὁποτερωσοῦν ἔχουσι περὶ πάντων ὑπολαμβάνουσιν
35 ὡς ἁπάντων ἐχόντων. Συμβαίνει δὲ τὸ τοιοῦτον
καὶ περὶ τὰ πρόβατα καὶ τὰς αἶγας· τὰ μὲν γὰρ πλεῖστα
Almost all sanguineous animals have a gall-bladder. In some this is attached 15to the liver, in others separated from that organ and attached to the intestines, being apparently in the latter case no less than in the former an appendage of the lower stomach. It is in fishes that this is most clearly seen. For all fishes have a gall-bladder; and in most of them it is attached to the intestine, being in some, as in the Amia, united with this, like a border, along its whole length. 20It is similarly placed in most serpents There are therefore no good grounds for the view entertained by some writers, that the gall exists for the sake of some sensory action. For they say that its use is to affect that part of the soul which is lodged in the neighborhood of the liver, vexing this part when it is congealed, and restoring it to cheerfulness when it again flows free. But this cannot 25be. For in some animals there is absolutely no gall-bladder at all--in the horse, for instance, the mule, the ass, the deer, and the roe; and in others, as the camel, there is no distinct bladder, but merely small vessels of a biliary character. Again, there is no such organ in the seal, nor, of purely sea-animals, in the dolphin. Even within the limits of the same genus, some animals appear to have 30and others to be without it. Such, for instance, is the case with mice; such also with man. For in some individuals there is a distinct gall-bladder attached to the liver, while in others there is no gall-bladder at all. This explains how the existence of this part in the whole genus has been a matter of dispute. For each observer, according as he has found it present or absent in the individual 35cases he has examined, has supposed it to be present or absent in the whole genus.
677a
1 τούτων ἔχει χολήν· ἀλλ' ἐνιαχοῦ μὲν τοσαύτην ὥστε
δοκεῖν τέρας εἶναι τὴν ὑπερβολὴν, οἷον ἐν Νάξῳ, ἐνιαχοῦ δὲ
οὐκ ἔχουσιν, οἷον ἐν Χαλκίδι τῆς Εὐβοίας κατά τινα τόπον
τῆς χώρας αὐτῶν. Ἔτι δ', ὥσπερ εἴρηται, ἡ τῶν ἰχθύων
5 ἀπήρτηται πολὺ τοῦ ἥπατος. Οὐκ ὀρθῶς δ' ἐοίκασιν οἱ περὶ Ἀναξαγόραν ὑπολαμβάνειν ὡς αἰτίαν οὖσαν τῶν ὀξέων
νοσημάτων· ὑπερβάλλουσαν γὰρ ἀπορραίνειν πρός τε τὸν
πλεύμονα καὶ τὰς φλέβας καὶ τὰ πλευρά. Σχεδὸν γὰρ οἷς
ταῦτα συμβαίνει τὰ πάθη τῶν νόσων, οὐκ ἔχουσι χολήν, ἔν
τε ταῖς ἀνατομαῖς ἂν ἐγίνετο τοῦτο φανερόν· ἔτι δὲ τὸ
10 πλῆθος τό τ' ἐν τοῖς ἀρρωστήμασιν ὑπάρχον καὶ τὸ ἀπορραινόμενον
ἀσύμβλητον. Ἀλλ' ἔοικεν ἡ χολή, καθάπερ καὶ ἡ
κατὰ τὸ ἄλλο σῶμα γινομένη περίττωμά τι εἶναι ἢ σύντηξις,
οὕτω καὶ ἡ ἐπὶ τῷ ἥπατι χολὴ περίττωμα εἶναι καὶ οὐχ
ἕνεκά τινος, ὥσπερ καὶ ἡ ἐν τῇ κοιλίᾳ καὶ ἐν τοῖς ἐντέροις
15 ὑπόστασις. Κατάχρηται μὲν οὖν ἐνίοτε ἡ φύσις εἰς τὸ
ὠφέλιμον καὶ τοῖς περιττώμασιν, οὐ μὴν διὰ τοῦτο δεῖ ζητεῖν
πάντα ἕνεκα τίνος, ἀλλά τινων ὄντων τοιούτων ἕτερα ἐξ
ἀνάγκης συμβαίνει διὰ ταῦτα πολλά.
Ὅσοις μὲν οὖν ἡ τοῦ ἥπατος σύστασις ὑγιεινή ἐστι καὶ ἡ
20 τοῦ αἵματος φύσις γλυκεῖα ἡ εἰς τοῦτ' ἀποκρινομένη,
ταῦτα μὲν ἢ πάμπαν οὐκ ἴσχει χολὴν ἐπὶ τοῦ ἥπατος, ἢ ἔν
τισι φλεβίοις, ἢ τὰ μὲν τὰ δ' οὔ. Διὸ καὶ τὰ ἥπατα τὰ τῶν
ἀχόλων εὔχρω καὶ γλυκερά ἐστιν ὡς ἐπίπαν εἰπεῖν, καὶ τῶν
ἐχόντων χολὴν τὸ ὑπὸ τῇ χολῇ τοῦ ἥπατος γλυκύτατόν ἐστιν.
25 Τῶν δὲ συνισταμένων ἐξ ἧττον καθαροῦ αἵματος τοῦτ'
ἔστιν ἡ χολὴ τὸ γινόμενον περίττωμα. Ἐναντίον τε γὰρ τῇ
τροφῇ τὸ περίττωμα βούλεται εἶναι καὶ τῷ γλυκεῖ τὸ πικρόν,
καὶ τὸ αἷμα γλυκὺ τὸ ὑγιαῖνον. Φανερὸν οὖν ὅτι οὔ τινος
ἕνεκα, ἀλλ' ἀποκάθαρμά ἐστιν ἡ χολή. Διὸ καὶ χαριέστατα
30 λέγουσι τῶν ἀρχαίων οἱ φάσκοντες αἴτιον εἶναι τοῦ πλείω
ζῆν χρόνον τὸ μὴ ἔχειν χολήν, βλέψαντες ἐπὶ τὰ μώνυχα
καὶ τὰς ἐλάφους· ταῦτα γὰρ ἄχολά τε καὶ ζῇ πολὺν χρόνον.
35 οἷον δελφὶς καὶ κάμηλος, καὶ ταῦτα τυγχάνει μακρόβια ὄντα.
Εὔλογον γὰρ τὴν τοῦ ἥπατος φύσιν ἐπίκαιρον οὖσαν, καὶ
ἀναγκαίαν πᾶσι τοῖς ἐναίμοις ζῴοις αἰτίαν εἶναι, ποιάν τιν'
1The same has occurred in the case of sheep and of goats. For these animals usually have a gall-bladder; but, while in some localities it is so enormously big as to appear a monstrosity, as is the case in Naxos, in others it is altogether wanting, as is the case in a certain district belonging to the inhabitants of Chalcis 5in Euboea. Moreover, the gall-bladder in fishes is separated, as already mentioned, by a considerable interval from the liver. No less mistaken seems to be the opinion of Anaxagoras and his followers, that the gall-bladder is the cause of acute diseases, inasmuch as it becomes over-full, and spirts out its excess on to the lung, the blood-vessels, and the ribs. For, almost invariably, those who 10suffer from these forms of disease are persons who have no gall-bladder at all, as would be quite evident were they to be dissected. Moreover, there is no kind of correspondence between the amount of bile which is present in these diseases and the amount which is exuded. The most probable opinion is that, as the bile when it is present in any other part of the body is a mere residuum or a product 15of decay, so also when it is present in the region of the liver it is equally excremental and has no further use; just as is the case with the dejections of the stomach and intestines. For though even the residua are occasionally used by nature for some useful purpose, yet we must not in all cases expect to find such a final cause; for granted the existence in the body of this or that constituent, 20with such and such properties, many results must ensue merely as necessary consequences of these properties. All animals, then, whose is healthy in composition and supplied with none but sweet blood, are either entirely without a gall-bladder on this organ, or have merely small bile-containing vessels; or are some with and some without such parts. Thus it is that the liver in animals that have no 25gall-bladder is, as a rule, of good colour and sweet; and that, when there is a gall-bladder, that part of the liver is sweetest which lies immediately underneath it. But, when animals are formed of blood less pure in composition, the bile serves for the excretion of its impure residue. For the very meaning of excrement is that it is the opposite of nutriment, and of bitter that it is the opposite of 30sweet; and healthy blood is sweet. So that it is evident that the bile, which is bitter, cannot have any use, but must simply be a purifying excretion. It was therefore no bad saying of old writers that the absence of a gall-bladder gave long life. In so saying they had in mind deer and animals with solid hoofs. For such have no gall-bladder and live long. But besides these there are other animals 35that have no gall-bladder, though those old writers had not noticed the fact, such as the camel and the dolphin; and these also are, as it happens, long-lived.
677b
1 οὖσαν, τοῦ ζῆν ἐλάττω ἢ πλείω χρόνον. Καὶ τὸ τούτου
μὲν τοῦ σπλάγχνου εἶναι περίττωμα τοιοῦτον, τῶν δ'
ἄλλων μηδενός, κατὰ λόγον ἐστίν. Τῇ μὲν γὰρ καρδίᾳ τοιοῦτον
οὐδένα πλησιάζειν οἷόν τε χυμόν (οὐδὲν γὰρ δέχεται
5 βίαιον πάθος), τῶν δ' ἄλλων οὐδὲν σπλάγχνων ἀναγκαῖόν
ἐστι τοῖς ζῴοις, τὸ δ' ἧπαρ μόνον· διόπερ καὶ τοῦτο συμβαίνει
περὶ αὐτὸ μόνον. Ἄτοπόν τε τὸ μὴ πανταχοῦ νομίζειν,
ὅπου ἄν τις ἴδῃ φλέγμα ἢ τὸ ὑπόστημα τῆς κοιλίας, περίττωμα
εἶναι, ὁμοίως δὲ δῆλον ὅτι καὶ χολὴν καὶ μὴ διαφέρεσθαι
10 τοῖς τόποις.
1Seeing, indeed, that the liver is not only useful, but a necessary and vital part in all animals that have blood, it is but reasonable that on its character should depend the length or the shortness of life. Nor less reasonable is it that this organ and none other should have such an excretion as the bile. For the heart, unable as 5it is to stand any violent affection, would be utterly intolerant of the proximity of such a fluid; and, as to the rest of the viscera, none excepting the liver are necessary parts of an animal. It is the liver therefore that alone has this provision. In conclusion, wherever we see bile we must take it to be excremental. For to suppose that it has one character in this part, another in that, would be as great an 10absurdity as to suppose mucus or the dejections of the stomach to vary in character according to locality and not to be excremental wherever found.
Book 4,Chapter 3 (677b11–36)
Καὶ περὶ μὲν χολῆς, διὰ τίν' αἰτίαν τὰ μὲν ἔχει τὰ δ'
οὐκ ἔχει τῶν ζῴων, εἴρηται. Περὶ δὲ μεσεντερίου καὶ ἐπιπλόου
λοιπὸν εἰπεῖν. Ταῦτα γὰρ ἐν τῷ τόπῳ τούτῳ καὶ μετὰ τῶν μορίων
ἐστὶ τούτων. Ἔστι δὲ τὸ μὲν ἐπίπλοον ὑμὴν τοῖς μὲν στέαρ
15 ἔχουσι στεατώδης, τοῖς δὲ πιμελὴν πιμελώδης. Ποῖα δ' ἐστὶν
ἑκάτερα τούτων εἴρηται πρότερον. Ἦρκται δὲ τὸ ἐπίπλοον
ὁμοίως τοῖς τε μονοκοιλίοις καὶ τοῖς πολυκοιλίοις ἀπὸ μέσης
20 τό τε λοιπὸν τῆς κοιλίας καὶ τὸ τῶν ἐντέρων πλῆθος ὁμοίως
τοῖς ἐναίμοις, ἔν τε τοῖς πεζοῖς καὶ τοῖς ἐνύδροις ζῴοις.
Ἡ μὲν οὖν γένεσις ἐξ ἀνάγκης συμβαίνει τοιαύτη τοῦ μορίου
τούτου· ξηροῦ γὰρ καὶ ὑγροῦ μίγματος θερμαινομένου τὸ
ἔσχατον ἀεὶ δερματῶδες γίνεται καὶ ὑμενῶδες, ὁ δὲ τόπος
25 οὗτος τοιαύτης πλήρης ἐστὶ τροφῆς. Ἔτι δὲ διὰ πυκνότητα
τοῦ ὑμένος τὸ διηθούμενον τῆς αἱματώδους τροφῆς
ἀναγκαῖον λιπαρὸν εἶναι (τοῦτο γὰρ λεπτότατον) καὶ διὰ τὴν
θερμότητα τὴν περὶ τὸν τόπον συμπεττόμενον ἀντὶ σαρκώδους
καὶ αἱματώδους συστάσεως στέαρ γίνεσθαι καὶ πιμελήν.
30 Ἡ μὲν οὖν γένεσις τοῦ ἐπιπλόου συμβαίνει κατὰ τὸν λόγον
τοῦτον, καταχρῆται δ' ἡ φύσις αὐτῷ πρὸς τὴν εὐπεψίαν τῆς
τροφῆς, ὅπως ῥᾷον πέττῃ καὶ θᾶττον τὰ ζῷα τὴν τροφήν·
τὸ μὲν γὰρ θερμὸν πεπτικόν, τὸ δὲ πῖον θερμόν, τὸ δ' ἐπίπλοον
πῖον Καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ἀπὸ μέσης ἦρκται τῆς κοιλίας, ὅτι
35 τὸ ἐπ' ἐκεῖνο μέρος συμπέττει τὸ παρακείμενον ἧπαρ. Καὶ
περὶ μὲν τοῦ ἐπιπλόου εἴρηται.
So much then of the gall-bladder, and of the reasons why some animals have one, while others have not. We have still to speak of the mesentery and the omentum; for these are associated with the parts already described and contained in the same cavity. The omentum, 15then, is a membrane containing fat; the fat being suet or lard, according as the fat of the animal generally is of the former or latter description. What kinds of animals are so distinguished has been already set forth in an earlier part of this treatise. This membrane, alike in animals that have a single and in those that have a multiple stomach, grows from the middle of that organ, along a line which is marked on 20it like a seam. Thus attached, it covers the rest of the stomach and the greater part of the bowels, and this alike in all sanguineous animals, whether they live on land or in water. Now the development of this part into such a form as has been described is the result of necessity. For, whenever solid and fluid are mixed together and heated, the surface invariably becomes membranous and skin-like. But the region 25in which the omentum lies is full of nutriment of such a mixed character. Moreover, in consequence of the close texture of the membrane, that portion of the sanguineous nutriment will alone filter into it which is of a greasy character; for this portion is composed of the finest particles; and when it has so filtered in, it will be concocted by the heat of the part, and will be converted into suet or lard, and 30will not acquire a flesh-like or sanguineous constitution. The development, then, of the omentum is simply the result of necessity. But when once formed, it is used by nature for an end, namely, to facilitate and to hasten the concoction of food. For all that is hot aids concoction; and fat is hot, and the omentum is fat. This too explains why it hangs from the middle of the stomach; for the upper part of the 35stomach has no need of it, being assisted in concoction by the adjacent liver. Thus much as concerns the omentum.
Book 4,Chapter 4 (677b37–678a26)
Τὸ δὲ καλούμενον μεσεντέριόν ἐστι μὲν ὑμήν, διατείνει
δὲ συνεχὲς ἀπὸ τῆς τῶν ἐντέρων παρατάσεως εἰς τὴν φλέβα
The so-called mesentery is also a membrane; and extends continuously from the long stretch of intestine to the great vessel and the aorta.
678a
1 τὴν μεγάλην καὶ τὴν ἀορτήν, πλῆρες ὂν φλεβῶν πολλῶν
καὶ πυκνῶν, αἳ τείνουσιν ἀπὸ τῶν ἐντέρων εἴς τε τὴν μεγάλην
φλέβα καὶ τὴν ἀορτήν. Τὴν μὲν οὖν γένεσιν ἐξ ἀνάγκης
οὖσαν εὑρήσομεν ὁμοίως τοῖς ἄλλοις μορίοις· διὰ τίνα δ'
5 αἰτίαν ὑπάρχει τοῖς ἐναίμοις, φανερόν ἐστιν ἐπισκοποῦσιν.
Ἐπεὶ γὰρ ἀναγκαῖον τὰ ζῷα τροφὴν λαμβάνειν θύραθεν,
καὶ πάλιν ἐκ ταύτης γίνεσθαι τὴν ἐσχάτην τροφήν, ἐξ ἧς
ἤδη διαδίδοται εἰς τὰ μόρια (τοῦτο δὲ τοῖς μὲν ἀναίμοις
ἀνώνυμον, τοῖς δ' ἐναίμοις αἷμα καλεῖται), δεῖ τι εἶναι δι' οὗ
10 εἰς τὰς φλέβας ἐκ τῆς κοιλίας οἷον διὰ ῥιζῶν πορεύσεται
ἡ τροφή. Τὰ μὲν οὖν φυτὰ τὰς ῥίζας ἔχει εἰς τὴν γῆν
(ἐκεῖθεν γὰρ λαμβάνει τὴν τροφήν), τοῖς δὲ ζῴοις ἡ κοιλία
καὶ ἡ τῶν ἐντέρων δύναμις γῆ ἐστιν, ἐξ ἧς δεῖ λαμβάνειν
τὴν τροφήν· διόπερ ἡ τοῦ μεσεντερίου φύσις ἐστίν, οἷον ῥίζας
15 ἔχουσα τὰς δι' αὐτῆς φλέβας. Οὗ μὲν οὖν ἕνεκα τὸ μεσεντέριόν
ἐστιν, εἴρηται· τίνα δὲ τρόπον λαμβάνει τὴν τροφήν, καὶ
πῶς εἰσέρχεται διὰ τῶν φλεβῶν ἀπὸ τῆς εἰσιούσης τροφῆς
εἰς τὰ μόρια ταῦτα τὸ διαδιδόμενον εἰς τὰς φλέβας, ἐν τοῖς
Τὰ μὲν οὖν ἔναιμα τῶν ζῴων πῶς ἔχει μέχρι τῶν διωρισμένων
μορίων, καὶ διὰ τίνας αἰτίας, εἴρηται. Περὶ δὲ τῶν
εἰς τὴν γένεσιν συντελούντων, οἷς δοκεῖ διαφέρειν τὸ θῆλυ
τοῦ ἄρρενος, ἐχόμενον μέν ἐστι καὶ λοιπὸν τῶν εἰρημένων·
25 ἀλλ' ἐπειδὴ περὶ γενέσεως λεκτέον, ἁρμόττον ἐστὶ καὶ περὶ
τούτων ἐν τῇ περὶ ἐκείνων θεωρίᾳ διελθεῖν.
1In it are numerous and close-packed vessels, which run from the intestines to the great vessel and to the aorta. The formation of this membrane we shall find to be the result of necessity, as is that of the other [similar] parts. What, however, is the final cause of its existence in sanguineous 5animals is manifest on reflection. For it is necessary that animals shall get nutriment from without; and, again, that this shall be converted into the ultimate nutriment, which is then distributed as sustenance to the various parts; this ultimate nutriment being, in sanguineous animals, what we call blood, and having, in bloodless animals, no definite name. This being so, 10there must be channels through which the nutriment shall pass, as it were through roots, from the stomach into the blood-vessels. Now the roots of plants are in the ground; for thence their nutriment is derived. But in animals the stomach and intestines represent the ground from which the nutriment is to be taken. The mesentery, then, is an organ to contain the roots; 15and these roots are the vessels that traverse it. This then is the final cause of its existence. But how it absorbs nutriment, and how that portion of the food which enters into the vessels is distributed by them to the various parts of the body, are questions which will be considered when we come to deal with the generation and nutrition of animals.
The constitution of 20sanguineous animals, so far as the parts as yet mentioned are concerned, and the reasons for such constitution, have now been set forth. In natural sequence we should next go on to the organs of generation, as yet undescribed, on which depend the distinctions of male and female. But, inasmuch as we shall have to deal specially with generation hereafter, it will be more 25convenient to defer the consideration of these parts to that occasion.
The constitution of 20sanguineous animals, so far as the parts as yet mentioned are concerned, and the reasons for such constitution, have now been set forth. In natural sequence we should next go on to the organs of generation, as yet undescribed, on which depend the distinctions of male and female. But, inasmuch as we shall have to deal specially with generation hereafter, it will be more 25convenient to defer the consideration of these parts to that occasion.
Book 4,Chapter 5 (678a27–682a34)
Τὰ δὲ καλούμενα μαλάκια καὶ μαλακόστρακα πολλὴν ἔχει
πρὸς ταῦτα διαφοράν· εὐθὺς γὰρ τὴν τῶν σπλάγχνων ἅπασαν
οὐκ ἔχει φύσιν. Ὁμοίως δ' οὐδὲ τῶν ἄλλων ἀναίμων οὐδέν.
30 Ἔστι δὲ δύο γένη λοιπὰ τῶν ἀναίμων, τά τε ὀστρακόδερμα
καὶ τὸ τῶν ἐντόμων γένος. Ἐξ οὗ γὰρ συνέστηκεν
ἡ τῶν σπλάγχνων φύσις, οὐδὲν τούτων ἔχει αἷμα διὰ τὸ τῆς
οὐσίας αὐτῶν εἶναί τι τοιοῦτον πάθος αὐτῆς· ὅτι γάρ ἐστι
τὰ μὲν ἔναιμα τὰ δ' ἄναιμα, ἐν τῷ λόγῳ ἐνυπάρξει τῷ ὁρίζοντι
35 τὴν οὐσίαν αὐτῶν. Ἔτι δ' ὧν ἕνεκεν ἔχουσι τὰ σπλάγχνα
τὰ ἔναιμα τῶν ζῴων, οὐδὲν ὑπάρξει τοῖς τοιούτοις· οὔτε γὰρ
Very different from the animals we have as yet considered are the Cephalopoda and the Crustacea. For these have absolutely no viscera whatsoever; as is indeed the case with all bloodless animals, in which are included two other genera, namely the Testacea and the Insects. For in none of them does the 30material out of which viscera are formed exist. None of them, that is, have blood. The cause of this lies in their essential constitution. For the presence of blood in some animals, its absence from others, must be included in the conception which determines their respective essences. Moreover, in the animals we are now considering, none of those final causes will be 35found to exist which in sanguineous animals determine the presence of viscera.
678b
1 φλέβας ἔχουσιν οὔτε κύστιν οὔτ' ἀναπνέουσιν, ἀλλὰ
μόνον ἀναγκαῖον ἔχειν αὐτοῖς τὸ ἀνάλογον τῇ καρδίᾳ. Τὸ
γὰρ αἰσθητικὸν ψυχῆς καὶ τὸ τῆς ζωῆς αἴτιον ἀρχῇ τινι τῶν
μορίων καὶ τοῦ σώματος ὑπάρχει πᾶσι τοῖς ζῴοις. Τὰ δὲ
5 πρὸς τὴν τροφὴν μόρια ἔχει καὶ ταῦτα ἐξ ἀνάγκης πάντα· οἱ
τὴν τροφήν. Ἔχουσι δὲ τὰ μὲν μαλάκια περὶ τὸ καλούμενον στόμα δύο
ὀδόντας, καὶ ἐν τῷ στόματι ἀντὶ γλώττης σαρκῶδές τι, ᾧ
κρίνουσι τὴν ἐν τοῖς ἐδεστοῖς ἡδονήν. Ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ τὰ
10 μαλακόστρακα τούτοις τοὺς πρώτους ὀδόντας ἔχει καὶ τὸ
ἀνάλογον τῇ γλώττῃ σαρκῶδες. Ἔτι δὲ καὶ τὰ ὀστρακόδερμα
πάντα τὸ τοιοῦτον ἔχει μόριον διὰ τὴν αὐτὴν αἰτίαν τοῖς
ἐναίμοις, πρὸς τὴν τῆς τροφῆς αἴσθησιν. Ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ τὰ
ἔντομα τὰ μὲν τὴν ἐξιοῦσαν ἐπιβοσκίδα τοῦ στόματος, οἷον τό
15 τε τῶν μελιττῶν γένος καὶ τὸ τῶν μυιῶν, ὥσπερ εἴρηται καὶ
πρότερον· ὅσα δὲ μὴ ἔστιν ἐμπροσθόκεντρα, ἐν τῷ στόματι
ἔχει τὸ τοιοῦτον μόριον, οἷον τὸ τῶν μυρμήκων γένος, καὶ εἴ
τι τοιοῦτον ἕτερον. Ὀδόντας δὲ τὰ μὲν ἔχει τούτων, ἀλλοιοτέρους
δέ, καθάπερ τό τε τῶν μυρμήκων καὶ τὸ τῶν μελιττῶν
20 γένος, τὰ δ' οὐκ ἔχει, ὅσα ὑγρᾷ χρῆται τῇ τροφῇ· πολλὰ
γὰρ τῶν ἐντόμων οὐ τροφῆς ἔχει χάριν τοὺς ὀδόντας ἀλλ'
ἀλκῆς. Τῶν δὲ ὀστρακοδέρμων τὰ μέν, ὥσπερ ἐλέχθη καὶ ἐν
τοῖς κατ' ἀρχὰς λόγοις, τὴν καλουμένην ἔχει γλῶτταν
ἰσχυράν, οἱ δὲ κόχλοι καὶ ὀδόντας δύο, καθάπερ τὰ μαλακόστρακα.
25 Μετὰ δὲ τὸ στόμα τοῖς μαλακίοις ἐστὶ στόμαχος μακρός,
τούτου δ' ἐχόμενος πρόλοβος οἷός περ τοῖς ὄρνισιν, εἶτα
συνεχὴς κοιλία καὶ ταύτης ἐχόμενον ἔντερον ἁπλοῦν μέχρι
τῆς ἐξόδου. Ταῖς μὲν οὖν σηπίαις καὶ τοῖς πολύποσιν ὅμοια
καὶ τοῖς σχήμασι καὶ τῇ ἁφῇ τὰ περὶ τὴν κοιλίαν· ταῖς δὲ
30 καλουμέναις τευθίσι δύο μὲν ὁμοίως αἱ κοιλιώδεις εἰσὶν
ὑποδοχαί, ἧττον δὲ προλοβώδης ἡ ἑτέρα, καὶ τοῖς σχήμασιν
ἐκείνων διαφέρουσι διὰ τὸ καὶ τὸ σῶμα πᾶν ἐκ μαλακωτέρας
συνεστάναι σαρκός. Ταῦτα δ' ἔχει τὰ μόρια τοῦτον τὸν
τρόπον διὰ τὴν αὐτὴν αἰτίαν ὥσπερ καὶ οἱ ὄρνιθες· οὐδὲ
35 γὰρ τούτων οὐδὲν ἐνδέχεται λεαίνειν τὴν τροφήν, διόπερ ὁ πρόλοβός ἐστι πρὸ τῆς κοιλίας. Πρὸς βοήθειαν δὲ καὶ σωτηρίαν
ἔχει ταῦτα τὸν καλούμενον θολόν, ἐν χιτῶνι ὑμενώδει
1For they have no blood vessels nor urinary bladder, nor do they breathe; the only part that it is necessary for them to have being that which is analogous to a heart. For in all animals there must be some central and commanding part of the body, to lodge the sensory portion of the soul and the source of life. The organs of nutrition are also 5of necessity present in them all. They differ, however, in character because of differences of the habitats in which they get their subsistence.
In the Cephalopoda there are two teeth, enclosing what is called the mouth; and inside this mouth is a flesh-like substance which represents a tongue and serves for the discrimination of pleasant and unpleasant food. The Crustacea have teeth corresponding to those of the Cephalopoda, 10namely their anterior teeth, and also have the fleshy representative of a tongue. This latter part is found, moreover, in all Testacea, and serves, as in sanguineous animals, for gustatory sensations. Similarly provided also are the Insects. For some of these, such as the Bees and the Flies, have, as already described, their proboscis protruding from the mouth; while those others that have no such instrument in front have 15a part which acts as a tongue inside the mouth. Such, for instance, is the case in the Ants and the like. As for teeth, some insects have them, the Bees and the Ants for instance, though in a somewhat modified form, while others that live on fluid nutriment are without them. For in many insects the teeth are not meant to deal with the food, but to serve as weapons.
In some Testacea, as was said in the first treatise, the 20organ which is called the tongue is of considerable strength; and in the Cochli (Sea-snails) there are also two teeth, just as in the Crustacea. The mouth in the Cephalopoda is succeeded by a long gullet. This leads to a crop, like that of a bird, and directly continuous with this is the stomach, from which a gut runs without windings to the vent. The Sepias and the Poulps resemble each other completely, so far as regards the 25shape and consistency of these parts. But not so the Teuthides (Calamaries). Here, as in the other groups there are the two stomach-like receptacles; but the first of these cavities has less resemblance to a crop, and in neither is the form [or the consistency] the same as in the other kinds, the whole body indeed being made of a softer kind of flesh.
The object of this arrangement of the parts in question is the same in the 30Cephalopoda as in Birds; for these also are all unable to masticate their food; and therefore it is that a crop precedes their stomach.
For purposes of defence, and to enable them to escape from their foes, the Cephalopoda have what is called their ink. This is contained in a membranous pouch, which is attached to the body and provided with a terminal outlet just at the point where what is termed the funnel gives issue to 35the residua of the stomach. This funnel is placed on the ventral surface of the animal.
In the Cephalopoda there are two teeth, enclosing what is called the mouth; and inside this mouth is a flesh-like substance which represents a tongue and serves for the discrimination of pleasant and unpleasant food. The Crustacea have teeth corresponding to those of the Cephalopoda, 10namely their anterior teeth, and also have the fleshy representative of a tongue. This latter part is found, moreover, in all Testacea, and serves, as in sanguineous animals, for gustatory sensations. Similarly provided also are the Insects. For some of these, such as the Bees and the Flies, have, as already described, their proboscis protruding from the mouth; while those others that have no such instrument in front have 15a part which acts as a tongue inside the mouth. Such, for instance, is the case in the Ants and the like. As for teeth, some insects have them, the Bees and the Ants for instance, though in a somewhat modified form, while others that live on fluid nutriment are without them. For in many insects the teeth are not meant to deal with the food, but to serve as weapons.
In some Testacea, as was said in the first treatise, the 20organ which is called the tongue is of considerable strength; and in the Cochli (Sea-snails) there are also two teeth, just as in the Crustacea. The mouth in the Cephalopoda is succeeded by a long gullet. This leads to a crop, like that of a bird, and directly continuous with this is the stomach, from which a gut runs without windings to the vent. The Sepias and the Poulps resemble each other completely, so far as regards the 25shape and consistency of these parts. But not so the Teuthides (Calamaries). Here, as in the other groups there are the two stomach-like receptacles; but the first of these cavities has less resemblance to a crop, and in neither is the form [or the consistency] the same as in the other kinds, the whole body indeed being made of a softer kind of flesh.
The object of this arrangement of the parts in question is the same in the 30Cephalopoda as in Birds; for these also are all unable to masticate their food; and therefore it is that a crop precedes their stomach.
For purposes of defence, and to enable them to escape from their foes, the Cephalopoda have what is called their ink. This is contained in a membranous pouch, which is attached to the body and provided with a terminal outlet just at the point where what is termed the funnel gives issue to 35the residua of the stomach. This funnel is placed on the ventral surface of the animal.
679a
1 προσπεφυκότα, τὴν ἔξοδον ἔχοντι καὶ τὸ πέρας ᾗπερ
ἀφιᾶσι τὸ περίττωμα τῆς κοιλίας κατὰ τὸν καλούμενον αὐλόν·
οὗτος δ' ἐστὶν ἐν τοῖς ὑπτίοις.
Ἔχει μὲν οὖν πάντα τὰ μαλάκια τοῦτο τὸ μόριον ἴδιον,
5 μάλιστα δ' ἡ σηπία καὶ πλεῖστον. Ὅταν γὰρ φοβηθῶσι καὶ
δείσωσιν, οἷον φράγμα πρὸ τοῦ σώματος ποιοῦνται τὴν τοῦ
ὑγροῦ μελανίαν καὶ θόλωσιν. Αἱ μὲν οὖν τευθίδες καὶ πολύποδες
ἔχουσιν ἄνωθεν τὸν θολὸν ἐπὶ τῇ μύτιδι μᾶλλον, ἡ δὲ
σηπία πρὸς τῇ κοιλίᾳ κάτω· πλείω γὰρ ἔχει διὰ τὸ χρῆσθαι
10 μᾶλλον. Τοῦτο δ' αὐτῇ συμβαίνει διὰ τὸ πρόσγειον μὲν
εἶναι τὸν βίον αὐτῆς, μὴ ἔχειν δὲ ἄλλην βοήθειαν, ὥσπερ ὁ
πολύπους τὰς πλεκτάνας ἔχει χρησίμους καὶ τὴν τοῦ χρώματος
μεταβολήν, ἣ συμβαίνει αὐτῷ, ὥσπερ καὶ ἡ τοῦ θολοῦ
πρόεσις, διὰ δειλίαν. Ἡ δὲ τευθὶς πελάγιόν ἐστι τούτων
15 μόνον. Πλείω μὲν οὖν ἔχει ἡ σηπία παρὰ τοῦτο τὸν θολόν,
κάτωθεν δὲ διὰ τὸ πλείω· ῥᾴδιον γὰρ προΐεσθαι καὶ πόρρωθεν
ἀπὸ τοῦ πλείονος. Γίνεται δ' ὁ θολός, καθάπερ τοῖς ὄρνισιν
ὑπόστημα τὸ λευκὸν ἐπὶ τοῦ περιττώματος γεῶδες, οὕτω καὶ
τούτοις ὁ θολὸς διὰ τὸ μηδὲ ταῦτ' ἔχειν κύστιν· ἀποκρίνεται
20 γὰρ τὸ γεωδέστατον εἰς αὐτόν, καὶ τῇ σηπίᾳ πλεῖστον
διὰ τὸ πλεῖστον ἔχειν γεῶδες. Σημεῖον δὲ τὸ σηπίον τοιοῦτον
ὄν· τοῦτο γὰρ ὁ μὲν πολύπους οὐκ ἔχει, αἱ δὲ τευθίδες χονδρῶδες
καὶ λεπτόν· δι' ἣν δ' αἰτίαν τὰ μὲν οὐκ ἔχει τὰ δ'
ἔχει, καὶ ποῖόν τι τούτων ἔχει ἑκάτερον, εἴρηται. Ἀναίμων
25 δ' ὄντων καὶ διὰ τοῦτο κατεψυγμένων καὶ φοβητικῶν, ὥσπερ
ἐνίοις ὅταν δείσωσιν ἡ κοιλία ταράττεται, τοῖς δ' ἐκ τῆς
κύστεως ῥεῖ περίττωσις, καὶ τούτοις τοῦτο συμβαίνει μὲν
ἐξ ἀνάγκης ἀφιέναι διὰ δειλίαν, ὥσπερ ἐκ κύστεως τοῖς
ἐπουροῦσιν, ἡ δὲ φύσις ἅμα τῷ τοιούτῳ περιττώματι καταχρῆται
30 πρὸς βοήθειαν καὶ σωτηρίαν αὐτῶν.
Ἔχουσι δὲ καὶ τὰ μαλακόστρακα, τά τε καραβοειδῆ καὶ οἱ
καρκίνοι, δύο μὲν ὀδόντας τοὺς πρώτους, καὶ μεταξὺ τὴν
σάρκα τὴν γλωσσοειδῆ, ὥσπερ εἴρηται καὶ πρότερον, εὐθὺς
δ' ἐχόμενον τοῦ στόματος στόμαχον μικρὸν κατὰ μέγεθος
35 τῶν σωμάτων, τὰ μείζω πρὸς τὰ ἐλάττω· τούτου δὲ κοιλίαν
ἐχομένην, ἐφ' ἧς οἵ τε κάραβοι καὶ ἔνιοι τῶν καρκίνων
ὀδόντας ἔχουσιν ἑτέρους διὰ τὸ τοὺς ἄνω μὴ διαιρεῖν ἱκανῶς,
ἀπὸ δὲ τῆς κοιλίας ἔντερον ἁπλοῦν κατ' εὐθὺ μέχρι πρὸς τὴν
1All Cephalopoda alike have this characteristic ink, but chief of all the Sepia, where it is more abundant than in the rest. When the animal is disturbed and frightened it uses this ink to make the surrounding water black and turbid, and so, as it were, puts a shield in front of its body.
In the Calamaries and the Poulps the ink-bag is placed 5in the upper part of the body, in close proximity to the mytis, whereas in the Sepia it is lower down, against the stomach. For the Sepia has a more plentiful supply of ink than the rest, inasmuch as it makes more use of it. The reasons for this are, firstly, that it lives near the shore, and, secondly, that it has no other means of protection; whereas the Poulp has its long twining feet to use in its defence, and is, 10moreover, endowed with the power of changing colour. This changing of colour, like the discharge of ink, occurs as the result of fright. As to the Calamary, it lives far out at sea, being the only one of the Cephalopoda that does so; and this gives it protection. These then are the reasons why the ink is more abundant in the Sepia than in the Calamary, and this greater abundance explains the lower position; for it allows the 15ink to be ejected with ease even from a distance. The ink itself is of an earthy character, in this resembling the white deposit on the surface of a bird's excrement and the explanation in both cases is the same, namely, the absence of a urinary bladder. For, in default of this, it is the ink that serves for the excretion of the earthiest matter. And this is more especially the case in the Sepia, because there is a greater 20proportion of earth in its composition than in that of the other Cephalopoda. The earthy character of its bone is a clear indication of this. For in the Poulp there is no bone at all, and in the Calamary it is thin and cartilaginous. Why this bone should be present in some Cephalopoda, and wanting in others, and how its character varies in those that have it, has now been set forth.
These animals, having no blood, are in 25consequence cold and of a timid character. Now, in some animals, fear causes a disturbance of the bowels, and, in others, a flow of urine from the bladder. Similarly in these it produces a discharge of ink, and, though the ejection of this ink in fright, like that of the urine, is the result of necessity, and, though it is of excremental character, yet it is used by nature for a purpose, namely, the protection and safety of the 30animal that excretes it.
The Crustacea also, both the Caraboid forms and the Crabs, are provided with teeth, namely their two anterior teeth; and between these they also present the tongue-like piece of flesh, as has indeed been already mentioned. Directly after their mouth comes a gullet, which, if we compare relative sizes, is but small in proportion to the body: and then a stomach, which in the Carabi and some of the 35Crabs is furnished with a second set of teeth, the anterior teeth being insufficient for adequate mastication. From the stomach a uniform gut runs in a direct line to the excremental vent.
The parts described are to be found also in all the various Testacea.
In the Calamaries and the Poulps the ink-bag is placed 5in the upper part of the body, in close proximity to the mytis, whereas in the Sepia it is lower down, against the stomach. For the Sepia has a more plentiful supply of ink than the rest, inasmuch as it makes more use of it. The reasons for this are, firstly, that it lives near the shore, and, secondly, that it has no other means of protection; whereas the Poulp has its long twining feet to use in its defence, and is, 10moreover, endowed with the power of changing colour. This changing of colour, like the discharge of ink, occurs as the result of fright. As to the Calamary, it lives far out at sea, being the only one of the Cephalopoda that does so; and this gives it protection. These then are the reasons why the ink is more abundant in the Sepia than in the Calamary, and this greater abundance explains the lower position; for it allows the 15ink to be ejected with ease even from a distance. The ink itself is of an earthy character, in this resembling the white deposit on the surface of a bird's excrement and the explanation in both cases is the same, namely, the absence of a urinary bladder. For, in default of this, it is the ink that serves for the excretion of the earthiest matter. And this is more especially the case in the Sepia, because there is a greater 20proportion of earth in its composition than in that of the other Cephalopoda. The earthy character of its bone is a clear indication of this. For in the Poulp there is no bone at all, and in the Calamary it is thin and cartilaginous. Why this bone should be present in some Cephalopoda, and wanting in others, and how its character varies in those that have it, has now been set forth.
These animals, having no blood, are in 25consequence cold and of a timid character. Now, in some animals, fear causes a disturbance of the bowels, and, in others, a flow of urine from the bladder. Similarly in these it produces a discharge of ink, and, though the ejection of this ink in fright, like that of the urine, is the result of necessity, and, though it is of excremental character, yet it is used by nature for a purpose, namely, the protection and safety of the 30animal that excretes it.
The Crustacea also, both the Caraboid forms and the Crabs, are provided with teeth, namely their two anterior teeth; and between these they also present the tongue-like piece of flesh, as has indeed been already mentioned. Directly after their mouth comes a gullet, which, if we compare relative sizes, is but small in proportion to the body: and then a stomach, which in the Carabi and some of the 35Crabs is furnished with a second set of teeth, the anterior teeth being insufficient for adequate mastication. From the stomach a uniform gut runs in a direct line to the excremental vent.
The parts described are to be found also in all the various Testacea.
679b
1 ἔξοδον τοῦ περιττώματος.
Ἔχει δὲ καὶ τῶν ὀστρακοδέρμων ἕκαστον ταῦτα τὰ μόρια,
τὰ μὲν διηρθρωμένα μᾶλλον τὰ δ' ἧττον. Ἐν δὲ τοῖς μείζοσι
διαδηλότερά ἐστιν ἕκαστα τούτων. Οἱ μὲν οὖν κόχλοι καὶ
5 ὀδόντας ἔχουσι σκληροὺς καὶ ὀξεῖς, ὥσπερ εἴρηται πρότερον,
καὶ τὸ μεταξὺ σαρκῶδες ὁμοίως τοῖς μαλακίοις καὶ
μαλακοστράκοις, καὶ τὴν προβοσκίδα, καθάπερ εἴρηται,
μεταξὺ κέντρου καὶ γλώττης, τοῦ δὲ στόματος ἐχόμενον οἷον
ὀρνιθώδη τινὰ πρόλοβον, τούτου δ' ἐχόμενον στόμαχον·
10 τούτου δ' ἔχεται ἡ κοιλία, ἐν ᾗ ἡ καλουμένη μήκων, ἀφ' ἧς
συνεχές ἐστιν ἔντερον ἁπλῆν τὴν ἀρχὴν ἔχον ἀπὸ τῆς
μήκωνος· ἔστι γὰρ ἐν πᾶσι τοῖς ὀστρακηροῖς περίττωμα
τοῦτο τὸ μάλιστα δοκοῦν εἶναι ἐδώδιμον. Ἔχει δ' ὁμοίως τῷ
κόχλῳ καὶ τἆλλα τὰ στρομβώδη, οἷον πορφύραι καὶ κήρυκες.
15 Ἔστι δὲ γένη καὶ εἴδη πολλὰ τῶν ὀστρακοδέρμων· τὰ μὲν
γὰρ στρομβώδη ἐστίν, ὥσπερ τὰ νῦν εἰρημένα, τὰ δὲ δίθυρα,
τὰ δὲ μονόθυρα. Τρόπον δέ τινα καὶ τὰ στρομβώδη διθύροις
ἔοικεν· ἔχει γὰρ ἐπιπτύγματ' ἐπὶ τῷ φανερῷ τῆς σαρκὸς
πάντα τὰ τοιαῦτα ἐκ γενετῆς, οἷον αἵ τε πορφύραι καὶ
20 κήρυκες καὶ οἱ νηρεῖται καὶ πᾶν τὸ τοιοῦτον γένος, πρὸς
βοήθειαν. Ἧι γὰρ μὴ προβέβληται τὸ ὄστρακον, ῥᾴδιον ταύτῃ
βλάπτεσθαι ὑπὸ τῶν θύραθεν προσπιπτόντων. Τὰ μὲν οὖν
μονόθυρα διὰ τὸ προσπεφυκέναι σῴζεται τῷ πρανὲς ἔχειν τὸ
ὄστρακον, καὶ γίνεται ἀλλοτρίῳ φράγματι τρόπον τινὰ δίθυρον,
25 οἷον αἱ καλούμεναι λεπάδες· τὰ δὲ δίθυρα, οἷον κτένες
καὶ μύες, τῷ συνάγειν, τὰ δὲ στρομβώδη τούτῳ τῷ ἐπικαλύμματι,
ὥσπερ δίθυρα γινόμενα ἐκ μονοθύρων.
Ὁ δ' ἐχῖνος μάλιστα πάντων ἀλεωρὰν ἔχει· κύκλῳ γὰρ τὸ
ὄστρακον συνηρεφὲς καὶ κεχαρακωμένον ταῖς ἀκάνθαις.
30 Ἴδιον δ' ἔχει τῶν ὀστρακοδέρμων τοῦτο, καθάπερ
εἴρηται πρότερον. Τῶν δὲ μαλακοστράκων καὶ τῶν ὀστρακοδέρμων
συνέστηκεν ἡ φύσις τοῖς μαλακίοις ἀντικειμένως·
τοῖς μὲν γὰρ ἔξω τὸ σαρκῶδες, τοῖς δ' ἐντός, ἐκτὸς δὲ τὸ
γεῶδες. Ὁ δ' ἐχῖνος οὐδὲν ἔχει σαρκῶδες. Πάντα μὲν οὖν
35 ἔχει, καθάπερ εἴρηται, καὶ τἆλλα τὰ ὀστρακόδερμα στόμα
τε καὶ τὸ γλωττοειδὲς καὶ τὴν κοιλίαν καὶ τοῦ περιττώματος
τὴν ἔξοδον, διαφέρει δὲ τῇ θέσει καὶ τοῖς μεγέθεσιν. Ὃν δὲ
1The degree of distinctness, however, with which they are formed varies in the different kinds, and the larger the size of the animal the more easily distinguishable are all these parts severally. In the Sea-snails, for example, we find teeth, hard and sharp, as before mentioned, and between them the flesh-like substance, just as in the Crustacea and 5Cephalopoda, and again the proboscis, which, as has been stated, is something between a sting and a tongue. Directly after the mouth comes a kind of bird-like crop, then a gullet, succeeded by a stomach, in which is the mecon, as it is styled; and continuous with this mecon is an intestine, starting directly from it. It is this residual substance which appears in all the Testacea to form the most palatable morsel. Purpuras and Whelks, 10and all other Testacea that have turbinate shells, in structure resemble the Sea-snail. The genera and species of Testacea are very numerous. For there are those with turbinate shells, of which some have just been mentioned; and, besides these, there are bivalves and univalves. Those with turbinate shells may, indeed, after a certain fashion be said to resemble bivalves. For they all from their very birth have an operculum to protect that 15part of their body which is exposed to view. This is the case with the Purpuras, with Whelks, with the Nerites, and the like. Were it not for this, the part which is undefended by the shell would be very liable to injury by collision with external objects. The univalves also are not without protection. For on their dorsal surface they have a shell, and by the under surface they attach themselves to the rocks, and so after a manner 20become bivalved, the rock representing the second valve. Of these the animals known as Limpets are an example. The bivalves, scallops and mussels, for instance, are protected by the power they have of closing their valves; and the Turbinata by the operculum just mentioned, which transforms them, as it were, from univalves into bivalves. But of all there is none so perfectly protected as the sea-urchin. For here there is a globular shell 25which encloses the body completely, and which is, moreover, set with sharp spines. This peculiarity distinguishes the sea-urchin from all other Testacea, as has already been mentioned.
The structure of the Testacea and of the Crustacea is exactly the reverse of that of the Cephalopoda. For in the latter the fleshy substance is on the outside and the earthy substance within, whereas in the former the soft parts are inside and the hard part 30without. In the sea-urchin, however, there is no fleshy part whatsoever.
All the Testacea then, those that have not been mentioned as well as those that have, agree as stated in possessing a mouth with the tongue-like body, a stomach, and a vent for excrement, but they differ from each other in the positions and proportions of these parts. The details, however, of these differences must be looked for in the Researches concerning Animals 35and the treatises on Anatomy. For while there are some points which can be made clear by verbal description, there are others which are more suited for ocular demonstration.
The structure of the Testacea and of the Crustacea is exactly the reverse of that of the Cephalopoda. For in the latter the fleshy substance is on the outside and the earthy substance within, whereas in the former the soft parts are inside and the hard part 30without. In the sea-urchin, however, there is no fleshy part whatsoever.
All the Testacea then, those that have not been mentioned as well as those that have, agree as stated in possessing a mouth with the tongue-like body, a stomach, and a vent for excrement, but they differ from each other in the positions and proportions of these parts. The details, however, of these differences must be looked for in the Researches concerning Animals 35and the treatises on Anatomy. For while there are some points which can be made clear by verbal description, there are others which are more suited for ocular demonstration.
680a
1 τρόπον ἔχει τούτων ἕκαστον, ἔκ τε τῶν ἱστοριῶν τῶν
περὶ τὰ ζῷα θεωρείσθω καὶ ἐκ τῶν ἀνατομῶν· τὰ μὲν γὰρ τῷ
λόγῳ τὰ δὲ πρὸς τὴν ὄψιν αὐτῶν σαφηνίζειν δεῖ μᾶλλον.
Ἰδίως δ' ἔχουσι τῶν ὀστρακοδέρμων οἵ τ' ἐχῖνοι καὶ τὸ τῶν
5 καλουμένων τηθύων γένος. Ἔχουσι δ' οἱ ἐχῖνοι ὀδόντας
μὲν πέντε καὶ μεταξὺ τὸ σαρκῶδες ὥσπερ ἐπὶ πάντων ἐστὶ
τῶν εἰρημένων, ἐχόμενον δὲ τούτου στόμαχον, ἀπὸ δὲ τούτου
τὴν κοιλίαν εἰς πολλὰ διῃρημένην, ὡσπερανεὶ πολλὰς τοῦ
ζῴου κοιλίας ἔχοντος. Κεχωρισμέναι μὲν γάρ εἰσι καὶ πλήρεις
10 περιττώματος, ἐξ ἑνὸς δ' ἤρτηνται τοῦ στομάχου καὶ
τελευτῶσι πρὸς μίαν ἔξοδον τὴν τοῦ περιττώματος. Παρὰ
δὲ τὴν κοιλίαν σαρκῶδες μὲν οὐδὲν ἔχουσιν, ὥσπερ εἴρηται,
τὰ δὲ καλούμενα ᾠὰ πλείω τὸν ἀριθμὸν ἐν ὑμένι χωρὶς
ἕκαστον, καὶ κύκλῳ ἀπὸ τοῦ στόματος μέλαν' ἄττα διεσπαρμένα
15 χύδην, ἀνώνυμα. Ὄντων δὲ πλειόνων γενῶν (οὐ γὰρ
ἓν εἶδος τῶν ἐχίνων πάντων ἐστί) πάντες μὲν ἔχουσι ταῦτα
τὰ μόρια, ἀλλ' οὐκ ἐδώδιμα πάντες τὰ καλούμενα ᾠά, καὶ
μικρὰ πάμπαν ἔξω τῶν ἐπιπολαζόντων. Ὅλως δὲ τοῦτο καὶ
περὶ τἆλλα συμβέβηκε τὰ ὀστρακόδερμα· καὶ γὰρ αἱ σάρκες οὐχ
20 ὁμοίως ἐδώδιμοι πάντων, καὶ τὸ περίττωμα, ἡ καλουμένη
μήκων, ἐνίων μὲν ἐδώδιμος, ἐνίων δ' οὐκ ἐδώδιμος. Ἔστι δὲ
τοῖς στρομβώδεσιν ἐν τῇ ἑλίκῃ τοῦτο, τοῖς δὲ μονοθύροις ἐν
τῷ πυθμένι, οἷον ταῖς λεπάσι, τοῖς δὲ διθύροις πρὸς τῇ
συναφῇ. Τὸ δ' ᾠὸν καλούμενον ἐν τοῖς δεξιοῖς, ἐν δὲ τοῖς ἐπὶ
25 θάτερα ἡ ἔξοδος τοῦ περιττώματος τοῖς διθύροις. Καλεῖται
δ' ᾠὸν οὐκ ὀρθῶς ὑπὸ τῶν καλούντων· τοῦτο γάρ ἐστιν
οἷον τοῖς ἐναίμοις, ὅταν εὐθηνῶσιν, ἡ πιότης. Διὸ καὶ γίνεται
κατὰ τούτους τοὺς καιροὺς τοῦ ἐνιαυτοῦ, ἐν οἷς εὐθηνοῦσιν,
ἔν τε τῷ ἔαρι καὶ τῷ μετοπώρῳ. Ἐν γὰρ τῷ ψύχει καὶ ταῖς
30 ἀλέαις πονοῦσι πάντα τὰ ὀστρακόδερμα, καὶ φέρειν οὐ
δύνανται τὰς ὑπερβολάς. Σημεῖον δὲ τὸ συμβαῖνον ἐπὶ τῶν
ἐχίνων· εὐθύς τε γὰρ γινόμενοι ἔχουσι καὶ ἐν ταῖς πανσελήνοις
μᾶλλον, οὐ διὰ τὸ νέμεσθαι καθάπερ τινὲς οἴονται
μᾶλλον, ἀλλὰ διὰ τὸ ἀλεεινοτέρας εἶναι τὰς νύκτας διὰ τὸ
35 φῶς τῆς σελήνης. Δύσριγα γὰρ ὄντα διὰ τὸ ἄναιμα εἶναι
δέονται ἀλέας. Διὸ καὶ ἐν τῷ θέρει μᾶλλον πανταχοῦ εὐθηνοῦσιν,
πλὴν οἱ ἐν τῷ Πυρραίῳ εὐρίπῳ· ἐκεῖνοι δ' οὐχ ἧττον
1Peculiar among the Testacea are the sea-urchins and the animals known as Tethya (Ascidians). The sea-urchins have five teeth, and in the center of these the fleshy body which is common to all the animals we have been discussing. Immediately after this comes a gullet, and then the stomach, divided into a number of separate compartments, 5which look like so many distinct stomachs; for the cavities are separate and all contain abundant residual matter. They are all, however, connected with one and the same oesophagus, and they all end in one and the same excremental vent. There is nothing besides the stomach of a fleshy character, as has already been stated. All that can be seen are the so-called ova, of which there are several, contained each in a 10separate membrane, and certain black bodies which have no name, and which, beginning at the animal's mouth, are scattered round its body here and there promiscuously. These sea-urchins are not all of one species, but there are several different kinds, and in all of them the parts mentioned are to be found. It is not, however, in every kind that the so-called ova are edible. Neither do these attain to any size in 15any other species than that with which we are all familiar. A similar distinction may be made generally in the case of all Testacea. For there is a great difference in the edible qualities of the flesh of different kinds; and in some, moreover, the residual substance known as the mecon is good for food, while in others it is uneatable. This mecon in the turbinated genera is lodged in the spiral part of the shell, while 20in univalves, such as limpets, it occupies the fundus, and in bivalves is placed near the hinge, the so-called ovum lying on the right; while on the opposite side is the vent. The former is incorrectly termed ovum, for it merely corresponds to what in well-fed sanguineous animals is fat; and thus it is that it makes its appearance in Testacea at those seasons of the year when they are in good condition, namely, 25spring and autumn. For no Testacea can abide extremes of temperature, and they are therefore in evil plight in seasons of great cold or heat. This is clearly shown by what occurs in the case of the sea-urchins. For though the ova are to be found in these animals even directly they are born, yet they acquire a greater size than usual at the time of full moon; not, as some think, because sea-urchins eat more at that 30season, but because the nights are then warmer, owing to the moonlight. For these creatures are bloodless, and so are unable to stand cold and require warmth. Therefore it is that they are found in better condition in summer than at any other season; and this all over the world excepting in the Pyrrhean tidal strait. There the sea-urchins flourish as well in winter as in summer. But the reason for this is that they have 35a greater abundance of food in the winter, because the fish desert the strait at that season.
The number of the ova is the same in all sea-urchins, and is an odd one.
The number of the ova is the same in all sea-urchins, and is an odd one.
680b
1 τοῦ χειμῶνος. Αἴτιον δὲ τὸ νομῆς εὐπορεῖν τότε
μᾶλλον, ἀπολειπόντων τῶν ἰχθύων τοὺς τόπους κατὰ ταύτην
τὴν ὥραν. Ἔχουσι δ' οἱ ἐχῖνοι πάντες ἴσα τε τῷ ἀριθμῷ τὰ
ᾠὰ καὶ περιττά· πέντε γὰρ ἔχουσιν, τοσούτους δὲ καὶ τοὺς
5 ὀδόντας καὶ τὰς κοιλίας. Αἴτιον δ' ὅτι τὸ ᾠόν ἐστι,
καθάπερ εἴρηται πρότερον, οὐκ ᾠὸν ἀλλὰ τοῦ ζῴου εὐτροφία.
Γίνεται δὲ τοῦτο ἐπὶ θάτερα μόνον ἐν τοῖς ὀστρέοις, τὸ
καλούμενον ᾠόν. Ταὐτὸ δὲ τοῦτό ἐστι καὶ τὸ ἐν τοῖς ἐχίνοις.
Ἐπεὶ τοίνυν ἐστὶ σφαιροειδὴς ὁ ἐχῖνος, καὶ οὐχ ὥσπερ ἐπὶ
10 τῶν ἄλλων ὀστρέων τοῦ σώματος κύκλος εἷς, ὁ δ' ἐχῖνος
οὐ τῇ μὲν τοιοῦτος τῇ δ' οὔ, ἀλλὰ πάντῃ ὅμοιος (σφαιροειδὴς
γάρ), ἀνάγκη καὶ τὸ ᾠὸν ὁμοίως ἔχειν. Οὐ γάρ ἐστιν,
ὥσπερ τοῖς ἄλλοις, τὸ κύκλῳ ἀνόμοιον. Ἐν μέσῳ γὰρ ἡ
κεφαλὴ πᾶσιν αὐτοῖς· τὸ δ' ἄνω τὸ τοιοῦτον μόριον. Ἀλλὰ
15 μὴν οὐδὲ συνεχὲς οἷόν τ' εἶναι τὸ ᾠόν· οὐδὲ γὰρ τοῖς
ἄλλοις, ἀλλ' ἐπὶ θάτερα τοῦ κύκλου μόνον. Ἀνάγκη τοίνυν,
ἐπεὶ τοῦτο μὲν ἁπάντων κοινόν, ἴδιον δ' ἐκείνου εἶναι τὸ
σῶμα σφαιροειδές, μὴ εἶναι ἄρτια τὰ ᾠά. Κατὰ διάμετρον
γὰρ ἂν ἦν, διὰ τὸ ὁμοίως δεῖν ἔχειν τὸ ἔνθεν καὶ ἔνθεν, εἰ
20 ἦν ἄρτια καὶ κατὰ διάμετρον. Οὕτως δ' ἐχόντων ἐπ'
ἀμφότερα ἂν τοῦ κύκλου εἶχον τὸ ᾠόν. Τοῦτο δ' οὐκ ἦν οὐδ'
ἐπὶ τῶν ἄλλων ὀστρέων. Ἐπὶ θάτερα γὰρ τῆς περιφερείας
ἔχουσι τὰ ὄστρεα καὶ οἱ κτένες τὸ τοιοῦτον μόριον. Ἀνάγκη
τοίνυν τρία ἢ πέντε εἶναι ἢ ἄλλον τιν' ἀριθμὸν περιττόν. Εἰ
25 μὲν οὖν τρία εἶχε, πόρρω λίαν <ἂν> ἦν, εἰ δὲ πλείω τῶν
πέντε, συνεχὲς ἄν. Τούτων δὲ τὸ μὲν οὐ βέλτιον, τὸ δ' οὐκ
ἐνδεχόμενον. Ἀνάγκη ἄρα πέντ' αὐτοὺς ἔχειν τὰ ᾠά. Διὰ
τὴν αὐτὴν δ' αἰτίαν καὶ ἡ κοιλία τοιαύτη ἔσχισται καὶ τὸ
τῶν ὀδόντων τοσοῦτόν ἐστι πλῆθος. Ἕκαστον γὰρ τῶν ᾠῶν,
30 οἷον σῶμά τι τοῦ ζῴου ὄν, πρὸς τὸν τρόπον τὸν τῆς
ζωῆς ὅμοιον ἔχειν ἀναγκαῖον· ἐντεῦθεν γὰρ ἡ αὔξησις. Μιᾶς
μὲν γὰρ οὔσης ἢ πόρρω ἂν ἦσαν, ἢ πᾶν ἂν κατεῖχε τὸ κύτος,
ὥστε καὶ δυσκίνητον εἶναι τὸν ἐχῖνον καὶ μὴ πληροῦσθαι τῆς
τροφῆς τὸ ἀγγεῖον· πέντε δ' ὄντων τῶν διαλειμμάτων ἀνάγκη
35 πρὸς ἑκάστῳ οὖσαν πενταχῇ διῃρῆσθαι. Διὰ τὴν αὐτὴν
δ' αἰτίαν καὶ τὸ τῶν ὀδόντων ἐστὶ τοσοῦτον πλῆθος. Τὸ γὰρ
ὅμοιον οὕτως ἂν ἡ φύσις εἴη ἀποδεδωκυῖα τοῖς εἰρημένοις
1For there are five ova, just as there are also five teeth and five stomachs; and the explanation of this is to be found in the fact that the so-called ova are not really ova, but merely, as was said before, the result of the animal's well-fed condition. Oysters also have a so-called ovum, corresponding in character to that of the sea-urchins, 5but existing only on one side of their body. Now inasmuch as the sea-urchin is of a spherical form, and not merely a single disk like the oyster, and in virtue of its spherical shape is the same from whatever side it be examined, its ovum must necessarily be of a corresponding symmetry. For the spherical shape has not the asymmetry of the disk-shaped body of the oysters. For in all these animals the head is central, but 10in the sea-urchin the so-called ovum is above [and symmetrical, while in the oyster it is only one side]. Now the necessary symmetry would be observed were the ovum to form a continuous ring. But this may not be. For it would be in opposition to what prevails in the whole tribe of Testacea; for in all the ovum is discontinuous, and in all excepting the sea-urchins asymmetrical, being placed only on one side of the body. 15Owing then to this necessary discontinuity of the ovum, which belongs to the sea-urchin as a member of the class, and owing to the spherical shape of its body, which is its individual peculiarity, this animal cannot possibly have an even number of ova. For were they an even number, they would have to be arranged exactly opposite to each other, in pairs, so as to keep the necessary symmetry; one ovum of each pair being placed 20at one end, the other ovum at the other end of a transverse diameter. This again would violate the universal provision in Testacea. For both in the oysters and in the scallops we find the ovum only on one side of the circumference. The number then of the ova must be uneven, three for instance, or five. But if there were only three they would be much too far apart; while, if there were more than five, they would come to 25form a continuous mass. The former arrangement would be disadvantageous to the animal, the latter an impossibility. There can therefore be neither more nor less than five. For the same reason the stomach is divided into five parts, and there is a corresponding number of teeth. For seeing that the ova represent each of them a kind of body for the animal, their disposition must conform to that of the stomach, seeing that it is 30from this that they derive the material for their growth. Now if there were only one stomach, either the ova would be too far off from it, or it would be so big as to fill up the whole cavity, and the sea-urchin would have great difficulty in moving about and finding due nourishment for its repletion. As then there are five intervals between the five ova, so are there of necessity five divisions of the stomach, one for 35each interval. So also, and on like grounds, there are five teeth. For nature is thus enabled to allot to each stomachal compartment and ovum its separate and similar tooth.
681a
1 μορίοις. Διότι μὲν οὖν περιττὰ καὶ τοσαῦτα τὸν
ἀριθμὸν ἔχει ὁ ἐχῖνος τὰ ᾠά, εἴρηται· διότι δὲ οἱ μὲν
πάμπαν μικρὰ οἱ δὲ μεγάλα, αἴτιον τὸ θερμοτέρους εἶναι τὴν
φύσιν τούτους· πέττειν γὰρ τὸ θερμὸν δύναται τὴν τροφὴν
5 μᾶλλον, διόπερ περιττώματος πλήρεις οἱ ἄβρωτοι μᾶλλον.
Καὶ παρασκευάζει κινητικωτέρους ἡ τῆς φύσεως θερμότης,
ὥστε νέμεσθαι καὶ μὴ μένειν ἑδραίους. Σημεῖον δὲ τούτου τὸ
ἔχειν τοὺς τοιούτους ἀεί τι ἐπὶ τῶν ἀκανθῶν ὡς κινουμένους
πυκνά· χρῶνται γὰρ ποσὶ ταῖς ἀκάνθαις.
10 Τὰ δὲ τήθυα μικρὸν τῶν φυτῶν διαφέρει τὴν φύσιν,
ὅμως δὲ ζωτικώτερα τῶν σπόγγων· οὗτοι γὰρ πάμπαν ἔχουσι
φυτοῦ δύναμιν. Ἡ γὰρ φύσις μεταβαίνει συνεχῶς ἀπὸ τῶν
ἀψύχων εἰς τὰ ζῷα διὰ τῶν ζώντων μὲν οὐκ ὄντων δὲ ζῴων,
οὕτως ὥστε δοκεῖν πάμπαν μικρὸν διαφέρειν θατέρου θάτερον
15 τῷ σύνεγγυς ἀλλήλοις. Ὁ μὲν οὖν σπόγγος, ὥσπερ εἴρηται,
καὶ τῷ ζῆν προσπεφυκὼς μόνον, ἀπολυθεὶς δὲ μὴ ζῆν,
ὁμοίως ἔχει τοῖς φυτοῖς παντελῶς. Τὰ δὲ καλούμενα ὁλοθούρια
καὶ οἱ πλεύμονες, ἔτι δὲ καὶ ἕτερα τοιαῦτ' ἐν τῇ θαλάττῃ
μικρὸν διαφέρει τούτων τῷ ἀπολελύσθαι· αἴσθησιν μὲν γὰρ
20 οὐδεμίαν ἔχει, ζῇ δὲ ὥσπερ ὄντα φυτὰ ἀπολελυμένα. Ἔστι
δὲ καὶ ἐν τοῖς ἐπιγείοις φυτοῖς ἔνια τοιαῦτα, ἃ καὶ ζῇ καὶ
γίνεται τὰ μὲν ἐν ἑτέροις φυτοῖς, τὰ δὲ καὶ ἀπολελυμένα,
οἷον καὶ τὸ ἐκ τοῦ Παρνασσοῦ καλούμενον ὑπό τινων ἐπίπετρον·
τοῦτο γὰρ ζῇ πολὺν χρόνον κρεμάμενον ἄνω ἐπὶ τῶν
25 παττάλων. Ἔστι δ' ὅτε καὶ τὰ τήθυα, καὶ εἴ τι τοιοῦτον
ἕτερον γένος, τῷ μὲν προσπεφυκὸς ζῆν μόνον φυτῷ παραπλήσιον,
τῷ δ' ἔχειν τι σαρκῶδες δόξειεν ἂν ἔχειν τιν' αἴσθησιν·
ἄδηλον δὲ τοῦτο ποτέρως θετέον. Ἔχει δὲ τοῦτο τὸ
ζῷον δύο πόρους καὶ μίαν διαίρεσιν, ᾗ τε δέχεται τὴν
30 ὑγρότητα τὴν εἰς τροφήν, καὶ ᾗ πάλιν διαπέμπει τὴν
ὑπολειπομένην ἰκμάδα· περίττωμα γὰρ οὐδέν ἐστι δῆλον ἔχον,
ὥσπερ τἆλλα τὰ ὀστρακόδερμα. Διὸ μάλιστα καὶ τοῦτο, κἂν
εἴ τι ἄλλο τοιοῦτον τῶν ζῴων, φυτικὸν δίκαιον καλεῖν· οὐδὲ
γὰρ τῶν φυτῶν οὐδὲν ἔχει περίττωμα. Διὰ μέσου δὲ λεπτὸν
35 διάζωμα, ἐν ᾧ τὸ κύριον ὑπάρχειν εὔλογον τῆς ζωῆς.
Ἃς δὲ καλοῦσιν οἱ μὲν κνίδας οἱ δὲ ἀκαλήφας, ἔστι μὲν
1These, then, are the reasons why the number of ova in the sea-urchin is an odd one, and why that odd number is five. In some sea-urchins the ova are excessively small, in others of considerable size, the explanation being that the latter are of a warmer constitution, and so are able to concoct their food more thoroughly; while in the former 5concoction is less perfect, so that the stomach is found full of residual matter, while the ova are small and uneatable. Those of a warmer constitution are, moreover, in virtue of their warmth more given to motion, so that they make expeditions in search of food, instead of remaining stationary like the rest. As evidence of this, it will be found that they always have something or other sticking to their spines, as though they 10moved much about; for they use their spines as feet.
The Ascidians differ but slightly from plants, and yet have more of an animal nature than the sponges, which are virtually plants and nothing more. For nature passes from lifeless objects to animals in such unbroken sequence, interposing between them beings which live and yet are not animals, that scarcely any difference seems to exist between two neighbouring groups owing to 15their close proximity.
A sponge, then, as already said, in these respects completely resembles a plant, that throughout its life it is attached to a rock, and that when separated from this it dies. Slightly different from the sponges are the so-called Holothurias and the sea-lungs, as also sundry other sea-animals that resemble them. For these are free and unattached. Yet they have no feeling, and their life is simply that of a 20plant separated from the ground. For even among land-plants there are some that are independent of the soil, and that spring up and grow, either upon other plants, or even entirely free. Such, for example, is the plant which is found on Parnassus, and which some call the Epipetrum. This you may hang up on a peg and it will yet live for a considerable time. Sometimes it is a matter of doubt whether a given organism should be classed 25with plants or with animals. The Ascidians, for instance, and the like so far resemble plants as that they never live free and unattached, but, on the other hand, inasmuch as they have a certain flesh-like substance, they must be supposed to possess some degree of sensibility.
An Ascidian has a body divided by a single septum and with two orifices, one where it takes in the fluid matter that ministers to its nutrition, the 30other where it discharges the surplus of unused juice, for it has no visible residual substance, such as have the other Testacea. This is itself a very strong justification for considering an Ascidian, and anything else there may be among animals that resembles it, to be of a vegetable character; for plants also never have any residuum. Across the middle of the body of these Ascidians there runs a thin transverse partition, and 35here it is that we may reasonably suppose the part on which life depends to be situated.
The Ascidians differ but slightly from plants, and yet have more of an animal nature than the sponges, which are virtually plants and nothing more. For nature passes from lifeless objects to animals in such unbroken sequence, interposing between them beings which live and yet are not animals, that scarcely any difference seems to exist between two neighbouring groups owing to 15their close proximity.
A sponge, then, as already said, in these respects completely resembles a plant, that throughout its life it is attached to a rock, and that when separated from this it dies. Slightly different from the sponges are the so-called Holothurias and the sea-lungs, as also sundry other sea-animals that resemble them. For these are free and unattached. Yet they have no feeling, and their life is simply that of a 20plant separated from the ground. For even among land-plants there are some that are independent of the soil, and that spring up and grow, either upon other plants, or even entirely free. Such, for example, is the plant which is found on Parnassus, and which some call the Epipetrum. This you may hang up on a peg and it will yet live for a considerable time. Sometimes it is a matter of doubt whether a given organism should be classed 25with plants or with animals. The Ascidians, for instance, and the like so far resemble plants as that they never live free and unattached, but, on the other hand, inasmuch as they have a certain flesh-like substance, they must be supposed to possess some degree of sensibility.
An Ascidian has a body divided by a single septum and with two orifices, one where it takes in the fluid matter that ministers to its nutrition, the 30other where it discharges the surplus of unused juice, for it has no visible residual substance, such as have the other Testacea. This is itself a very strong justification for considering an Ascidian, and anything else there may be among animals that resembles it, to be of a vegetable character; for plants also never have any residuum. Across the middle of the body of these Ascidians there runs a thin transverse partition, and 35here it is that we may reasonably suppose the part on which life depends to be situated.
681b
1 οὐκ ὀστρακόδερμα, ἀλλ' ἔξω πίπτει τῶν διῃρημένων
γενῶν, ἐπαμφοτερίζει δὲ τοῦτο καὶ φυτῷ καὶ ζῴῳ τὴν φύσιν.
Τῷ μὲν γὰρ ἀπολύεσθαι καὶ προσπίπτειν πρὸς τὴν τροφὴν
ἐνίας αὐτῶν ζῳϊκόν ἐστι, καὶ τῷ αἰσθάνεσθαι τῶν προςπιπτόντων.
5 Ἔτι δὲ καὶ τῇ τοῦ σώματος τραχύτητι χρῆται
πρὸς τὴν σωτηρίαν· τῷ δ' ἀτελὲς εἶναι καὶ προσφύεσθαι ταχέως
ταῖς πέτραις τῷ γένει τῶν φυτῶν παραπλήσιον, καὶ τῷ
περίττωμα μηδὲν ἔχειν φανερόν, στόμα δ' ἔχειν. Ὅμοιον δὲ
τούτῳ καὶ τὸ τῶν ἀστέρων ἐστὶ γένος· καὶ γὰρ τοῦτο προςπῖπτον
10 ἐκχυμίζει πολλὰ τῶν ὀστρέων, τοῖς τ' ἀπολελυμένοις
τῶν εἰρημένων ζῴων, οἷον τοῖς τε μαλακίοις καὶ τοῖς
μαλακοστράκοις. Ὁ δ' αὐτὸς λόγος καὶ περὶ τῶν ὀστρακοδέρμων.
Τὰ μὲν οὖν μόρια τὰ περὶ τὴν τροφήν, ἅπερ ἀναγκαῖον
πᾶσιν ὑπάρχειν, ἔχει τὸν προειρημένον τρόπον, δεῖ δὲ
15 δηλονότι καὶ τῶν τοῖς ἐναίμοις ὑπαρχόντων κατὰ τὸ κύριον
τῶν αἰσθήσεων ἔχειν ἀνάλογόν τι μόριον· τοῦτο γὰρ δεῖ πᾶσιν
ὑπάρχειν τοῖς ζῴοις. Ἔστι δὲ τοῦτο τοῖς μὲν μαλακίοις ἐν
ὑμένι κείμενον ὑγρόν, δι' οὗπερ ὁ στόμαχος τέταται κατὰ τὴν
κοιλίαν, προσπέφυκε δὲ πρὸς τὰ πρανῆ μᾶλλον, καὶ καλεῖται
20 μύτις ὑπό τινων. Τοιοῦτον δ' ἕτερον καὶ τοῖς μαλακοστράκοις
ἐστί, καὶ καλεῖται κἀκεῖνο μύτις. Ἔστι δ' ὑγρὸν καὶ
σωματῶδες ἅμα τοῦτο τὸ μόριον, τείνει δὲ δι' αὐτοῦ, καθάπερ
εἴρηται, διὰ μέσου μὲν ὁ στόμαχος. Εἰ γὰρ ἦν μεταξὺ
τούτου καὶ τοῦ πρανοῦς, οὐκ ἂν ἠδύνατο λαμβάνειν ὁμοίως
25 διάστασιν εἰσιούσης τροφῆς διὰ τὴν τοῦ νώτου σκληρότητα.
Ἐπὶ δὲ τῆς μύτιδος τὸ ἔντερον ἔξωθεν, καὶ ὁ θολὸς
πρὸς τῷ ἐντέρῳ, ὅπως ὅτι πλεῖστον ἀπέχῃ τῆς εἰσόδου καὶ
τὸ δυσχερὲς ἄποθεν ᾖ τοῦ βελτίονος καὶ τῆς ἀρχῆς. Ὅτι δ'
ἐστὶ τὸ ἀνάλογον τῇ καρδίᾳ τοῦτο τὸ μόριον, δηλοῖ ὁ τόπος
30 (οὗτος γάρ ἐστιν ὁ αὐτός) καὶ ἡ γλυκύτης τῆς ὑγρότητος,
ὡς οὖσα πεπεμμένη καὶ αἱματώδης. Ἐν δὲ τοῖς ὀστρακοδέρμοις
ἔχει μὲν τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον τὸ κύριον τῆς αἰσθήσεως,
ἧττον δ' ἐπίδηλον. Πλὴν δεῖ ζητεῖν ἀεὶ περὶ μεσότητα
ταύτην τὴν ἀρχήν, ὅσα μὲν μόνιμα, τοῦ δεχομένου μορίου
35 τὴν τροφήν, καὶ δι' οὗ ποιεῖται τὴν ἀπόκρισιν ἢ τὴν
σπερματικὴν ἢ τὴν περιττωματικήν, ὅσα δὲ καὶ πορευτικὰ
1The Acalephae, or Sea-nettles, as they are variously called, are not Testacea at all, but lie outside the recognized groups. Their constitution, like that of the Ascidians, approximates them on one side to plants, on the other to animals. For seeing that some of them can detach themselves and can fasten upon their food, and that they are sensible of objects 5which come in contact with them, they must be considered to have an animal nature. The like conclusion follows from their using the asperity of their bodies as a protection against their enemies. But, on the other hand, they are closely allied to plants, firstly by the imperfection of their structure, secondly by their being able to attach themselves to the rocks, which they do with great rapidity, and lastly by their having no visible residuum 10notwithstanding that they possess a mouth.
Very similar again to the Acalephae are the Starfishes. For these also fasten on their prey, and suck out its juices, and thus destroy a vast number of oysters. At the same time they present a certain resemblance to such of the animals we have described as the Cephalopoda and Crustacea, inasmuch as they are free and unattached. The same may also be said of the Testacea.
Such, then, is the structure of the 15parts that minister to nutrition and which every animal must possess. But besides these organs it is quite plain that in every animal there must be some part or other which shall be analogous to what in sanguineous animals is the presiding seat of sensation. Whether an animal has or has not blood, it cannot possibly be without this. In the Cephalopoda this part consists of a fluid substance contained in a membrane, through which runs the gullet on 20its way to the stomach. It is attached to the body rather towards its dorsal surface, and by some is called the mytis. Just such another organ is found also in the Crustacea and there too is known by the same name. This part is at once fluid and corporeal and, as before said, is traversed by the gullet. For had the gullet been placed between the mytis and the dorsal surface of the animal, the hardness of the back would have interfered with its 25due dilatation in the act of deglutition. On the outer surface of the mytis runs the intestine; and in contact with this latter is placed the ink-bag, so that it may be removed as far as possible from the mouth and its obnoxious fluid be kept at a distance from the nobler and sovereign part. The position of the mytis shows that it corresponds to the heart of sanguineous animals; for it occupies the self-same place. The same is shown by the sweetness 30of its fluid, which has the character of concocted matter and resembles blood.
In the Testacea the presiding seat of sensation is in a corresponding position, but is less easily made out. It should, however, always be looked for in some midway position; namely, in such Testacea as are stationary, midway between the part by which food is taken in and the channel through which either the excrement or the spermatic fluid is voided, and, in those 35species which are capable of locomotion, invariably midway between the right and left sides.
Very similar again to the Acalephae are the Starfishes. For these also fasten on their prey, and suck out its juices, and thus destroy a vast number of oysters. At the same time they present a certain resemblance to such of the animals we have described as the Cephalopoda and Crustacea, inasmuch as they are free and unattached. The same may also be said of the Testacea.
Such, then, is the structure of the 15parts that minister to nutrition and which every animal must possess. But besides these organs it is quite plain that in every animal there must be some part or other which shall be analogous to what in sanguineous animals is the presiding seat of sensation. Whether an animal has or has not blood, it cannot possibly be without this. In the Cephalopoda this part consists of a fluid substance contained in a membrane, through which runs the gullet on 20its way to the stomach. It is attached to the body rather towards its dorsal surface, and by some is called the mytis. Just such another organ is found also in the Crustacea and there too is known by the same name. This part is at once fluid and corporeal and, as before said, is traversed by the gullet. For had the gullet been placed between the mytis and the dorsal surface of the animal, the hardness of the back would have interfered with its 25due dilatation in the act of deglutition. On the outer surface of the mytis runs the intestine; and in contact with this latter is placed the ink-bag, so that it may be removed as far as possible from the mouth and its obnoxious fluid be kept at a distance from the nobler and sovereign part. The position of the mytis shows that it corresponds to the heart of sanguineous animals; for it occupies the self-same place. The same is shown by the sweetness 30of its fluid, which has the character of concocted matter and resembles blood.
In the Testacea the presiding seat of sensation is in a corresponding position, but is less easily made out. It should, however, always be looked for in some midway position; namely, in such Testacea as are stationary, midway between the part by which food is taken in and the channel through which either the excrement or the spermatic fluid is voided, and, in those 35species which are capable of locomotion, invariably midway between the right and left sides.
682a
1 τῶν ζῴων, ἀεὶ τῷ μέσῳ τῶν δεξιῶν καὶ τῶν ἀριςτερῶν.
Τοῖς δ' ἐντόμοις τὸ μὲν τῆς τοιαύτης ἀρχῆς μόριον, ὥσπερ
ἐν τοῖς πρώτοις ἐλέχθη λόγοις, μεταξὺ κεφαλῆς καὶ τοῦ
περὶ τὴν κοιλίαν ἐστὶ κύτους. Τοῦτο δὲ τοῖς μὲν πολλοῖς ἐστιν
5 ἕν, τοῖς δὲ πλείω, καθάπερ τοῖς ἰουλώδεσι καὶ μακροῖς·
διόπερ διατεμνόμενα ζῇ. Βούλεται μὲν γὰρ ἡ φύσις ἐν πᾶσι
μόνον ἓν ποιεῖν τὸ τοιοῦτον, οὐ δυναμένη δ' ἐνεργείᾳ ποιεῖ
μόνον ἕν, δυνάμει δὲ πλείω· δῆλον δ' ἐν ἑτέροις ἑτέρων μᾶλλον.
Τὰ δὲ πρὸς τὴν τροφὴν μόρια οὐ πᾶσιν ὁμοίως, ἀλλὰ
10 διαφορὰν ἔχει πολλήν. Ἐντὸς γὰρ τοῦ στόματος ἐνίοις
μέν ἐστι τὸ καλούμενον κέντρον, ὡσπερανεὶ σύνθετον καὶ
ἔχον γλώττης καὶ χειλῶν ἅμα δύναμιν. Τοῖς δὲ μὴ ἔχουσιν
ἔμπροσθεν τὸ κέντρον ἐστὶν ἐντὸς τῶν ὀδόντων τοιοῦτον
αἰσθητήριον. Τούτου δ' ἐχόμενον πᾶσιν ἔντερον εὐθὺ καὶ
15 ἁπλοῦν μέχρι τῆς ἐξόδου τοῦ περιττώματος· ἐνίοις δὲ
τοῦτο ἑλίκην ἔχει. Τὰ δὲ κοιλίαν μετὰ τὸ στόμα, ἀπὸ δὲ τῆς
κοιλίας τὸ ἔντερον εἱλιγμένον, ὅπως ὅσα βρωτικώτερα καὶ
μείζω τὴν φύσιν, ὑποδοχὴν ἔχῃ πλείονος τροφῆς. Τὸ δὲ τῶν
τεττίγων γένος ἰδίαν ἔχει μάλιστα τούτων φύσιν· τὸ γὰρ
20 αὐτὸ μόριον ἔχει στόμα καὶ γλῶτταν συμπεφυκός, δι' οὗ
καθαπερεὶ διὰ ῥίζης δέχεται τὴν τροφὴν ἀπὸ τῶν ὑγρῶν·
Πάντα μὲν οὖν ἐστιν ὀλιγότροφα τὰ ἔντομα τῶν ζῴων, οὐχ
οὕτω διὰ μικρότητα ὡς διὰ ψυχρότητα (τὸ γὰρ θερμὸν καὶ
δεῖται τροφῆς καὶ πέττει τὴν τροφὴν ταχέως, τὸ δὲ ψυχρὸν
25 ἄτροφον), μάλιστα δὲ τὸ τῶν τεττίγων γένος. Ἱκανὴ γὰρ
τροφὴ τῷ σώματι ἡ ἐκ τοῦ σώματος ὑπομένουσα ὑγρότης,
καθάπερ τοῖς ἐφημέροις ζῴοις (γίνεται δὲ ταῦτα περὶ τὸν
Πόντον), πλὴν ἐκεῖνα μὲν ζῇ μιᾶς ἡμέρας χρόνον, ταῦτα δὲ
πλειόνων μὲν ἡμερῶν, ὀλίγων δὲ τούτων.
30 Ἐπεὶ δὲ περὶ τῶν ἐντὸς ὑπαρχόντων μορίων τοῖς ζῴοις
εἴρηται, πάλιν περὶ τῶν λοιπῶν τῶν ἐκτὸς ἐπανιτέον.
Ἀρκτέον δ' ἀπὸ τῶν νῦν εἰρημένων, ἀλλ' οὐκ ἀφ' ὧν ἀπελίπομεν,
ὅπως ἀπὸ τούτων διατριβὴν ἐλάττω ἐχόντων ἐπὶ
τῶν τελείων καὶ ἐναίμων ζῴων ὁ λόγος σχολάζῃ μᾶλλον.
1In Insects this organ, which is the seat of sensation, lies, as was stated in the first treatise, between the head and the cavity which contains the stomach. In most of them it consists of a single part; but in others, for instance in such as have long bodies and resemble the Juli (Millipedes), it is made up of several parts, so 5that such insects continue to live after they have been cut in pieces. For the aim of nature is to give to each animal only one such dominant part; and when she is unable to carry out this intention she causes the parts, though potentially many, to work together actually as one. This is much more clearly marked in some insects than in others.
The parts concerned in nutrition are not alike in all insects, but 10show considerable diversity. Thus some have what is called a sting in the mouth, which is a kind of compound instrument that combines in itself the character of a tongue and of lips. In others that have no such instrument in front there is a part inside the mouth that answers the same sensory purposes. Immediately after the mouth comes the intestine, which is never wanting in any insect. This runs in a straight 15line and without further complication to the vent; occasionally, however, it has a spiral coil. There are, moreover, some insects in which a stomach succeeds to the mouth, and is itself succeeded by a convoluted intestine, so that the larger and more voracious insects may be enabled to take in a more abundant supply of food. More curious than any are the Cicadae. For here the mouth and the tongue are united 20so as to form a single part, through which, as through a root, the insect sucks up the fluids on which it lives. Insects are always small eaters, not so much because of their diminutive size as because of their cold temperament. For it is heat which requires sustenance; just as it is heat which speedily concocts it. But cold requires no sustenance. In no insects is this so conspicuous as in these Cicadae. For 25they find enough to live on in the moisture which is deposited from the air. So also do the Ephemera that are found about the Black sea. But while these latter only live for a single day, the Cicadae subsist on such food for several days, though still not many.
We have now done with the internal parts of animals, and must therefore return to the consideration of the external parts which have not yet been described. 30It will be better to change our order of exposition and begin with the animals we have just been describing, so that proceeding from these, which require less discussion, our account may have more time to spend on the perfect kinds of animals, those namely that have blood.
The parts concerned in nutrition are not alike in all insects, but 10show considerable diversity. Thus some have what is called a sting in the mouth, which is a kind of compound instrument that combines in itself the character of a tongue and of lips. In others that have no such instrument in front there is a part inside the mouth that answers the same sensory purposes. Immediately after the mouth comes the intestine, which is never wanting in any insect. This runs in a straight 15line and without further complication to the vent; occasionally, however, it has a spiral coil. There are, moreover, some insects in which a stomach succeeds to the mouth, and is itself succeeded by a convoluted intestine, so that the larger and more voracious insects may be enabled to take in a more abundant supply of food. More curious than any are the Cicadae. For here the mouth and the tongue are united 20so as to form a single part, through which, as through a root, the insect sucks up the fluids on which it lives. Insects are always small eaters, not so much because of their diminutive size as because of their cold temperament. For it is heat which requires sustenance; just as it is heat which speedily concocts it. But cold requires no sustenance. In no insects is this so conspicuous as in these Cicadae. For 25they find enough to live on in the moisture which is deposited from the air. So also do the Ephemera that are found about the Black sea. But while these latter only live for a single day, the Cicadae subsist on such food for several days, though still not many.
We have now done with the internal parts of animals, and must therefore return to the consideration of the external parts which have not yet been described. 30It will be better to change our order of exposition and begin with the animals we have just been describing, so that proceeding from these, which require less discussion, our account may have more time to spend on the perfect kinds of animals, those namely that have blood.
Book 4,Chapter 6 (682a35–683b3)
35 Τὰ μὲν οὖν ἔντομα τῶν ζῴων οὐ πολυμερῆ μὲν τὸν
ἀριθμόν ἐστιν, ὅμως δ' ἔχει καὶ πρὸς ἄλληλα διαφοράς.
Πολύποδα μὲν γάρ ἐστι πάντα διὰ τὸ πρὸς τὴν βραδυτῆτα
We will begin with Insects. These animals, though they present no great multiplicity of parts, are not without diversities when compared 35with each other. They are all manyfooted; the object of this being to compensate their natural slowness and frigidity, and give greater activity to their motions.
682b
1 καὶ κατάψυξιν τῆς φύσεως τὴν πολυποδίαν ἀνυτικωτέραν
αὐτοῖς ποιεῖν τὴν κίνησιν· καὶ μάλιστα πολύποδα τὰ
μάλιστα κατεψυγμένα διὰ τὸ μῆκος, οἷον τὸ τῶν ἰούλων
γένος. Ἔτι δὲ διὰ τὸ ἀρχὰς ἔχειν πλείονας αἵ τ' ἐντομαί
5 εἰσι καὶ πολύποδα κατὰ ταῦτ' ἐστίν. Ὅσα δ' ἐλάττονας
ἔχει πόδας, πτηνὰ ταῦτ' ἐστὶ πρὸς τὴν ἔλλειψιν τὴν τῶν
ποδῶν. Αὐτῶν δὲ τῶν πτηνῶν ὧν μέν ἐστιν ὁ βίος νομαδικὸς
καὶ διὰ τὴν τροφὴν ἀναγκαῖον ἐκτοπίζειν, τετράπτερά τέ
ἐστι καὶ τὸν τοῦ σώματος ἔχει κοῦφον ὄγκον, οἷον αἵ τε
10 μέλιτται καὶ τὰ σύμφυλα ζῷα ταύταις· δύο γὰρ ἐφ' ἑκάτερα
πτερὰ τοῦ σώματος ἔχουσιν. Ὅσα δὲ μικρὰ τῶν τοιούτων,
δίπτερα, καθάπερ τὸ τῶν μυιῶν γένος. Τὰ δὲ βραχέα
καὶ τοῖς βίοις ἑδραῖα πολύπτερα μὲν ὁμοίως ταῖς μελίτταις
ἐστίν, ἔχει δ' ἔλυτρα τοῖς πτεροῖς, οἷον αἵ τε μηλολόνθαι
15 καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα τῶν ἐντόμων, ὅπως σῴζῃ τὴν τῶν πτερῶν
δύναμιν. Ἑδραίων γὰρ ὄντων εὐδιάφθορα μᾶλλόν ἐστι τῶν
εὐκινήτων, διόπερ ἔχει φραγμὸν πρὸ αὐτῶν. Καὶ ἄσχιστον δὲ
τούτων ἐστὶ τὸ πτερὸν καὶ ἄκαυλον· οὐ γάρ ἐστι πτερὸν ἀλλ'
ὑμὴν δερματικός, ὃς διὰ ξηρότητα ἐξ ἀνάγκης ἀφίσταται
20 τοῦ σώματος αὐτῶν ψυχομένου τοῦ σαρκώδους.
Ἔντομα δ' ἐστὶ διά τε τὰς εἰρημένας αἰτίας, καὶ ὅπως
σῴζηται δι' ἀπάθειαν συγκαμπτόμενα· συνελίττεται γὰρ τὰ
μῆκος ἔχοντ' αὐτῶν, τοῦτο δ' οὐκ ἂν ἐγίνετ' αὐτοῖς μὴ
οὖσιν ἐντόμοις. Τὰ δὲ μὴ ἑλικτὰ αὐτῶν σκληρύνεται μᾶλλον
25 συνιόντα ἐς τὰς τομάς. Δῆλον δὲ τοῦτο γίνεται θιγγανόντων,
οἷον ἐπὶ τῶν καλουμένων κανθάρων· φοβηθέντα γὰρ
ἀκινητίζει, καὶ τὸ σῶμα γίνεται σκληρὸν αὐτοῖς. Ἀναγκαῖον
δ' ἐντόμοις αὐτοῖς εἶναι· τοῦτο γὰρ ἐν τῇ οὐσίᾳ αὐτῶν
ὑπάρχει τὸ πολλὰς ἔχειν ἀρχάς, καὶ ταύτῃ προσέοικε τοῖς
30 φυτοῖς. Ὥσπερ γὰρ τὰ φυτά, καὶ ταῦτα διαιρούμενα
δύναται ζῆν, πλὴν ταῦτα μὲν μέχρι τινός, ἐκεῖνα δὲ καὶ
τέλεια γίνεται τὴν φύσιν καὶ δύο ἐξ ἑνὸς καὶ πλείω τὸν ἀριθμόν.
Ἔχει δ' ἔνια τῶν ἐντόμων καὶ κέντρα πρὸς βοήθειαν τῶν
βλαπτόντων. Τὸ μὲν οὖν κέντρον τοῖς μὲν ἔμπροσθέν ἐστι
35 τοῖς δ' ὄπισθεν, τοῖς μὲν ἔμπροσθεν κατὰ τὴν γλῶτταν,
τοῖς δ' ὄπισθεν κατὰ τὸ οὐραῖον. Ὥσπερ γὰρ τοῖς ἐλέφασι τὸ
τῶν ὀσμῶν αἰσθητήριον γεγένηται χρήσιμον πρός τε τὴν
1Accordingly we find that those which, as the (Millipedes), have long bodies, and are therefore the most liable to refrigeration, have also the greatest number of feet. Again, the body in these animals is insected-the reason for this being that they have not got one vital center but many-and the number of their feet corresponds to that of the 5insections.
Should the feet fall short of this, their deficiency is compensated by the power of flight. Of such flying insects some live a wandering life, and are forced to make long expeditions in search of food. These have a body of light weight, and four feathers, two on either side, to support it. Such are bees and the insects akin to them. When, however, such insects are of very small bulk, their feathers are reduced to two, as is 10the case with flies. Insects with heavy bodies and of stationary habits, though not polypterous in the same way as bees, yet have sheaths to their feathers to maintain their efficiency. Such are the Melolonthae and the like. For their stationary habits expose their feathers to much greater risks than are run by those of insects that are more constantly in flight, and on this account they are provided with this protecting shield. 15The feather of an insect has neither barbs nor shaft. For, though it is called a feather, it is no feather at all, but merely a skin-like membrane that, owing to its dryness, necessarily becomes detached from the surface of the body, as the fleshy substance grows cold.
These animals then have their bodies insected, not only for the reasons already assigned, but also to enable them to curl round in such a manner as may protect them 20from injury; for such insects as have long bodies can roll themselves up, which would be impossible were it not for the insections; and those that cannot do this can yet draw their segments up into the insected spaces, and so increase the hardness of their bodies. This can be felt quite plainly by putting the finger on one of the insects, for instance, known as Canthari. The touch frightens the insect, and it remains motionless, 25while its body becomes hard. The division of the body into segments is also a necessary result of there being several supreme organs in place of one; and this again is a part of the essential constitution of insects, and is a character which approximates them to plants. For as plants, though cut into pieces, can still live, so also can insects. There is, however, this difference between the two cases, that the portions of the divided 30insect live only for a limited time, whereas the portions of the plant live on and attain the perfect form of the whole, so that from one single plant you may obtain two or more.
Some insects are also provided with another means of protection against their enemies, namely a sting. In some this is in front, connected with the tongue, in others behind at the posterior end. For just as the organ of smell in elephants answers several 35uses, serving alike as a weapon and for purposes of nutrition, so does also the sting, when placed in connexion with the tongue, as in some insects, answer more than one end.
Should the feet fall short of this, their deficiency is compensated by the power of flight. Of such flying insects some live a wandering life, and are forced to make long expeditions in search of food. These have a body of light weight, and four feathers, two on either side, to support it. Such are bees and the insects akin to them. When, however, such insects are of very small bulk, their feathers are reduced to two, as is 10the case with flies. Insects with heavy bodies and of stationary habits, though not polypterous in the same way as bees, yet have sheaths to their feathers to maintain their efficiency. Such are the Melolonthae and the like. For their stationary habits expose their feathers to much greater risks than are run by those of insects that are more constantly in flight, and on this account they are provided with this protecting shield. 15The feather of an insect has neither barbs nor shaft. For, though it is called a feather, it is no feather at all, but merely a skin-like membrane that, owing to its dryness, necessarily becomes detached from the surface of the body, as the fleshy substance grows cold.
These animals then have their bodies insected, not only for the reasons already assigned, but also to enable them to curl round in such a manner as may protect them 20from injury; for such insects as have long bodies can roll themselves up, which would be impossible were it not for the insections; and those that cannot do this can yet draw their segments up into the insected spaces, and so increase the hardness of their bodies. This can be felt quite plainly by putting the finger on one of the insects, for instance, known as Canthari. The touch frightens the insect, and it remains motionless, 25while its body becomes hard. The division of the body into segments is also a necessary result of there being several supreme organs in place of one; and this again is a part of the essential constitution of insects, and is a character which approximates them to plants. For as plants, though cut into pieces, can still live, so also can insects. There is, however, this difference between the two cases, that the portions of the divided 30insect live only for a limited time, whereas the portions of the plant live on and attain the perfect form of the whole, so that from one single plant you may obtain two or more.
Some insects are also provided with another means of protection against their enemies, namely a sting. In some this is in front, connected with the tongue, in others behind at the posterior end. For just as the organ of smell in elephants answers several 35uses, serving alike as a weapon and for purposes of nutrition, so does also the sting, when placed in connexion with the tongue, as in some insects, answer more than one end.
683a
1 ἀλκὴν καὶ τὴν τῆς τροφῆς χρῆσιν, οὕτως τῶν ἐντόμων
ἐνίοις τὸ κατὰ τὴν γλῶτταν τεταγμένον· αἰσθάνονταί
τε γὰρ τούτῳ τῆς τροφῆς καὶ ἀναλαμβάνουσι καὶ προσάγονται
αὐτήν. Ὅσα δὲ μὴ ἔστιν αὐτῶν ἐμπροσθόκεντρα, ὀδόντας
5 ἔχει τὰ μὲν ἐδωδῆς χάριν, τὰ δὲ τοῦ λαμβάνειν καὶ προσάγεσθαι
τὴν τροφήν, οἷον οἵ τε μύρμηκες καὶ τὸ τῶν μελιττῶν
πασῶν γένος. Ὅσα δὲ ὀπισθόκεντρά ἐστι, διὰ τὸ θυμὸν ἔχειν
ὅπλον ἔχει τὸ κέντρον. Ἔχουσι δὲ τὰ μὲν ἐν ἑαυτοῖς τὰ
κέντρα, καθάπερ αἱ μέλιτται καὶ οἱ σφῆκες, διὰ τὸ πτηνὰ
10 εἶναι. Λεπτὰ μὲν γὰρ ὄντα καὶ ἔξω εὔφθαρτα <ἂν> ἦν. Εἰ
δ' ἀπεῖχεν ὥσπερ τοῖς σκορπίοις, βάρος ἂν παρεῖχεν. Τοῖς δὲ
σκορπίοις πεζοῖς οὖσι καὶ κέρκον ἔχουσιν ἀναγκαῖον ἐπὶ ταύτῃ
ἔχειν τὸ κέντρον, ἢ μηθὲν χρήσιμον εἶναι πρὸς τὴν ἀλκήν.
Δίπτερον δ' οὐθέν ἐστιν ὀπισθόκεντρον. Διὰ τὸ ἀσθενῆ γὰρ
15 καὶ μικρὰ εἶναι δίπτερά ἐστιν· ἱκανὰ γὰρ τὰ μικρὰ αἴρεσθαι
ὑπὸ τῶν ἐλαττόνων τὸν ἀριθμόν. Διὰ ταὐτὸ δὲ τοῦτο καὶ
ἔμπροσθεν ἔχει τὸ κέντρον· ἀσθενῆ γὰρ ὄντα μόλις δύναται
τοῖς ἔμπροσθεν τύπτειν. Τὰ δὲ πολύπτερα, διὰ τὸ μείζω τὴν
φύσιν εἶναι, πλειόνων τετύχηκε πτερῶν καὶ ἰσχύει τοῖς
20 ὄπισθεν μορίοις. Βέλτιον δ' ἐνδεχομένου μὴ ταὐτὸ ὄργανον
ἐπὶ ἀνομοίας ἔχειν χρήσεις, ἀλλὰ τὸ μὲν ἀμυντικὸν ὀξύτατον,
τὸ δὲ γλωττικὸν σομφὸν καὶ σπαστικὸν τῆς τροφῆς. Ὅπου
γὰρ ἐνδέχεται χρῆσθαι δυσὶν ἐπὶ δύ' ἔργα καὶ μὴ ἐμποδίζειν
πρὸς ἕτερον, οὐδὲν ἡ φύσις εἴωθε ποιεῖν ὥσπερ ἡ χαλκευτικὴ
25 πρὸς εὐτέλειαν ὀβελισκολύχνιον. Ἀλλ' ὅπου μὴ ἐνδέχεται,
καταχρῆται τῷ αὐτῷ ἐπὶ πλείω ἔργα. Τοὺς δὲ πόδας τοὺς προσθίους μείζους ἔνια τούτων ἔχει,
ὅπως ἐπειδὴ διὰ τὸ σκληρόφθαλμα εἶναι οὐκ ἀκριβῆ τὴν ὄψιν
ἔχουσι, τὰ προσπίπτοντα τοῖς προσθίοις ἀποκαθαίρωσι σκέλεσιν·
ὅπερ καὶ φαίνονται ποιοῦσαι αἵ τε μυῖαι καὶ τὰ μελιττώδη
30 τῶν ζῴων· ἀεὶ γὰρ χαρακίζουσι τοῖς προσθίοις σκέλεσιν.
Τὰ δ' ὀπίσθια μείζω τῶν μέσων διά τε τὴν βάδισιν καὶ
πρὸς τὸ αἴρεσθαι ῥᾷον ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς ἀναπετόμενα. Ὅσα δὲ
πηδητικὰ αὐτῶν, ἔτι μᾶλλον τοῦτο φανερόν, οἷον αἵ τ'
ἀκρίδες καὶ τὸ τῶν ψυλλῶν γένος· ὅταν γὰρ κάμψαντ' ἐκτείνῃ
35 πάλιν, ἀναγκαῖον ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς ἦρθαι. Οὐκ ἔμπροσθεν δ'
ἀλλ' ὄπισθεν μόνον ἔχουσι τὰ πηδαλιώδη αἱ ἀκρίδες.
1For it is the instrument through which they derive their sensations of food, as well as that with which they suck it up and bring it to the mouth. Such of these insects as have no anterior sting are provided with teeth, which serve in some of them for biting the food, and in others for its prehension and conveyance to the mouth. Such are their 5uses, for instance, in ants and all the various kinds of bees. As for the insects that have a sting behind, this weapon is given them because they are of a fierce disposition. In some of them the sting is lodged inside the body, in bees, for example, and wasps. For these insects are made for flight, and were their sting external and of delicate make it would soon get spoiled; and if, on the other hand, it were of thicker build, 10as in scorpions, its weight would be an incumbrance. As for scorpions that live on the ground and have a tail, their sting must be set upon this, as otherwise it would be of no use as a weapon. Dipterous insects never have a posterior sting. For the very reason of their being dipterous is that they are small and weak, and therefore require no more than two feathers to support their light weight; and the same reason which 15reduces their feathers to two causes their sting to be in front; for their strength is not sufficient to allow them to strike efficiently with the hinder part of the body. Polypterous insects, on the other hand, are of greater bulk-indeed it is this which causes them to have so many feathers; and their greater size makes them stronger in their hinder parts. The sting of such insects is therefore placed behind. Now it is better, when 20possible, that one and the same instrument shall not be made to serve several dissimilar uses; but that there shall be one organ to serve as a weapon, which can then be very sharp, and a distinct one to serve as a tongue, which can then be of spongy texture and fit to absorb nutriment. Whenever, therefore, nature is able to provide two separate instruments for two separate uses, without the one hampering the other, she does 25so, instead of acting like a coppersmith who for cheapness makes a spit and lampholder in one. It is only when this is impossible that she uses one organ for several functions.
The anterior legs are in some cases longer than the others, that they may serve to wipe away any foreign matter that may lodge on the insect's eyes and obstruct its sight, which already is not very distinct owing to the eyes being made of a hard substance. 30Flies and bees and the like may be constantly seen thus dressing themselves with crossed forelegs. Of the other legs, the hinder are bigger than the middle pair, both to aid in running and also that the insect, when it takes flight, may spring more easily from the ground. This difference is still more marked in such insects as leap, in locusts for instance, and in the various kinds of fleas. For these first bend and then extend 35the legs, and, by doing so, are necessarily shot up from the ground. It is only the.
The anterior legs are in some cases longer than the others, that they may serve to wipe away any foreign matter that may lodge on the insect's eyes and obstruct its sight, which already is not very distinct owing to the eyes being made of a hard substance. 30Flies and bees and the like may be constantly seen thus dressing themselves with crossed forelegs. Of the other legs, the hinder are bigger than the middle pair, both to aid in running and also that the insect, when it takes flight, may spring more easily from the ground. This difference is still more marked in such insects as leap, in locusts for instance, and in the various kinds of fleas. For these first bend and then extend 35the legs, and, by doing so, are necessarily shot up from the ground. It is only the.
683b
1 Τὴν γὰρ καμπὴν ἀναγκαῖον εἴσω κεκλάσθαι, τῶν δὲ
προσθίων κώλων οὐδέν ἐστι τοιοῦτον. Ἑξάποδα δὲ τὰ τοιαῦτα
πάντ' ἐστὶ σὺν τοῖς ἁλτικοῖς μορίοις.
1hind legs of locusts, and not the front ones, that resemble the steering oars of a ship. For this requires that the joint shall be deflected inwards, and such is never the case with the anterior limbs. The whole number of legs, including those used in leaping, is six in all these insects.
Book 4,Chapter 7 (683b4–24)
Τῶν δὲ ὀστρακοδέρμων οὐκ ἔστι τὸ σῶμα πολυμερές.
5 Τούτου δ' αἴτιον τὸ μόνιμον αὐτῶν εἶναι τὴν φύσιν· πολυμερέστερα
γὰρ ἀναγκαῖον εἶναι τῶν ζῴων τὰ κινητικὰ διὰ
τὸ εἶναι αὐτῶν πράξεις· ὀργάνων γὰρ δεῖται πλειόνων τὰ
πλειόνων μετέχοντα κινήσεων. Τούτων δὲ τὰ μὲν ἀκίνητα
πάμπαν ἐστί, τὰ δὲ μικρᾶς μετέχει κινήσεως· ἀλλ' ἡ φύσις
10 πρὸς σωτηρίαν αὐτοῖς τὴν τῶν ὀστράκων σκληρότητα
περιέθηκεν. Εἰσὶ δὲ τὰ μὲν μονόθυρα τὰ δὲ δίθυρα αὐτῶν
τὰ δὲ στρομβώδη, καθάπερ εἴρηται πρότερον. Καὶ τούτων τὰ
μὲν ἑλίκην ἔχοντα, οἷον κήρυκες, τὰ δὲ σφαιροειδῆ μόνον,
καθάπερ τὸ τῶν ἐχίνων γένος. Καὶ τῶν διθύρων τὰ μέν ἐστιν
15 ἀναπτυκτά, οἷον κτένες καὶ μῦες (ἐπὶ θάτερα γὰρ συγκέκλεισται,
ὥστε ἀνοίγεσθαι ἐπὶ θάτερα καὶ συγκλείεσθαι), τὰ
δ' ἐπ' ἄμφω συμπέφυκεν, οἷον τὸ τῶν σωλήνων γένος. Ἅπαντα
δὲ τὰ ὀστρακόδερμα, καθάπερ τὰ φυτά, κάτω τὴν κεφαλὴν
ἔχει. Τούτου δ' αἴτιον ὅτι κάτωθεν λαμβάνει τὴν τροφήν,
20 ὥσπερ τὰ φυτὰ ταῖς ῥίζαις. Συμβαίνει οὖν αὐτοῖς τὰ μὲν
κάτω ἄνω ἔχειν, τὰ δ' ἄνω κάτω. Ἐν ὑμένι δ' ἐστί, δι' οὗ
διηθεῖ τὸ πότιμον καὶ λαμβάνει τὴν τροφήν. Ἔχει δὲ κεφαλὴν
μὲν πάντα, τὰ δὲ τοῦ σώματος μόρια παρὰ τὸ τῆς τροφῆς
δεκτικὸν ἀνώνυμα τἆλλα.
In 5the Testacea the body consists of but few parts, the reason being that these animals live a stationary life. For such animals as move much about must of necessity have more numerous parts than such as remain quiet; for their activities are many, and the more diversified the movements the greater the number of organs required to effect them. Some species of Testacea 10are absolutely motionless, and others not quite but nearly so. Nature, however, has provided them with a protection in the hardness of the shell with which she has invested their body. This shell, as already has been said, may have one valve, or two valves, or be turbinate. In the latter case it may be either spiral, as in whelks, or merely globular, as in sea-urchins. 15When it has two valves, these may be gaping, as in scallops and mussels, where the valves are united together on one side only, so as to open and shut on the other; or they may be united together on both sides, as in the Solens (razor-fishes). In all cases alike the Testacea have, like plants, the head downwards. The reason for this is, that they take in their 20nourishment from below, just as do plants with their roots. Thus the under parts come in them to be above, and the upper parts to be below. The body is enclosed in a membrane, and through this the animal filters fluid free from salt and absorbs its nutriment. In all there is a head; but none of the parts, excepting this recipient of food, has any distinctive name.
Book 4,Chapter 8 (683b25–684b5)
25 Τὰ δὲ μαλακόστρακα πάντα καὶ πορευτικά, διὸ
ποδῶν ἔχει πλῆθος. Ἔστι δὲ γένη μὲν τέτταρα τὰ μέγιστ'
αὐτῶν, οἵ τε καλούμενοι κάραβοι καὶ ἀστακοὶ καὶ καρίδες
καὶ καρκίνοι. Τούτων δ' ἑκάστου πλείω εἴδη ἐστὶ διαφέροντα
οὐ μόνον κατὰ τὴν μορφὴν ἀλλὰ καὶ κατὰ τὸ μέγεθος
30 πολύ· τὰ μὲν γὰρ μεγάλα τὰ δὲ μικρὰ πάμπαν αὐτῶν ἐστιν.
Τὰ μὲν οὖν καρκινώδη καὶ καραβώδη παρόμοι' ἐστὶ τῷ χηλὰς
ἔχειν ἀμφότερα. Ταύτας δ' οὐ πορείας ἔχουσι χάριν, ἀλλὰ
πρὸς τὸ λαβεῖν καὶ κατασχεῖν ἀντὶ χειρῶν. Διὸ καὶ κάμπτουσιν
ἐναντίως ταύτας τοῖς ποσίν· τοὺς μὲν γὰρ ἐπὶ τὸ
35 κοῖλον τὰς δ' ἐπὶ τὸ περιφερὲς κάμπτουσι καὶ ἑλίσσουσιν.
Οὕτως γὰρ χρήσιμαι πρὸς τὸ λαβοῦσαι προσφέρεσθαι τὴν
All 25the Crustacea can crawl as well as swim, and accordingly they are provided with numerous feet. There are four main genera, viz. the Carabi, as they are called, the Astaci, the Carides, and the Carcini. In each of these genera, again, there are numerous species, which differ from each other not only as regards shape, but also very considerably as regards size. For, 30while in some species the individuals are large, in others they are excessively minute. The Carcinoid and Caraboid Crustacea resemble each other in possessing claws. These claws are not for locomotion, but to serve in place of hands for seizing and holding objects; and they are therefore bent in the opposite direction to the feet, being so twisted as to turn their 35convexity towards the body, while their feet turn towards it their concavity.
684a
1 τροφήν. Διαφέρουσι δ' ᾗ οἱ μὲν κάραβοι ἔχουσιν
οὐράν, οἱ δὲ καρκίνοι οὐκ ἔχουσιν οὐράν. Τοῖς μὲν γὰρ διὰ τὸ
νευστικοῖς εἶναι χρήσιμος ἡ οὐρά (νέουσι γὰρ ἀπερειδόμενοι
οἷον πλάταις αὐταῖς), τοῖς δὲ καρκίνοις οὐδὲν χρήσιμον διὰ
5 τὸ πρόσγειον εἶναι τὸν βίον αὐτῶν καὶ εἶναι τρωγλοδύτας.
Ὅσοι δ' αὐτῶν πελάγιοί εἰσι, διὰ τοῦτο πολὺ ἀργοτέρους
ἔχουσι τοὺς πόδας αὑτῶν πρὸς τὴν πορείαν, οἷον αἵ τε
μαῖαι καὶ οἱ Ἡρακλεωτικοὶ καλούμενοι καρκίνοι, ὅτι ὀλίγῃ
κινήσει χρῶνται, ἀλλ' ἡ σωτηρία αὐτοῖς τῷ ὀστρειώδεις εἶναι
10 γίνεται· διὸ αἱ μὲν μαῖαι λεπτοσκελεῖς, οἱ δὲ Ἡρακλεωτικοὶ
μικροσκελεῖς εἰσιν. Οἱ δὲ πάμπαν μικροὶ καρκίνοι οἳ ἁλίσκονται
ἐν τοῖς μικροῖς ἰχθυδίοις, ἔχουσι τοὺς τελευταίους
πλατεῖς πόδας, ἵνα πρὸς τὸ νεῖν αὐτοῖς χρήσιμοι ὦσιν, ὥσπερ
πτερύγια ἢ πλάτας ἔχοντες τοὺς πόδας. Αἱ δὲ καρίδες τῶν
15 μὲν καρκινοειδῶν διαφέρουσι τῷ ἔχειν κέρκον, τῶν δὲ
καραβοειδῶν διὰ τὸ μὴ ἔχειν χηλάς· ἃς οὐκ ἔχουσι διὰ τὸ
πλείους ἔχειν πόδας· ἐνταῦθα γὰρ ἡ ἐκεῖθεν ἀνήλωται
αὔξησις. Πλείους δ' ἔχουσι πόδας ὅτι μὴ νευστικώτερά
ἐστιν ἢ πορευτικώτερα. Τὰ δ' ἐν τοῖς ὑπτίοις μόρια καὶ περὶ
20 τὴν κεφαλὴν τὰ μὲν εἰς τὸ δέξασθαι τὸ ὕδωρ καὶ ἀφεῖναι
ἔχουσι βραγχοειδῆ· πλακωδέστερα δὲ τὰ κάτω αἱ θήλειαι τῶν
ἀρρένων καράβων ἔχουσι, καὶ τὰ ἐν τῷ ἐπιπτύγματι δασύτερα
αἱ θήλειαι καρκίνοι τῶν ἀρρένων, διὰ τὸ ἐκτείνειν τὰ
ᾠὰ πρὸς αὐτά, ἀλλὰ μὴ ἄποθεν, ὥσπερ οἱ ἰχθύες καὶ τἆλλα
25 τὰ τίκτοντα· εὐρυχωρέστερα γὰρ ὄντα καὶ μείζω χώραν ἔχει
τοῖς ᾠοῖς μᾶλλον. Οἱ μὲν οὖν κάραβοι καὶ οἱ καρκίνοι
πάντες τὴν δεξιὰν ἔχουσι χηλὴν μείζω καὶ ἰσχυροτέραν· τοῖς
γὰρ δεξιοῖς πάντα πέφυκε τὰ ζῷα δρᾶν μᾶλλον, ἡ δὲ φύσις
ἀποδίδωσιν ἀεὶ τοῖς χρῆσθαι δυναμένοις ἕκαστον ἢ μόνως ἢ
30 μᾶλλον, οἷον χαυλιόδοντας καὶ ὀδόντας καὶ κέρατα καὶ
πλῆκτρα καὶ πάντα τὰ τοιαῦτα μόρια, ὅσα πρὸς βοήθειαν καὶ
ἀλκήν εἰσιν. Οἱ δ' ἀστακοὶ μόνοι, ὁποτέραν ἂν τύχωσιν,
ἔχουσι μείζω τῶν χηλῶν, καὶ αἱ θήλειαι καὶ οἱ ἄρρενες.
Αἴτιον δὲ τοῦ μὲν ἔχειν χηλὰς ὅτι ἐν τῷ γένει εἰσὶ τῷ ἔχοντι
35 χηλάς. Τοῦτο δ' ἀτάκτως ἔχουσιν, ὅτι πεπήρωνται, καὶ οὐ
1For in this position the claws are best suited for laying hold of the food and carrying it to the mouth. The distinction between the Carabi and the Carcini (Crabs) consists in the former having a tail while the latter have none. For the Carabi swim about and a tail is therefore of use to them, serving for their 5propulsion like the blade of an oar. But it would be of no use to the Crabs; for these animals live habitually close to the shore, and creep into holes and corners. In such of them as live out at sea, the feet are much less adapted for locomotion than in the rest, because they are little given to moving about but depend for protection on their shell-like covering. The Maiae and the crabs 10known as Heracleotic are examples of this; the legs in the former being very thin, in the latter very short.
The very minute crabs that are found among the small fry at the bottom of the net have their hindermost feet flattened out into the semblance of fins or oar-blades, so as to help the animal in swimming.
The Carides are distinguished from the Carcinoid species by the presence of a 15tail; and from the Caraboids by the absence of claws. This is explained by their large number of feet, on which has been expended the material for the growth of claws. Their feet again are numerous to suit their mode of progression, which is mainly by swimming.
Of the parts on the ventral surface, those near the head are in some of these animals formed like gills, for the admission and discharge 20of water; while the parts lower down differ in the two sexes. For in the female Carabi these are more laminar than in the males, and in the female crabs the flap is furnished with hairier appendages. This gives ampler space for the disposal of the ova, which the females retain in these parts instead of letting them go free, as do fishes and all other oviparous animals. In the Carabi 25and in the Crabs the right claw is invariably the larger and the stronger. For it is natural to every animal in active operations to use the parts on its right side in preference to those on its left; and nature, in distributing the organs, invariably assigns each, either exclusively or in a more perfect condition, to such animals as can use it. So it is with tusks, and teeth, and horns, and 30spurs, and all such defensive and offensive weapons.
In the Lobsters alone it is a matter of chance which claw is the larger, and this in either sex. Claws they must have, because they belong to a genus in which this is a constant character; but they have them in this indeterminate way, owing to imperfect formation and to their not using them for their natural purpose, but for locomotion.
The very minute crabs that are found among the small fry at the bottom of the net have their hindermost feet flattened out into the semblance of fins or oar-blades, so as to help the animal in swimming.
The Carides are distinguished from the Carcinoid species by the presence of a 15tail; and from the Caraboids by the absence of claws. This is explained by their large number of feet, on which has been expended the material for the growth of claws. Their feet again are numerous to suit their mode of progression, which is mainly by swimming.
Of the parts on the ventral surface, those near the head are in some of these animals formed like gills, for the admission and discharge 20of water; while the parts lower down differ in the two sexes. For in the female Carabi these are more laminar than in the males, and in the female crabs the flap is furnished with hairier appendages. This gives ampler space for the disposal of the ova, which the females retain in these parts instead of letting them go free, as do fishes and all other oviparous animals. In the Carabi 25and in the Crabs the right claw is invariably the larger and the stronger. For it is natural to every animal in active operations to use the parts on its right side in preference to those on its left; and nature, in distributing the organs, invariably assigns each, either exclusively or in a more perfect condition, to such animals as can use it. So it is with tusks, and teeth, and horns, and 30spurs, and all such defensive and offensive weapons.
In the Lobsters alone it is a matter of chance which claw is the larger, and this in either sex. Claws they must have, because they belong to a genus in which this is a constant character; but they have them in this indeterminate way, owing to imperfect formation and to their not using them for their natural purpose, but for locomotion.
684b
1 χρῶνται ἐφ' ὃ πεφύκασιν, ἀλλὰ πορείας χάριν. Καθ'
ἕκαστον δὲ τῶν μορίων, τίς ἡ θέσις αὐτῶν καὶ τίνες διαφοραὶ
πρὸς ἄλληλα, τῶν τ' ἄλλων καὶ τίνι διαφέρει τὰ ἄρρενα
τῶν θηλειῶν, ἔκ τε τῶν ἀνατομῶν θεωρείσθω καὶ ἐκ τῶν ἱστοριῶν
5 τῶν περὶ τὰ ζῷα.
1For a detailed account of the several parts of these animals, of their position and their differences, those parts being also included which distinguish the sexes, reference must be made to the treatises on Anatomy and to the Researches concerning Animals.
Book 4,Chapter 9 (684b6–685b28)
Τῶν δὲ μαλακίων περὶ μὲν τῶν ἐντὸς εἴρηται πρότερον,
ὥσπερ καὶ περὶ τῶν ἄλλων ζῴων. Ἐκτὸς δ' ἔχει τό τε
τοῦ σώματος κύτος, ἀδιόριστον ὄν, καὶ τούτου πόδας ἔμπροςθεν
περὶ τὴν κεφαλήν, ἐντὸς μὲν τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν, περὶ δὲ τὸ
10 στόμα καὶ τοὺς ὀδόντας. Τὰ μὲν οὖν ἄλλα ζῷα τὰ ἔχοντα
πόδας τὰ μὲν ἔμπροσθεν ἔχει καὶ ὄπισθεν, τὰ δ' ἐκ τοῦ
πλαγίου, ὥσπερ τὰ πολύποδα καὶ ἄναιμα τῶν ζῴων. Τοῦτο δὲ
τὸ γένος ἰδίως τούτων· πάντας γὰρ ἔχουσι τοὺς πόδας ἐπὶ
τὸ καλούμενον ἔμπροσθεν. Τούτου δ' αἴτιον ὅτι συνῆκται
15 αὐτῶν τὸ ὄπισθεν πρὸς τὸ ἔμπροσθεν, ὥσπερ τῶν ὀστρακοδέρμων
τοῖς στρομβώδεσιν. Ὅλως γὰρ τὰ ὀστρακόδερμα ἔχει τῇ μὲν ὁμοίως τοῖς
μαλακοστράκοις, τῇ δὲ τοῖς μαλακίοις. Ἧι μὲν γὰρ ἔξωθεν
τὸ γεῶδες ἐντὸς δὲ τὸ σαρκῶδες, τοῖς μαλακοστράκοις, τὸ δὲ
σχῆμα τοῦ σώματος ὃν τρόπον συνέστηκε, τοῖς μαλακίοις,
20 τρόπον μέν τινα πάντα, μάλιστα δὲ τῶν στρομβωδῶν τὰ
ἔχοντα τὴν ἑλίκην. Ἀμφοτέρων γὰρ τοῦτον ἔχει τὸν τρόπον
ἡ φύσις, ὥσπερ εἴ τις νοήσειεν ἐπ' εὐθείας, καθάπερ συμβέβηκεν
ἐπὶ τῶν τετραπόδων ζῴων καὶ τῶν ἀνθρώπων, πρῶτον
μὲν ἐπὶ τῷ ἄκρῳ τῷ ἄνω στόμα τι τῆς εὐθείας κατὰ τὸ Α,
25 ἔπειτα τὸ Β τὸν στόμαχον, τὸ δὲ Γ τὴν κοιλίαν· ἀπὸ δὲ
τοῦ ἐντέρου μέχρι τῆς διεξόδου τοῦ περιττώματος, ᾗ τὸ Δ.
Τοῦτον μὲν οὖν τὸν τρόπον ἔχει τοῖς ἐναίμοις ζῴοις· καὶ
περὶ τοῦτό ἐστιν ἡ κεφαλὴ καὶ ὁ θώραξ καλούμενος. Τὰ
δὲ λοιπὰ μόρια τούτων τε χάριν καὶ ἕνεκα τῆς κινήσεως
30 προσέθηκεν ἡ φύσις, οἷον τά τε πρόσθια κῶλα καὶ τὰ
ὄπισθεν. Βούλεται δὲ καὶ τοῖς μαλακοστράκοις καὶ τοῖς ἐντόμοις
ἥ γ' εὐθυωρία τῶν ἐντοσθιδίων τὸν αὐτὸν ἔχειν τρόπον,
κατὰ δὲ τὰς ὑπηρεσίας τὰς ἔξωθεν κινητικὰς διαφέρει τῶν
ἐναίμων. Τὰ δὲ μαλάκιά τε καὶ στρομβώδη τῶν ὀστρακοδέρμων
35 ἔχει αὑτοῖς μὲν παραπλησίως, τούτοις δ' ἀντεστραμμένως.
We come now to the Cephalopoda. Their internal organs have already been described 5with those of other animals. Externally there is the trunk of the body, not distinctly defined, and in front of this the head surrounded by feet, which form a circle about the mouth and teeth, and are set between these and the eyes. Now in all other animals the feet, if there are any, are disposed in one of two ways; either before and behind or along the sides, the latter being the plan in such of them, for instance, as are 10bloodless and have numerous feet. But in the Cephalopoda there is a peculiar arrangement, different from either of these. For their feet are all placed at what may be called the fore end. The reason for this is that the hind part of their body has been drawn up close to the fore part, as is also the case in the turbinated Testacea. For the Testacea, while in some points they resemble the Crustacea, in others resemble the 15Cephalopoda. Their earthy matter is on the outside, and their fleshy substance within. So far they are like the Crustacea. But the general plan of their body is that of the Cephalopoda; and, though this is true in a certain degree of all the Testacea, it is more especially true of those turbinated species that have a spiral shell. Of this general plan, common to the two, we will speak presently. But let us first consider 20the case of quadrupeds and of man, where the arrangement is that of a straight line. Let A at the upper end of such a line be supposed to represent the mouth, then B the gullet, and C the stomach, and the intestine to run from this C to the excremental vent where D is inscribed. Such is the plan in sanguineous animals; and round this straight line as an axis are disposed the head and so-called trunk; the remaining parts, such 25as the anterior and posterior limbs, having been superadded by nature, merely to minister to these and for locomotion.
In the Crustacea also and in Insects there is a tendency to a similar arrangement of the internal parts in a straight line; the distinction between these groups and the sanguineous animals depending on differences of the external organs which minister to locomotion. But the Cephalopoda and the turbinated 30Testacea have in common an arrangement which stands in contrast with this. For here the two extremities are brought together by a curve, as if one were to bend the straight line marked E until D came close to Such, then, is the disposition of the internal parts; and round these, in the Cephalopoda, is placed the sac (in the Poulps alone called a head), and, in the Testacea, the turbinate shell which corresponds to the sac.
In the Crustacea also and in Insects there is a tendency to a similar arrangement of the internal parts in a straight line; the distinction between these groups and the sanguineous animals depending on differences of the external organs which minister to locomotion. But the Cephalopoda and the turbinated 30Testacea have in common an arrangement which stands in contrast with this. For here the two extremities are brought together by a curve, as if one were to bend the straight line marked E until D came close to Such, then, is the disposition of the internal parts; and round these, in the Cephalopoda, is placed the sac (in the Poulps alone called a head), and, in the Testacea, the turbinate shell which corresponds to the sac.
685a
1 Κέκαμπται γὰρ ἡ τελευτὴ πρὸς τὴν ἀρχήν,
ὥσπερ ἂν εἴ τις τὴν εὐθεῖαν ἐφ' ἧς τὸ Ε κάμψας προσαγάγοι
τὸ Δ πρὸς τὸ Α. Οὕτως γὰρ κειμένων νῦν τῶν ἐντοσθίων,
περίκειται τοῖς μὲν μαλακίοις τὸ κύτος, ὃ καλεῖται μόνον
5 ἐπὶ τῶν πολυπόδων κεφαλή· τοῖς δ' ὀστρακοδέρμοις τὸ τοιοῦτόν
ἐστιν ὁ στρόμβος. Διαφέρει δὲ οὐδὲν ἄλλο πλὴν ὅτι τοῖς
μὲν μαλακὸν τὸ πέριξ, τοῖς δὲ σκληρὸν περὶ τὸ σαρκῶδες
περιέθηκεν ἡ φύσις, ὅπως σῴζηται διὰ τὴν δυσκινησίαν· καὶ
διὰ τοῦτο τὸ περίττωμα τοῖς τε μαλακίοις ἐξέρχεται περὶ
10 τὸ στόμα καὶ τοῖς στρομβώδεσι, πλὴν τοῖς μὲν μαλακίοις
κάτωθεν, τοῖς δὲ στρομβώδεσιν ἐκ τοῦ πλαγίου.
Διὰ ταύτην μὲν οὖν τὴν αἰτίαν τοῖς μαλακίοις οἱ πόδες
τοῦτον ἔχουσι τὸν τρόπον, καὶ ὑπεναντίως ἢ τοῖς ἄλλοις.
Ἔχουσι δ' ἀνομοίως αἱ σηπίαι καὶ αἱ τευθίδες τοῖς πολύποσι
15 διὰ τὸ νευστικαὶ μόνον εἶναι, τοὺς δὲ καὶ πορευτικούς. Αἱ
μὲν γὰρ τοὺς ἄνωθεν τῶν ποδῶν μικροὺς ἔχουσι, καὶ τούτων
τοὺς ἐσχάτους δύο μείζους, τοὺς δὲ λοιποὺς τῶν ὀκτὼ δύο
κάτωθεν μεγίστους τούτων. Ὥσπερ γὰρ τοῖς τετράποσι τὰ
ὀπίσθια ἰσχυρότερα κῶλα, καὶ ταύταις μέγιστοι οἱ κάτωθεν·
20 τὸ γὰρ φορτίον οὗτοι ἔχουσι καὶ κινοῦσι μάλιστα, καὶ οἱ
ἔσχατοι δύο μείζους τῶν μέσων, ὅτι τούτοις συνυπηρετοῦσιν.
Ὁ δὲ πολύπους τοὺς ἐν μέσῳ τέτταρας μεγίστους. Πόδας
μὲν οὖν πάντα ἔχουσι ταῦτα ὀκτώ, ἀλλ' αἱ μὲν σηπίαι καὶ αἱ
τευθίδες βραχεῖς, τὰ δὲ πολυποδώδη μεγάλους. Τὸ γὰρ κύτος
25 τοῦ σώματος αἱ μὲν μέγα ἔχουσιν οἱ δὲ μικρόν, ὥστε τοῖς
μὲν ἀφεῖλεν ἀπὸ τοῦ σώματος, πρὸς δὲ τὸ μῆκος τῶν ποδῶν
προσέθηκεν ἡ φύσις, ταῖς δ' ἀπὸ τῶν ποδῶν λαβοῦσα τὸ
σῶμα ηὔξησεν. Διόπερ τοῖς μὲν οὐ μόνον πρὸς τὸ νεῖν χρήσιμοι
οἱ πόδες ἀλλὰ καὶ πρὸς τὸ βαδίζειν, ταῖς δ' ἄχρηστοι·
30 μικροὶ γάρ, τὸ δὲ κύτος μέγα ἔχουσιν. Ἐπεὶ δὲ βραχεῖς
ἔχουσι τοὺς πόδας καὶ ἀχρήστους πρὸς τὸ ἀντιλαμβάνεσθαι
καὶ μὴ ἀντισπᾶσθαι ἀπὸ τῶν πετρῶν, ὅταν κλύδων ᾖ καὶ
χειμών, καὶ πρὸς τὸ τὰ ἄποθεν προσάγεσθαι, διὰ ταῦτα προβοσκίδας
ἔχουσι δύο μακράς, αἷς ὁρμοῦσί τε καὶ ἀποσαλεύουσιν
35 ὥσπερ πλοῖον ὅταν χειμὼν ᾖ, καὶ τὰ ἄποθεν
1There is, in fact, only this difference between them, that the investing substance of the Cephalopoda is soft while the shell of the Testacea is hard, nature having surrounded their fleshy part with this hard coating as a protection because of their limited power of locomotion. In both classes, owing to this arrangement of the 5internal organs, the excrement is voided near the mouth; at a point below this orifice in the Cephalopoda, and in the Turbinata on one side of it.
Such, then, is the explanation of the position of the feet in the Cephalopoda, and of the contrast they present to other animals in this matter. The arrangement, however, in the Sepias and the Calamaries is not precisely the same as in the Poulps, owing to the 10former having no other mode of progression than by swimming, while the latter not only swim but crawl. For in the former six of the feet are above the teeth and small, the outer one on either side being the biggest; while the remaining two, which make up the total weight, are below the mouth and are the biggest of all, just as the hind limbs in quadrupeds are stronger than the fore limbs. For it is these that 15have to support the weight, and to take the main part in locomotion. And the outer two of the upper six are bigger than the pair which intervene between them and the uppermost of all, because they have to assist the lowermost pair in their office. In the Poulps, on the other hand, the four central feet are the biggest. Again, though the number of feet is the same in all the Cephalopoda, namely eight, their 20length varies in different kinds, being short in the Sepias and the Calamaries, but greater in the Poulps. For in these latter the trunk of the body is of small bulk, while in the former it is of considerable size; and so in the one case nature has used the materials subtracted from the body to give length to the feet, while in the other she has acted in precisely the opposite way, and has given to the growth 25of the body what she has first taken from the feet. The Poulps, then, owing to the length of their feet, can not only swim but crawl, whereas in the other genera the feet are useless for the latter mode of progression, being small while the bulk of the body is considerable. These short feet would not enable their possessors to cling to the rocks and keep themselves from being torn off by the waves when these 30run high in times of storm; neither would they serve to lay hold of objects at all remote and bring them in; but, to supply these defects, the animal is furnished with two long proboscises, by which it can moor itself and ride at anchor like a ship in rough weather. These same processes serve also to catch prey at a distance and to bring it to the mouth. They are so used by both the Sepias and the Calamaries.
Such, then, is the explanation of the position of the feet in the Cephalopoda, and of the contrast they present to other animals in this matter. The arrangement, however, in the Sepias and the Calamaries is not precisely the same as in the Poulps, owing to the 10former having no other mode of progression than by swimming, while the latter not only swim but crawl. For in the former six of the feet are above the teeth and small, the outer one on either side being the biggest; while the remaining two, which make up the total weight, are below the mouth and are the biggest of all, just as the hind limbs in quadrupeds are stronger than the fore limbs. For it is these that 15have to support the weight, and to take the main part in locomotion. And the outer two of the upper six are bigger than the pair which intervene between them and the uppermost of all, because they have to assist the lowermost pair in their office. In the Poulps, on the other hand, the four central feet are the biggest. Again, though the number of feet is the same in all the Cephalopoda, namely eight, their 20length varies in different kinds, being short in the Sepias and the Calamaries, but greater in the Poulps. For in these latter the trunk of the body is of small bulk, while in the former it is of considerable size; and so in the one case nature has used the materials subtracted from the body to give length to the feet, while in the other she has acted in precisely the opposite way, and has given to the growth 25of the body what she has first taken from the feet. The Poulps, then, owing to the length of their feet, can not only swim but crawl, whereas in the other genera the feet are useless for the latter mode of progression, being small while the bulk of the body is considerable. These short feet would not enable their possessors to cling to the rocks and keep themselves from being torn off by the waves when these 30run high in times of storm; neither would they serve to lay hold of objects at all remote and bring them in; but, to supply these defects, the animal is furnished with two long proboscises, by which it can moor itself and ride at anchor like a ship in rough weather. These same processes serve also to catch prey at a distance and to bring it to the mouth. They are so used by both the Sepias and the Calamaries.
685b
1 θηρεύουσι καὶ προσάγονται ταύταις αἵ τε σηπίαι καὶ
αἱ τευθίδες. Οἱ δὲ πολύποδες οὐκ ἔχουσι τὰς προβοσκίδας
διὰ τὸ τοὺς πόδας αὐτοῖς εἶναι πρὸς ταῦτα χρησίμους. Ὅσοις δὲ κοτυληδόνες πρὸς τοῖς ποσὶ καὶ πλεκτάναι
πρόσεισι, δύναμιν ἔχουσι καὶ σύνθεσιν τοιαύτην οἵανπερ τὰ
5 πλεγμάτια οἷς οἱ ἀτροὶ οἱ ἀρχαῖοι τοὺς δακτύλους ἐνέβαλλον·
οὕτως καὶ ἐκ τῶν ἰνῶν πεπλεγμέναι εἰσίν, αἷς ἕλκουσι τὰ
σαρκία καὶ τὰ ἐνδιδόντα. Περιλαμβάνει μὲν γὰρ χαλαρὰ ὄντα·
ὅταν δὲ συντείνῃ, πιέζει καὶ ἔχεται τοῦ ἐντὸς θιγγάνοντος
παντός. Ὥστ' ἐπεὶ ἄλλο οὐκ ἔστιν ᾧ προσάξονται, ἀλλ' ἢ τὰ
10 μὲν τοῖς ποσὶ τὰ δὲ ταῖς προβοσκίσι, ταύτας ἔχουσι πρὸς
ἀλκὴν καὶ τὴν ἄλλην βοήθειαν ἀντὶ χειρῶν. Τὰ μὲν οὖν ἄλλα
δικότυλά ἐστι, γένος δέ τι πολυπόδων μονοκότυλον. Αἴτιον
δὲ τὸ μῆκος καὶ ἡ λεπτότης τῆς φύσεως αὐτῶν· μονοκότυλον
γὰρ ἀναγκαῖον εἶναι τὸ στενόν. Οὐκ οὖν ὡς βέλτιστον ἔχουσιν,
15 ἀλλ' ὡς ἀναγκαῖον διὰ τὸν ἴδιον λόγον τῆς οὐσίας.
Πτερύγιον δ' ἔχουσι ταῦτα πάντα κύκλῳ περὶ τὸ κῦτος.
Τοῦτο δ' ἐπὶ μὲν τῶν ἄλλων συναπτόμενον καὶ συνεχές ἐστι,
καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν μεγάλων τευθῶν· αἱ δ' ἐλάττους καὶ καλούμεναι
τευθίδες πλατύτερόν τε τοῦτο ἔχουσι καὶ οὐ στενόν, ὥσπερ
20 αἱ σηπίαι καὶ οἱ πολύποδες, καὶ τοῦτ' ἀπὸ μέσου ἠργμένον,
καὶ οὐ κύκλῳ διὰ παντός. Τοῦτο δ' ἔχουσιν ὅπως νέωσι
καὶ πρὸς τὸ διορθοῦν, ὥσπερ τοῖς μὲν πτηνοῖς τὸ ὀρροπύγιον,
τοῖς δ' ἰχθύσι τὸ οὐραῖον. Ἐλάχιστον δὲ τοῦτο καὶ ἥκιστα
ἐπίδηλον τοῖς πολύποσίν ἐστι διὰ τὸ μικρὸν ἔχειν τὸ κῦτος
25 καὶ διορθοῦσθαι τοῖς ποσὶν ἱκανῶς.
Περὶ μὲν οὖν τῶν ἐντόμων καὶ μαλακοστράκων καὶ ὀστρακοδέρμων
καὶ μαλακίων εἴρηται, καὶ περὶ τῶν ἐντὸς μορίων καὶ
τῶν ἐκτός.
1In the Poulps the feet are themselves able to perform these offices, and there are consequently no proboscises. Proboscises and twining tentacles, with acetabula set upon them, act in the same way and have the same structure as those plaited instruments which were used by physicians of old to reduce dislocations of the fingers. Like these 5they are made by the interlacing of their fibres, and they act by pulling upon pieces of flesh and yielding substances. For the plaited fibres encircle an object in a slackened condition, and when they are put on the stretch they grasp and cling tightly to whatever it may be that is in contact with their inner surface. Since, then, the Cephalopoda have no other instruments with which to convey anything to themselves from 10without, than either twining tentacles, as in some species, or proboscises as in others, they are provided with these to serve as hands for offence and defence and other necessary uses.
The acetabula are set in double line in all the Cephalopoda excepting in one kind of poulp, where there is but a single row. The length and the slimness which is part of the nature of this kind of poulp explain the exception. For a narrow 15space cannot possibly admit of more than a single row. This exceptional character, then, belongs to them, not because it is the most advantageous arrangement, but because it is the necessary consequence of their essential specific constitution.
In all these animals there is a fin, encircling the sac. In the Poulps and the Sepias this fin is unbroken and continuous, as is also the case in the larger calamaries known as 20Teuthi. But in the smaller kind, called Teuthides, the fin is not only broader than in the Sepias and the Poulps, where it is very narrow, but, moreover, does not encircle the entire sac, but only begins in the middle of the side. The use of this fin is to enable the animal to swim, and also to direct its course. It acts, that is, like the rump-feathers in birds, or the tail-fin in fishes. In none is it so small or so 25indistinct as in the Poulps. For in these the body is of small bulk and can be steered by the feet sufficiently well without other assistance.
The Insects, the Crustacea, the Testacea, and the Cephalopoda, have now been dealt with in turn; and their parts have been described, whether internal or external.
The acetabula are set in double line in all the Cephalopoda excepting in one kind of poulp, where there is but a single row. The length and the slimness which is part of the nature of this kind of poulp explain the exception. For a narrow 15space cannot possibly admit of more than a single row. This exceptional character, then, belongs to them, not because it is the most advantageous arrangement, but because it is the necessary consequence of their essential specific constitution.
In all these animals there is a fin, encircling the sac. In the Poulps and the Sepias this fin is unbroken and continuous, as is also the case in the larger calamaries known as 20Teuthi. But in the smaller kind, called Teuthides, the fin is not only broader than in the Sepias and the Poulps, where it is very narrow, but, moreover, does not encircle the entire sac, but only begins in the middle of the side. The use of this fin is to enable the animal to swim, and also to direct its course. It acts, that is, like the rump-feathers in birds, or the tail-fin in fishes. In none is it so small or so 25indistinct as in the Poulps. For in these the body is of small bulk and can be steered by the feet sufficiently well without other assistance.
The Insects, the Crustacea, the Testacea, and the Cephalopoda, have now been dealt with in turn; and their parts have been described, whether internal or external.
Book 4,Chapter 10 (685b29–690b10)
Πάλιν δ' ἐξ ὑπαρχῆς περὶ τῶν ἐναίμων καὶ ζῳοτόκων
30 ἐπισκεπτέον, ἀρξαμένοις ἀπὸ τῶν ὑπολοίπων καὶ πρότερον
εἰρημένων μορίων· τούτων δὲ διορισθέντων περὶ τῶν ἐναίμων
καὶ ᾠοτόκων τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον ἐροῦμεν.
Τὰ μὲν οὖν μόρια τὰ περὶ τὴν κεφαλὴν τῶν ζῴων εἴρηται
πρότερον, καὶ τὰ περὶ τὸν καλούμενον αὐχένα καὶ τράχηλον.
35 Ἔχει δὲ κεφαλὴν πάντα τὰ ἔναιμα ζῷα· τῶν δ' ἀναίμων
We must now go back to the animals that have blood, and consider such of their parts, already enumerated, as were before 30passed over. We will take the viviparous animals first, and, we have done with these, will pass on to the oviparous, and treat of them in like manner.
The parts that border on the head, and on what is known as the neck and throat, have already been taken into consideration. All animals that have blood have a head; whereas in some bloodless animals, such as crabs, the part which represents a head is not clearly defined.
The parts that border on the head, and on what is known as the neck and throat, have already been taken into consideration. All animals that have blood have a head; whereas in some bloodless animals, such as crabs, the part which represents a head is not clearly defined.
686a
1 ἐνίοις ἀδιόριστον τοῦτο τὸ μόριον, οἷον τοῖς καρκίνοις.
Αὐχένα οὖν τὰ μὲν ζῳοτόκα πάντ' ἔχει, τῶν δ' ᾠοτόκων τὰ
μὲν ἔχει, τὰ δ' οὐκ ἔχει· ὅσα μὲν γὰρ πλεύμονα ἔχει, καὶ
αὐχένα ἔχει, τὰ δὲ μὴ ἀναπνέοντα θύραθεν οὐκ ἔχει τοῦτο
5 τὸ μόριον. Ἔστι δ' ἡ μὲν κεφαλὴ μάλιστα τοῦ ἐγκεφάλου
χάριν· ἀνάγκη γὰρ τοῦτο τὸ μόριον ἔχειν τοῖς ἐναίμοις, καὶ
ἐν ἀντικειμένῳ τόπῳ τῆς καρδίας, διὰ τὰς εἰρημένας πρότερον
αἰτίας. Ἐξέθετο δ' ἡ φύσις ἐν αὐτῇ καὶ τῶν αἰσθήσεων
ἐνίας διὰ τὸ σύμμετρον εἶναι τὴν τοῦ αἵματος κρᾶσιν καὶ
10 ἐπιτηδείαν πρός τε τὴν τοῦ ἐγκεφάλου ἀλέαν καὶ πρὸς τὴν
τῶν αἰσθήσεων ἡσυχίαν καὶ ἀκρίβειαν. Ἔτι δὲ τρίτον μόριον
ὑπέθηκε τὸ τὴν τῆς τροφῆς εἴσοδον δημιουργοῦν· ἐνταῦθα
γὰρ ὑπέκειτο συμμέτρως μάλιστα. Οὔτε γὰρ ἄνωθεν κεῖσθαι
τῆς καρδίας καὶ τῆς ἀρχῆς ἐνεδέχετο τὴν κοιλίαν, οὔτε
15 κάτωθεν οὔσης ὃν τρόπον ἔχει νῦν, ἐνεδέχετο τὴν εἴσοδον
ἔτι κάτω εἶναι τῆς καρδίας· πολὺ γὰρ τὸ μῆκος ἦν τοῦ
σώματος, καὶ πόρρω λίαν τῆς κινούσης ἀρχῆς καὶ πεττούσης.
Ἡ μὲν οὖν κεφαλὴ τούτων χάριν ἐστίν, ὁ δ' αὐχὴν τῆς
ἀρτηρίας χάριν· πρόβλημα γάρ ἐστι, καὶ σῴζει ταύτην καὶ
20 τὸν οἰσοφάγον κύκλῳ περιέχων. Τοῖς μὲν οὖν ἄλλοις ἐστὶ
καμπτὸς καὶ σφονδύλους ἔχων, οἱ δὲ λύκοι καὶ λέοντες
μονοστοῦν τὸν αὐχένα ἔχουσιν· ἔβλεψε γὰρ ἡ φύσις ὅπως
πρὸς τὴν ἰσχὺν χρήσιμον αὐτὸν ἔχωσι μᾶλλον ἢ πρὸς τὰς
ἄλλας βοηθείας. Ἐχόμενα δὲ τοῦ αὐχένος καὶ τῆς κεφαλῆς τά τε πρόσθια
25 κῶλα τοῖς ζῴοις ἐστὶ καὶ θώραξ. Ὁ μὲν οὖν ἄνθρωπος
ἀντὶ σκελῶν καὶ ποδῶν τῶν προσθίων βραχίονας καὶ τὰς
καλουμένας ἔχει χεῖρας. Ὀρθὸν μὲν γάρ ἐστι μόνον τῶν
ζῴων διὰ τὸ τὴν φύσιν αὐτοῦ καὶ τὴν οὐσίαν εἶναι θείαν·
ἔργον δὲ τοῦ θειοτάτου τὸ νοεῖν καὶ φρονεῖν· τοῦτο δ' οὐ
30 ῥᾴδιον πολλοῦ τοῦ ἄνωθεν ἐπικειμένου σώματος· τὸ γὰρ
βάρος δυσκίνητον ποιεῖ τὴν διάνοιαν καὶ τὴν κοινὴν αἴςθησιν.
Διὸ πλείονος γινομένου τοῦ βάρους καὶ τοῦ σωματώδους
ἀνάγκη ῥέπειν τὰ σώματα πρὸς τὴν γῆν, ὥστε πρὸς
τὴν ἀσφάλειαν ἀντὶ βραχιόνων καὶ χειρῶν τοὺς προσθίους
35 πόδας ὑπέθηκεν ἡ φύσις τοῖς τετράποσιν. Τοὺς μὲν γὰρ
ὀπισθίους δύο πᾶσιν ἀναγκαῖον τοῖς πορευτικοῖς ἔχειν, τὰ δὲ
1As to the neck, it is present in all the Vivipara, but only in some of the Ovipara; for while those that have a lung also have a neck, those that do not inhale the outer air have none. The head exists mainly for the sake of the brain. For every animal that has blood must of necessity have a brain; and must, moreover, for reasons already given, 5have it placed in an opposite region to the heart. But the head has also been chosen by nature as the part in which to set some of the senses; because its blood is mixed in such suitable proportions as to ensure their tranquillity and precision, while at the same time it can supply the brain with such warmth as it requires. There is yet a third constituent superadded to the head, namely the part which ministers to the ingestion 10of food. This has been placed here by nature, because such a situation accords best with the general configuration of the body. For the stomach could not possibly be placed above the heart, seeing that this is the sovereign organ; and if placed below, as in fact it is, then the mouth could not possibly be placed there also. For this would have necessitated a great increase in the length of the body; and the stomach, moreover, 15would have been removed too far from the source of motion and of concoction.
The head, then, exists for the sake of these three parts; while the neck, again, exists for the sake of the windpipe. For it acts as a defence to this and to the oesophagus, encircling them and keeping them from injury. In all other animals this neck is flexible and contains several vertebrae; but in wolves and lions it contains only a single bone. 20For the object of nature was to give these animals an organ which should be serviceable in the way of strength, rather than one that should be useful for any of the other purposes to which necks are subservient.
Continuous with the head and neck is the trunk with the anterior limbs. In man the forelegs and forefeet are replaced by arms and by what we call hands. For of all animals man alone stands erect, in accordance with 25his godlike nature and essence. For it is the function of the god-like to think and to be wise; and no easy task were this under the burden of a heavy body, pressing down from above and obstructing by its weight the motions of the intellect and of the general sense. When, moreover, the weight and corporeal substance become excessive, the body must of necessity incline towards the ground. In such cases therefore nature, in order 30to give support to the body, has replaced the arms and hands by forefeet, and has thus converted the animal into a quadruped. For, as every animal that walks must of necessity have the two hinder feet, such an animal becomes a quadruped, its body inclining downwards in front from the weight which its soul cannot sustain. For all animals, man alone excepted, are dwarf-like in form. For the dwarf-like is that in which the upper 35part is large, while that which bears the weight and is used in progression is small.
The head, then, exists for the sake of these three parts; while the neck, again, exists for the sake of the windpipe. For it acts as a defence to this and to the oesophagus, encircling them and keeping them from injury. In all other animals this neck is flexible and contains several vertebrae; but in wolves and lions it contains only a single bone. 20For the object of nature was to give these animals an organ which should be serviceable in the way of strength, rather than one that should be useful for any of the other purposes to which necks are subservient.
Continuous with the head and neck is the trunk with the anterior limbs. In man the forelegs and forefeet are replaced by arms and by what we call hands. For of all animals man alone stands erect, in accordance with 25his godlike nature and essence. For it is the function of the god-like to think and to be wise; and no easy task were this under the burden of a heavy body, pressing down from above and obstructing by its weight the motions of the intellect and of the general sense. When, moreover, the weight and corporeal substance become excessive, the body must of necessity incline towards the ground. In such cases therefore nature, in order 30to give support to the body, has replaced the arms and hands by forefeet, and has thus converted the animal into a quadruped. For, as every animal that walks must of necessity have the two hinder feet, such an animal becomes a quadruped, its body inclining downwards in front from the weight which its soul cannot sustain. For all animals, man alone excepted, are dwarf-like in form. For the dwarf-like is that in which the upper 35part is large, while that which bears the weight and is used in progression is small.
686b
1 τοιαῦτα τετράποδα ἐγένετο οὐ δυναμένης φέρειν τὸ
βάρος τῆς ψυχῆς.
Πάντα γάρ ἐστι τὰ ζῷα νανώδη τἆλλα παρὰ τὸν ἄνθρωπον·
νανῶδες γάρ ἐστιν οὗ τὸ μὲν ἄνω μέγα, τὸ δὲ φέρον τὸ βάρος
5 καὶ πεζεῦον μικρόν. Ἄνω δ' ἐστὶν ὁ καλούμενος θώραξ,
ἀπὸ τῆς κεφαλῆς μέχρι τῆς ἐξόδου τοῦ περιττώματος. Τοῖς
μὲν οὖν ἀνθρώποις τοῦτο πρὸς τὸ κάτω σύμμετρον, καὶ
πολλῷ ἔλαττόν ἐστι τελειουμένοις· νέοις δ' οὖσι τοὐναντίον
τὰ μὲν ἄνω μέγαλα, τὸ δὲ κάτω μικρόν. Διὸ καὶ ἕρπουσι,
10 βαδίζειν δ' οὐ δύνανται. Τὸ δὲ πρῶτον οὐδ' ἕρπουσιν, ἀλλ'
ἀκινητίζουσιν· νάνοι γάρ εἰσι τὰ παιδία πάντα. Προϊοῦσι δὲ
τοῖς μὲν ἀνθρώποις αὔξεται τὰ κάτωθεν· τοῖς δὲ τετράποσι
τοὐναντίον τὰ κάτω μέγιστα τὸ πρῶτον, προϊόντα δ' αὔξεται
ἐπὶ τὸ ἄνω, τοῦτο δ' ἐστὶ τὸ ἀπὸ τῆς ἕδρας ἐπὶ τὴν κεφαλὴν
15 κύτος. Διὸ καὶ τῷ ὕψει οἱ πῶλοι τῶν ἵππων οὐδὲν ἢ
μικρὸν ἐλάττους εἰσί, καὶ νέοι μὲν ὄντες θιγγάνουσι τῷ
ὄπισθεν σκέλει τῆς κεφαλῆς, πρεσβύτεροι δ' ὄντες οὐ δύνανται.
Τὰ μὲν οὖν μώνυχα καὶ διχηλὰ τοῦτον ἔχει τὸν τρόπον,
τὰ δὲ πολυδάκτυλα καὶ ἀκέρατα νανώδη μέν ἐστιν, ἧττον δὲ
20 τούτων· διὸ καὶ τὴν αὔξησιν πρὸς τὰ ἄνω τὰ κάτω κατὰ
λόγον ποιεῖται τῆς ἐλλείψεως. Ἔστι δὲ καὶ τὸ τῶν ὀρνίθων
καὶ τὸ τῶν ἰχθύων γένος καὶ πᾶν τὸ ἔναιμον, ὥσπερ εἴρηται,
νανῶδες. Διὸ καὶ ἀφρονέστερα πάντα τὰ ζῷα τῶν ἀνθρώπων
ἐστίν. Καὶ γὰρ τῶν ἀνθρώπων, οἷον τά τε παιδία πρὸς τοὺς
25 ἄνδρας καὶ αὐτῶν τῶν ἐν ἡλικίᾳ οἱ νανώδεις τὴν φύσιν,
ἐὰν καί τιν' ἄλλην δύναμιν ἔχωσι περιττήν, ἀλλὰ τῷ τὸν νοῦν
ἔχειν ἐλλείπουσιν. Αἴτιον δ' ὥσπερ εἴρηται πρότερον, ὅτι ἡ
τῆς ψυχῆς ἀρχὴ πολλῷ δὴ δυσκίνητός ἐστι καὶ σωματώδης.
Ἔτι δ' ἐλάττονος γινομένης τῆς αἰρούσης θερμότητος καὶ
30 τοῦ γεώδους πλείονος, τά τε σώματα ἐλάττονα τῶν ζῴων
ἐστὶ καὶ πολύποδα, τέλος δ' ἄποδα γίγνεται καὶ τεταμένα
πρὸς τὴν γῆν. Μικρὸν δ' οὕτω προβαίνοντα καὶ τὴν ἀρχὴν
ἔχουσι κάτω, καὶ τὸ κατὰ τὴν κεφαλὴν μόριον τέλος ἀκίνητόν
ἐστι καὶ ἀναίσθητον, καὶ γίνεται φυτόν, ἔχον τὰ μὲν ἄνω κάτω,
35 τὰ δὲ κάτω ἄνω· αἱ γὰρ ῥίζαι τοῖς φυτοῖς στόματος καὶ
1This upper part is what we call the trunk, which reaches from the mouth to the vent. In man it is duly proportionate to the part below, and diminishes much in its comparative size as the man attains to full growth. But in his infancy the contrary obtains, and the upper parts are large, while the lower part is small; so that 5the infant can only crawl, and is unable to walk; nay, at first cannot even crawl, but remains without motion. For all children are dwarfs in shape, but cease to be so as they become men, from the growth of their lower part; whereas in quadrupeds the reverse occurs, their lower parts being largest in youth, and advance of years bringing increased growth above, that is in the trunk, which extends from the 10rump to the head. Thus it is that colts are scarcely, if at all, below full-grown horses in height; and that while still young they can touch their heads with the hind legs, though this is no longer possible when they are older. Such, then, is the form of animals that have either a solid or a cloven hoof. But such as are polydactylous and without horns, though they too are of dwarf-like shape, are so in a 15less degree; and therefore the greater growth of the lower parts as compared with the upper is also small, being proportionate to this smaller deficiency.
Dwarf-like again is the race of birds and fishes; and so in fact, as already has been said, is every animal that has blood. This is the reason why no other animal is so intelligent as man. For even among men themselves if we compare children with adults, 20or such adults as are of dwarf-like shape with such as are not, we find that, whatever other superiority the former may possess, they are at any rate deficient as compared with the latter in intelligence. The explanation, as already stated, is that their psychical principle is corporeal, and much impeded in its motions. Let now a further decrease occur in the elevating heat, and a further increase in the 25earthy matter, and the animals become smaller in bulk, and their feet more numerous, until at a later stage they become apodous, and extended full length on the ground. Then, by further small successions of change, they come to have their principal organ below; and at last their cephalic part becomes motionless and destitute of sensation. Thus the animal becomes a plant, that has its upper parts downwards 30and its lower parts above. For in plants the roots are the equivalents of mouth and head, while the seed has an opposite significance, for it is produced above it the extremities of the twigs.
The reasons have now been stated why some animals have many feet, some only two, and others none; why, also, some living things are plants and others animals; and, lastly, why man alone of all animals stands erect.
Dwarf-like again is the race of birds and fishes; and so in fact, as already has been said, is every animal that has blood. This is the reason why no other animal is so intelligent as man. For even among men themselves if we compare children with adults, 20or such adults as are of dwarf-like shape with such as are not, we find that, whatever other superiority the former may possess, they are at any rate deficient as compared with the latter in intelligence. The explanation, as already stated, is that their psychical principle is corporeal, and much impeded in its motions. Let now a further decrease occur in the elevating heat, and a further increase in the 25earthy matter, and the animals become smaller in bulk, and their feet more numerous, until at a later stage they become apodous, and extended full length on the ground. Then, by further small successions of change, they come to have their principal organ below; and at last their cephalic part becomes motionless and destitute of sensation. Thus the animal becomes a plant, that has its upper parts downwards 30and its lower parts above. For in plants the roots are the equivalents of mouth and head, while the seed has an opposite significance, for it is produced above it the extremities of the twigs.
The reasons have now been stated why some animals have many feet, some only two, and others none; why, also, some living things are plants and others animals; and, lastly, why man alone of all animals stands erect.
687a
1 κεφαλῆς ἔχουσι δύναμιν, τὸ δὲ σπέρμα τοὐναντίον·
ἄνω γὰρ καὶ ἐπ' ἄκροις γίνεται τοῖς πτόρθοις. Δι' ἣν μὲν οὖν
αἰτίαν τὰ μὲν δίποδα τὰ δὲ πολύποδα τὰ δ' ἄποδα τῶν ζῴων
ἐστί, καὶ διὰ τίν' αἰτίαν τὰ μὲν φυτὰ τὰ δὲ ζῷα γέγονεν,
5 εἴρηται, καὶ διότι μόνον ὀρθόν ἐστι τῶν ζῴων ὁ ἄνθρωπος.
Ὀρθῷ δ' ὄντι τὴν φύσιν οὐδεμία χρεία σκελῶν τῶν
ἐμπροσθίων, ἀλλ' ἀντὶ τούτων βραχίονας καὶ χεῖρας ἀποδέδωκεν
ἡ φύσις. Ἀναξαγόρας μὲν οὖν φησι διὰ τὸ χεῖρας
ἔχειν φρονιμώτατον εἶναι τῶν ζῴων ἄνθρωπον· εὔλογον δὲ
10 διὰ τὸ φρονιμώτατον εἶναι χεῖρας λαμβάνειν. Αἱ μὲν γὰρ
χεῖρες ὄργανόν εἰσιν, ἡ δὲ φύσις ἀεὶ διανέμει, καθάπερ
ἄνθρωπος φρόνιμος, ἕκαστον τῷ δυναμένῳ χρῆσθαι. Προσήκει
γὰρ τῷ ὄντι αὐλητῇ δοῦναι μᾶλλον αὐλοὺς ἢ τῷ αὐλοὺς ἔχοντι
προσθεῖναι αὐλητικήν· τῷ γὰρ μείζονι καὶ κυριωτέρῳ προσέθηκε
15 τοὔλαττον, ἀλλ' οὐ τῷ ἐλάττονι τὸ τιμιώτερον καὶ
μεῖζον. Εἰ οὖν οὕτως βέλτιον, ἡ δὲ φύσις ἐκ τῶν ἐνδεχομένων
ποιεῖ τὸ βέλτιστον, οὐ διὰ τὰς χεῖράς ἐστιν ὁ ἄνθρωπος
φρονιμώτατος, ἀλλὰ διὰ τὸ φρονιμώτατον εἶναι τῶν
ζῴων ἔχει χεῖρας. Ὁ γὰρ φρονιμώτατος πλείστοις ἂν ὀργάνοις
20 ἐχρήσατο καλῶς, ἡ δὲ χεὶρ ἔοικεν εἶναι οὐχ ἓν ὄργανον
ἀλλὰ πολλά· ἔστι γὰρ ὡσπερεὶ ὄργανον πρὸ ὀργάνων. Τῷ
οὖν πλείστας δυναμένῳ δέξασθαι τέχνας τὸ ἐπὶ πλεῖστον τῶν
ὀργάνων χρήσιμον τὴν χεῖρα ἀποδέδωκεν ἡ φύσις. Ἀλλ' οἱ
λέγοντες ὡς συνέστηκεν οὐ καλῶς ὁ ἄνθρωπος ἀλλὰ χείριστα
25 τῶν ζῴων (ἀνυπόδητόν τε γὰρ αὐτὸν εἶναί φασι καὶ γυμνὸν
καὶ οὐκ ἔχοντα ὅπλον πρὸς τὴν ἀλκήν) οὐκ ὀρθῶς λέγουσιν.
Τὰ μὲν γὰρ ἄλλα μίαν ἔχει βοήθειαν, καὶ μεταβάλλεσθαι
ἀντὶ ταύτης ἑτέραν οὐκ ἔστιν, ἀλλ' ἀναγκαῖον ὥσπερ ὑποδεδεμένον
ἀεὶ καθεύδειν καὶ πάντα πράττειν, καὶ τὴν περὶ τὸ
30 σῶμα ἀλεωρὰν μηδέποτε καταθέσθαι, μηδὲ μεταβάλλεσθαι
ὃ δὴ ἐτύγχανεν ὅπλον ἔχων. Τῷ δὲ ἀνθρώπῳ τάς τε βοηθείας
1Standing thus erect, man has no need of legs in front, and in their stead has been endowed by nature with arms and hands. Now it is the opinion of Anaxagoras that the possession of these hands is the cause of man being of all animals the most intelligent. But it is more rational to suppose that his endowment with hands is the consequence 5rather than the cause of his superior intelligence. For the hands are instruments or organs, and the invariable plan of nature in distributing the organs is to give each to such animal as can make use of it; nature acting in this matter as any prudent man would do. For it is a better plan to take a person who is already a flute-player and give him a flute, than to take one who possesses a flute and teach him 10the art of flute-playing. For nature adds that which is less to that which is greater and more important, and not that which is more valuable and greater to that which is less. Seeing then that such is the better course, and seeing also that of what is possible nature invariably brings about the best, we must conclude that man does not owe his superior intelligence to his hands, but his hands to his superior intelligence. 15For the most intelligent of animals is the one who would put the most organs to use; and the hand is not to be looked on as one organ but as many; for it is, as it were, an instrument for further instruments. This instrument, therefore,-the hand-of all instruments the most variously serviceable, has been given by nature to man, the animal of all animals the most capable of acquiring the most varied handicrafts.
Much 20in error, then, are they who say that the construction of man is not only faulty, but inferior to that of all other animals; seeing that he is, as they point out, bare-footed, naked, and without weapon of which to avail himself. For other animals have each but one mode of defence, and this they can never change; so that they must perform all the offices of life and even, so to speak, sleep with sandals on, 25never laying aside whatever serves as a protection to their bodies, nor changing such single weapon as they may chance to possess. But to man numerous modes of defence are open, and these, moreover, he may change at will; as also he may adopt such weapon as he pleases, and at such times as suit him. For the hand is talon, hoof, and horn, at will. So too it is spear, and sword, and whatsoever other weapon or instrument 30you please; for all these can it be from its power of grasping and holding them all.
Much 20in error, then, are they who say that the construction of man is not only faulty, but inferior to that of all other animals; seeing that he is, as they point out, bare-footed, naked, and without weapon of which to avail himself. For other animals have each but one mode of defence, and this they can never change; so that they must perform all the offices of life and even, so to speak, sleep with sandals on, 25never laying aside whatever serves as a protection to their bodies, nor changing such single weapon as they may chance to possess. But to man numerous modes of defence are open, and these, moreover, he may change at will; as also he may adopt such weapon as he pleases, and at such times as suit him. For the hand is talon, hoof, and horn, at will. So too it is spear, and sword, and whatsoever other weapon or instrument 30you please; for all these can it be from its power of grasping and holding them all.
687b
1 πολλὰς ἔχειν, καὶ ταύτας ἀεὶ ἔξεστι μεταβάλλειν, ἔτι
δ' ὅπλον οἷον ἂν βούληται καὶ ὅπου ἂν βούληται ἔχειν. Ἡ
γὰρ χεὶρ καὶ ὄνυξ καὶ χηλὴ καὶ κέρας γίνεται καὶ δόρυ καὶ
ξίφος καὶ ἄλλο ὁποιονοῦν ὅπλον καὶ ὄργανον· πάντα γὰρ
5 ἔσται ταῦτα διὰ τὸ πάντα δύνασθαι λαμβάνειν καὶ ἔχειν.
Ταύτῃ δὲ συμμεμηχανῆσθαι καὶ τὸ εἶδος τῇ φύσει τῆς
χειρός. Διαιρετὴ γὰρ καὶ πολυσχιδής· ἔνι γὰρ ἐν τῷ διαιρετὴν
εἶναι καὶ συνθετὴν εἶναι, ἐν τούτῳ δ' ἐκεῖνο οὐκ ἔστιν. Καὶ
χρῆσθαι ἑνὶ καὶ δυοῖν καὶ πολλαχῶς ἔστιν. Καὶ αἱ καμπαὶ
10 τῶν δακτύλων καλῶς ἔχουσι πρὸς τὰς λήψεις καὶ πιέσεις.
Καὶ ἐκ πλαγίου εἷς, καὶ οὗτος βραχὺς καὶ παχὺς ἀλλ' οὐ
μακρός· ὥσπερ γὰρ εἰ μὴ ἦν χεὶρ ὅλως, οὐκ ἂν ἦν λῆψις,
οὕτως κἂν εἰ μὴ ἐκ πλαγίου οὗτος ἦν. Οὗτος γὰρ κάτωθεν
ἄνω πιέζει, ὅπερ οἱ ἕτεροι ἄνωθεν κάτω· δεῖ δὲ τοῦτο συμβαίνειν,
15 εἰ μέλλει ἰσχυρῶς ὥσπερ σύναμμα ἰσχυρὸν συνδεῖν,
ἵνα ἰσάζῃ εἷς ὢν πολλοῖς. Καὶ βραχὺς διά τε τὴν ἰσχὺν καὶ
διότι οὐδὲν ὄφελος εἰ μακρός. Καὶ ὁ ἔσχατος δὲ μικρὸς
ὀρθῶς, καὶ ὁ μέσος μακρός, ὥσπερ κώπη μεσόνεως· μάλιστα
γὰρ τὸ λαμβανόμενον ἀνάγκη περιλαμβάνεσθαι κύκλῳ κατὰ
20 τὸ μέσον πρὸς τὰς ἐργασίας. Καὶ διὰ τοῦτο καλεῖται μέγας
μικρὸς ὤν, ὅτι ἄχρηστοι ὡς εἰπεῖν οἱ ἄλλοι ἄνευ τούτου. Εὖ
δὲ καὶ τὸ τῶν ὀνύχων μεμηχάνηται· τὰ μὲν γὰρ ἄλλα ζῷα
ἔχει καὶ πρὸς χρῆσιν αὐτούς, τοῖς δ' ἀνθρώποις ἐπικαλυπτήρια·
σκέπασμα γὰρ τῶν ἀκρωτηρίων εἰσίν.
25 Αἱ δὲ καμπαὶ τῶν βραχιόνων ἔχουσι πρός τε τὴν τῆς
τροφῆς προσαγωγὴν καὶ πρὸς τὰς ἄλλας χρήσεις ἐναντίως
τοῖς τετράποσιν. Ἐκείνοις μὲν γὰρ ἀναγκαῖον εἴσω κάμπτειν
τὰ ἐμπρόσθια κῶλα· χρῶνται γὰρ ποσίν, ἵν' ᾖ χρήσιμα πρὸς
τὴν πορείαν, ἐπεὶ θέλει γε κἀκείνων τοῖς πολυδακτύλοις οὐ
30 μόνον πρὸς τὴν πορείαν χρήσιμ' εἶναι τὰ ἔμπροσθεν σκέλη,
ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀντὶ χειρῶν, ὥσπερ καὶ φαίνεται χρώμενα· καὶ γὰρ
1In harmony with this varied office is the form which nature has contrived for it. For it is split into several divisions, and these are capable of divergence. Such capacity of divergence does not prevent their again converging so as to form a single compact body, whereas had the hand been an undivided mass, divergence would have been 5impossible. The divisions also may be used singly or two together and in various combinations. The joints, moreover, of the fingers are well constructed for prehension and for pressure. One of these also, and this not long like the rest but short and thick, is placed laterally. For were it not so placed all prehension would be as impossible, as were there no hand at all. For the pressure of this digit is applied from 10below upwards, while the rest act from above downwards; an arrangement which is essential, if the grasp is to be firm and hold like a tight clamp. As for the shortness of this digit, the object is to increase its strength, so that it may be able, though but one, to counterbalance its more numerous opponents. Moreover, were it long it would be of no use. This is the explanation of its being sometimes called the great digit, 15in spite of its small size; for without it all the rest would be practically useless. The finger which stands at the other end of the row is small, while the central one of all is long, like a center oar in a ship. This is rightly so; for it is mainly by the central part of the encircling grasp that a tool must be held when put to use.
No less skilfully contrived are the nails. For, while in man these serve simply as 20coverings to protect the tips of the fingers, in other animals they are also used for active purposes; and their form in each case is suited to their office.
The arms in man and the fore limbs in quadrupeds bend in contrary directions, this difference having reference to the ingestion of food and to the other offices which belong to these parts. For quadrupeds must of necessity bend their anterior limbs inwards that 25they may serve in locomotion, for they use them as feet. Not but what even among quadrupeds there is at any rate a tendency for such as are polydactylous to use their forefeet not only for locomotion but as hands. And they are in fact so used, as any one may see. For these animals seize hold of objects, and also repel assailants with their anterior limbs; whereas quadrupeds with solid hoofs use their hind legs for this 30latter purpose. For their fore limbs are not analogous to the arms and hands of man.
No less skilfully contrived are the nails. For, while in man these serve simply as 20coverings to protect the tips of the fingers, in other animals they are also used for active purposes; and their form in each case is suited to their office.
The arms in man and the fore limbs in quadrupeds bend in contrary directions, this difference having reference to the ingestion of food and to the other offices which belong to these parts. For quadrupeds must of necessity bend their anterior limbs inwards that 25they may serve in locomotion, for they use them as feet. Not but what even among quadrupeds there is at any rate a tendency for such as are polydactylous to use their forefeet not only for locomotion but as hands. And they are in fact so used, as any one may see. For these animals seize hold of objects, and also repel assailants with their anterior limbs; whereas quadrupeds with solid hoofs use their hind legs for this 30latter purpose. For their fore limbs are not analogous to the arms and hands of man.
688a
1 λαμβάνουσι καὶ ἀμύνονται τοῖς προσθίοις. Τὰ δὲ
μώνυχα τοῖς ὀπισθίοις· οὐ γὰρ ἔχει αὐτοῖς τὰ πρόσθια σκέλη
ἀνάλογον τοῖς ἀγκῶσι καὶ ταῖς χερσίν. Τῶν δὲ πολυδακτύλων
ἔνια καὶ διὰ τοῦτο καὶ πενταδακτύλους ἔχει τοὺς προσθίους
5 πόδας, τοὺς δ' ὄπισθεν τετραδακτύλους, οἷον λέοντες καὶ
λύκοι, ἔτι δὲ κύνες καὶ παρδάλεις· ὁ γὰρ πέμπτος ὥσπερ ὁ
τῆς χειρὸς γίνεται μέγας πέμπτος. Τὰ δὲ μικρὰ τῶν πολυδακτύλων
καὶ τοὺς ὀπισθίους ἔχει πενταδακτύλους διὰ τὸ
ἑρπυστικὰ εἶναι, ὅπως τοῖς ὄνυξι πλείοσιν οὖσιν ἀντιλαμβανόμενα
10 ῥᾷον ἀνέρπῃ πρὸς τὸ μετεωρότερον καὶ ὑπὲρ
κεφαλῆς. Μεταξὺ δὲ τῶν ἀγκώνων τοῖς ἀνθρώποις, τοῖς δ' ἄλλοις
τῶν ἐμπροσθίων σκελῶν, τὸ καλούμενον στῆθός ἐστι, τοῖς
μὲν ἀνθρώποις ἔχον πλάτος εὐλόγως (οὐ γὰρ κωλύουσιν οἱ
ἀγκῶνες ἐκ πλαγίου προσκείμενοι τοῦτον εἶναι τὸν τόπον
15 πλατύν), τοῖς δὲ τετράποσι διὰ τὴν ἐπὶ τὸ πρόσθιον τῶν
κώλων ἔκτασιν ἐν τῷ πορεύεσθαι καὶ μεταβάλλειν τὸν τόπον
στενὸν τοῦτ' ἔστι τὸ μόριον. Καὶ διὰ τοῦτο τὰ μὲν τετράποδα
τῶν ζῴων οὐκ ἔχει μαστοὺς ἐν τῷ τόπῳ τούτῳ· τοῖς δ'
ἀνθρώποις διὰ τὴν εὐρυχωρίαν καὶ τὸ σκεπάζεσθαι δεῖν τὰ
20 περὶ τὴν καρδίαν, διὰ τοῦτο ὑπάρχοντος τοῦ τόπου σαρκώδους
οἱ μαστοὶ διήρθρωνται, σαρκώδεις ὄντες τοῖς μὲν ἄρρεσι
διὰ τὴν εἰρημένην αἰτίαν, ἐπὶ δὲ τῶν θηλειῶν παρακέχρηται
καὶ πρὸς ἕτερον ἔργον ἡ φύσις, ὅπερ φαμὲν αὐτὴν πολλάκις
ποιεῖν· ἀποτίθεται γὰρ ἐνταῦθα τοῖς γεννωμένοις τροφήν.
25 Δύο δ' εἰσὶν οἱ μαστοὶ διὰ τὸ δύο τὰ μόρια εἶναι, τό τ'
ἀριστερὸν καὶ τὸ δεξιόν. Καὶ σκληρότεροι μέν, διωρισμένοι δὲ
διὰ τὸ καὶ τὰς πλευρὰς συνάπτεσθαι μὲν ἀλλήλας κατὰ τὸν
τόπον τοῦτον, μὴ ἐπίπονον δ' εἶναι τὴν φύσιν αὐτῶν.
Τοῖς δ' ἄλλοις ζῴοις ἐν μὲν τῷ στήθει μεταξὺ τῶν σκελῶν
30 ἀδύνατόν ἐστιν ἔχειν τοὺς μαστούς (ἐμποδίζοιεν μὲν γὰρ
ἂν πρὸς τὴν πορείαν), ἔχουσι δ' ἤδη πολλοὺς τρόπους. Τὰ
μὲν γὰρ ὀλιγοτόκα καὶ μώνυχα καὶ κερατοφόρα ἐν τοῖς μηροῖς
ἔχουσι τοὺς μαστούς, καὶ τούτους δύο, τὰ δὲ πολυτόκα ἢ
πολυσχιδῆ τὰ μὲν περὶ τὴν γαστέρα πλαγίους καὶ πολλούς,
35 οἷον ὗς καὶ κύων, τὰ δὲ δύο μόνους, περὶ μέσην μέντοι
1It is this hand-like office of the anterior limbs which explains why in some of the polydactylous quadrupeds, such as wolves, lions, dogs, and leopards, there are actually five digits on each forefoot, though there are only four on each hind one. For the fifth digit of the foot corresponds to the fifth digit of the hand, and like 5it is called the big one. It is true that in the smaller polydactylous quadrupeds the hind feet also have each five toes. But this is because these animals are creepers; and the increased number of nails serves to give them a tighter grip, and so enables them to creep up steep places with greater facility, or even to run head downwards.
In man between the arms, and in other animals between the forelegs, lies what 10is called the breast. This in man is broad, as one might expect; for as the arms are set laterally on the body, they offer no impediment to such expansion in this part. But in quadrupeds the breast is narrow, owing to the legs having to be extended in a forward direction in progression and locomotion.
Owing to this narrowness the mammae of quadrupeds are never placed on the breast. But in the human body there is 15ample space in this part; moreover, the heart and neighbouring organs require protection, and for these reasons this part is fleshy and the mammae are placed upon it separately, side by side, being themselves of a fleshy substance in the male and therefore of use in the way just stated; while in the female, nature, in accordance with what we say is her frequent practice, makes them minister to an additional function, 20employing them as a store-place of nutriment for the offspring. The human mammae are two in number, in accordance with the division of the body into two halves, a right and a left. They are somewhat firmer than they would otherwise be, because the ribs in this region are joined together; while they form two separate masses, because their presence is in no wise burdensome. In other animals than man, it is 25impossible for the mammae to be placed on the breast between the forelegs, for they would interfere with locomotion; they are therefore disposed of otherwise, and in a variety of ways. Thus in such animals as produce but few at a birth, whether horned quadrupeds or those with solid hoofs, the mammae are placed in the region of the thighs, and are two in number, while in such as produce litters, or such as are polydactylous, 30the dugs are either numerous and placed laterally on the belly, as in swine and dogs, or are only two in number, being set, however, in the center of the abdomen, as is the case in the lion. The explanation of this latter condition is not that the lion produces few at a birth, for sometimes it has more than two cubs at a time, but is to be found in the fact that this animal has no plentiful supply of milk.
In man between the arms, and in other animals between the forelegs, lies what 10is called the breast. This in man is broad, as one might expect; for as the arms are set laterally on the body, they offer no impediment to such expansion in this part. But in quadrupeds the breast is narrow, owing to the legs having to be extended in a forward direction in progression and locomotion.
Owing to this narrowness the mammae of quadrupeds are never placed on the breast. But in the human body there is 15ample space in this part; moreover, the heart and neighbouring organs require protection, and for these reasons this part is fleshy and the mammae are placed upon it separately, side by side, being themselves of a fleshy substance in the male and therefore of use in the way just stated; while in the female, nature, in accordance with what we say is her frequent practice, makes them minister to an additional function, 20employing them as a store-place of nutriment for the offspring. The human mammae are two in number, in accordance with the division of the body into two halves, a right and a left. They are somewhat firmer than they would otherwise be, because the ribs in this region are joined together; while they form two separate masses, because their presence is in no wise burdensome. In other animals than man, it is 25impossible for the mammae to be placed on the breast between the forelegs, for they would interfere with locomotion; they are therefore disposed of otherwise, and in a variety of ways. Thus in such animals as produce but few at a birth, whether horned quadrupeds or those with solid hoofs, the mammae are placed in the region of the thighs, and are two in number, while in such as produce litters, or such as are polydactylous, 30the dugs are either numerous and placed laterally on the belly, as in swine and dogs, or are only two in number, being set, however, in the center of the abdomen, as is the case in the lion. The explanation of this latter condition is not that the lion produces few at a birth, for sometimes it has more than two cubs at a time, but is to be found in the fact that this animal has no plentiful supply of milk.
688b
1 γαστέρα, οἷον λέγων. Τούτου δ' αἴτιον οὐχ ὅτι
ὀλιγοτόκον, ἐπεὶ τίκτει ποτὲ πλείω δυοῖν, ἀλλ' ὅτι οὐ
πολυγάλακτον· ἀναλίσκει γὰρ εἰς τὸ σῶμα τὴν λαμβανομένην
τροφήν, λαμβάνει δὲ σπάνιον διὰ τὸ σαρκοφάγον εἶναι. Ὁ δ'
5 ἐλέφας δύο μόνον ἔχει, τούτους δ' ὑπὸ ταῖς μασχάλαις τῶν
ἐμπροσθίων σκελῶν. Αἴτιον δὲ τοῦ μὲν δύο ἔχειν ὅτι μονοτόκον
ἐστί, τοῦ δὲ μὴ ἐν τοῖς μηροῖς ὅτι πολυσχιδές (οὐδὲν
γὰρ ἔχει πολυσχιδὲς ἐν τοῖς μηροῖς), ἄνω δὲ πρὸς ταῖς
μασχάλαις, ὅτι πρῶτοι οὗτοι τῶν μαστῶν τοῖς πολλοὺς ἔχουσι
10 μαστούς, καὶ ἱμῶνται γάλα πλεῖστον. Σημεῖον δὲ τὸ ἐπὶ
τῶν ὑῶν συμβαῖνον· τοῖς γὰρ πρώτοις γενομένοις τῶν χοίρων
τοὺς πρώτους παρέχουσι μαστούς· ᾧ οὖν τὸ πρῶτον γιγνόμενον
ἓν μόνον ἐστί, τούτῳ τοὺς μαστοὺς ἀναγκαῖον ἔχειν
τοὺς πρώτους· πρῶτοι δ' εἰσὶν οἱ ὑπὸ ταῖς μασχάλαις. Ὁ μὲν
15 οὖν ἐλέφας διὰ ταύτην τὴν αἰτίαν δύο ἔχει καὶ ἐν τούτῳ
τῷ τόπῳ, τὰ δὲ πολυτόκα περὶ τὴν γαστέρα. Τούτου δ' αἴτιον
ὅτι πλειόνων δεῖ μαστῶν τοῖς πλείω μέλλουσιν ἐκτρέφειν·
ἐπεὶ οὖν ἐπὶ πλάτος οὐχ οἷον τε ἀλλ' ἢ δύο μόνους ἔχειν διὰ
τὸ δύο εἶναι τό τ' ἀριστερὸν καὶ τὸ δεξιόν, ἐπὶ μῆκος ἀναγκαῖον
20 ἔχειν· ὁ δὲ μεταξὺ τόπος τῶν ἔμπροσθεν σκελῶν καὶ
τῶν ὄπισθεν ἔχει μῆκος μόνον. Τὰ δὲ μὴ πολυσχιδῆ ἀλλ' ὀλιγοτόκα
ἢ κερατοφόρα καὶ ἐν τοῖς μηροῖς ἔχει τοὺς μαστούς,
οἷον ἵππος ὄνος κάμηλος (ταῦτα γὰρ μονοτόκα, καὶ τὰ μὲν
μώνυχα, τὸ δὲ διχηλόν), ἔτι δ' ἔλαφος καὶ βοῦς καὶ αἲξ καὶ
25 τἆλλα πάντα τὰ τοιαῦτα. Αἴτιον δ' ὅτι τούτοις ἡ αὔξησις
ἐπὶ τὸ ἄνω τοῦ σώματός ἐστιν. Ὥσθ' ὅπου συλλογὴ καὶ
περιουσία γίνεται τοῦ περιττώματος καὶ αἵματος (οὗτος δ' ὁ
τόπος ἐστὶν ὁ κάτω καὶ περὶ τὰς ἐκροάς), ἐνταῦθα ἐποίησεν
ἡ φύσις τοὺς μαστούς. Ὅπου γὰρ κίνησις γίνεται τῆς τροφῆς,
30 ἐντεῦθεν καὶ λαβεῖν ἐστιν αὐτοῖς δυνατόν. Ἄνθρωπος μὲν
οὖν καὶ ὁ θῆλυς καὶ ὁ ἄρρην ἔχει μαστούς, ἐν δὲ τοῖς ἄλλοις
ἔνια τῶν ἀρρένων οὐκ ἔχει, οἷον ἵπποι οἱ μὲν οὐκ ἔχουσιν οἱ
δ' ἔχουσιν, ὅσοι ἐοίκασι τῇ μητρί.
Καὶ περὶ μὲν μαστῶν εἴρηται, μετὰ δὲ τὸ στῆθος ὁ περὶ
35 τὴν κοιλίαν ἐστὶ τόπος, ἀσύγκλειστος ταῖς πλευραῖς διὰ
τὴν εἰρημένην ἔμπροσθεν αἰτίαν, ὅπως μὴ ἐμποδίζωσι μήτε
1For, being a flesheater, it gets food at but rare intervals, and such nourishment as it obtains is all expended on the growth of its body.
In the elephant also there are but two mammae, which are placed under the axillae of the fore limbs. The mammae are not more than two, because this animal has only a single young one at a birth; and 5they are not placed in the region of the thighs, because they never occupy that position in any polydactylous animal such as this. Lastly, they are placed above, close to the axillae, because this is the position of the foremost dugs in all animals whose dugs are numerous, and the dugs so placed give the most milk. Evidence of this is furnished by the sow. For she always presents these foremost dugs to the first-born of her 10litter. A single young one is of course a first-born, and so such animals as only produce a single young one must have these anterior dugs to present to it; that is they must have the dugs which are under the axillae. This, then, is the reason why the elephant has but two mammae, and why they are so placed. But, in such animals as have litters of young, the dugs are disposed about the belly; the reason being that more dugs 15are required by those that will have more young to nourish. Now it is impossible that these dugs should be set transversely in rows of more than two, one, that is, for each side of the body, the right and the left; they must therefore be placed lengthways, and the only place where there is sufficient length for this is the region between the front and hind legs. As to the animals that are not polydactylous but produce 20few at a birth, or have horns, their dugs are placed in the region of the thighs. The horse, the ass, the camel are examples; all of which bear but a single young one at a time, and of which the two former have solid hoofs, while in the last the hoof is cloven. As still further examples may be mentioned the deer, the ox, the goat, and all other similar animals.
The explanation is that in these animals growth takes place in 25an upward direction; so that there must be an abundant collection of residual matter and of blood in the lower region, that is to say in the neighborhood of the orifices for efflux, and here therefore nature has placed the mammae. For the place in which the nutriment is set in motion must also be the place whence nutriment can be derived by them. In man there are mammae in the male as well as in the female; but some of the 30males of other animals are without them. Such, for instance, is the case with horses, some stallions being destitute of these parts, while others that resemble their dams have them. Thus much then concerning the mammae.
Next after the breast comes the region of the belly, which is left unenclosed by the ribs for a reason which has already been given; namely that there may be no impediment to the swelling which necessarily 35occurs in the food as it gets heated, nor to the expansion of the womb in pregnancy.
In the elephant also there are but two mammae, which are placed under the axillae of the fore limbs. The mammae are not more than two, because this animal has only a single young one at a birth; and 5they are not placed in the region of the thighs, because they never occupy that position in any polydactylous animal such as this. Lastly, they are placed above, close to the axillae, because this is the position of the foremost dugs in all animals whose dugs are numerous, and the dugs so placed give the most milk. Evidence of this is furnished by the sow. For she always presents these foremost dugs to the first-born of her 10litter. A single young one is of course a first-born, and so such animals as only produce a single young one must have these anterior dugs to present to it; that is they must have the dugs which are under the axillae. This, then, is the reason why the elephant has but two mammae, and why they are so placed. But, in such animals as have litters of young, the dugs are disposed about the belly; the reason being that more dugs 15are required by those that will have more young to nourish. Now it is impossible that these dugs should be set transversely in rows of more than two, one, that is, for each side of the body, the right and the left; they must therefore be placed lengthways, and the only place where there is sufficient length for this is the region between the front and hind legs. As to the animals that are not polydactylous but produce 20few at a birth, or have horns, their dugs are placed in the region of the thighs. The horse, the ass, the camel are examples; all of which bear but a single young one at a time, and of which the two former have solid hoofs, while in the last the hoof is cloven. As still further examples may be mentioned the deer, the ox, the goat, and all other similar animals.
The explanation is that in these animals growth takes place in 25an upward direction; so that there must be an abundant collection of residual matter and of blood in the lower region, that is to say in the neighborhood of the orifices for efflux, and here therefore nature has placed the mammae. For the place in which the nutriment is set in motion must also be the place whence nutriment can be derived by them. In man there are mammae in the male as well as in the female; but some of the 30males of other animals are without them. Such, for instance, is the case with horses, some stallions being destitute of these parts, while others that resemble their dams have them. Thus much then concerning the mammae.
Next after the breast comes the region of the belly, which is left unenclosed by the ribs for a reason which has already been given; namely that there may be no impediment to the swelling which necessarily 35occurs in the food as it gets heated, nor to the expansion of the womb in pregnancy.
689a
1 τὴν ἀνοίδησιν τῆς τροφῆς, ἣν ἀναγκαῖον συμβαίνειν
θερμαινομένης αὐτῆς, μήτε τὰς ὑστέρας τὰς περὶ τὴν
κύησιν. Τέλος δὲ τοῦ καλουμένου θώρακός ἐστι τὰ μόρια τὰ
περὶ τὴν τῆς περιττώσεως ἔξοδον, τῆς τε ξηρᾶς καὶ τῆς
5 ὑγρᾶς. Καταχρῆται δ' ἡ φύσις τῷ αὐτῷ μορίῳ ἐπί τε τὴν τῆς
ὑγρᾶς ἔξοδον περιττώσεως καὶ περὶ τὴν ὀχείαν, ὁμοίως ἔν τε
τοῖς θήλεσι καὶ τῶν ἀρρένων, ἔξω τινῶν ὀλίγων πᾶσι τοῖς
ἐναίμοις, ἐν δὲ τοῖς ζῳοτόκοις πᾶσιν. Αἴτιον δ' ὅτι ἡ γονὴ
ὑγρόν ἐστί τι καὶ περίττωμα· τοῦτο δὲ νῦν μὲν ὑποκείσθω,
10 ὕστερον δὲ δειχθήσεται περὶ αὐτοῦ. Τὸν αὐτὸν δὲ τρόπον
καὶ ἐν τοῖς θήλεσι τά τε καταμήνια, καὶ ᾗ προΐενται τὴν
γονήν· διορισθήσεται δὲ καὶ περὶ τούτων ὕστερον, νῦν δὲ ὑποὑγρὰ
15 δὲ τὴν φύσιν τὰ καταμήνια καὶ ἡ γονή, ὥστε τῶν
αὐτῶν καὶ τῶν ὁμοίων εἰς ταῦτα τὰ μόρια τὴν ἔκκρισιν εἶναι
κατὰ λόγον ἐστίν. Ἐντὸς δὲ πῶς ἔχει, καὶ πῇ διαφέρουσι τά
τε περὶ τὸ σπέρμα καὶ τὰ περὶ τὴν κύησιν, ἔκ τε τῆς ἱστορίας
τῆς περὶ τὰ ζῷα φανερὸν καὶ τῶν ἀνατομῶν, καὶ ὕστερον
20 λεχθήσεται ἐν τοῖς περὶ γενέσεως. Ὅτι δ' ἔχει καὶ τὰ
σχήματα τῶν μορίων τούτων πρὸς τὴν ἐργασίαν ἀναγκαίως,
οὐκ ἄδηλον. Ἔχει δὲ διαφορὰς τὸ τῶν ἀρρένων ὄργανον κατὰ
τὰς τοῦ σώματος διαφοράς. Οὐ γὰρ ὁμοίως ἅπαντα νευρώδη
τὴν φύσιν ἐστίν. Ἔτι δὲ μόνον τοῦτο τῶν μορίων ἄνευ
25 νοσερᾶς μεταβολῆς αὔξησιν ἔχει καὶ ταπείνωσιν· τούτων
γὰρ τὸ μὲν χρήσιμον πρὸς τὸν συνδυασμόν, τὸ δὲ πρὸς τὴν
τοῦ ἄλλου σώματος χρείαν· ἀεὶ γὰρ ὁμοίως ἔχοντα ἐνεπόδιζεν
ἄν. Συνέστηκε δὲ τὴν φύσιν ἐκ τοιούτων τὸ μόριον τοῦτο
ὥστε δύνασθαι ταῦτ' ἀμφότερα συμβαίνειν· τὸ μὲν γὰρ ἔχει
30 νευρῶδες τὸ δὲ χονδρῶδες, διόπερ συνιέναι τε δύναται καὶ
ἔκτασιν ἔχειν καὶ πνεύματός ἐστι δεκτικόν. Τὰ μὲν οὖν θήλεα
τῶν τετραπόδων πάντ' ἐστὶν ὀπισθουρητικὰ διὰ τὸ πρὸς τὴν
ὀχείαν οὕτως εἶναι αὐτοῖς χρησίμην τὴν θέσιν, τῶν δ'
ἀρρένων ὀλίγα ἐστὶν ὀπισθουρητικά, οἷον λὺγξ λέων κάμηλος
35 δασύπους· μώνυχον δ' οὐδέν ἐστιν ὀπισθουρητικόν.
1At the extreme end of what is called the trunk are the parts concerned in the evacuation of the solid and also of the fluid residue. In all sanguineous animals with some few exceptions, and in all Vivipara without any exception at all, the same part which serves for the evacuation of the fluid residue is also made by 5nature to serve in sexual congress, and this alike in male and female. For the semen is a kind of fluid and residual matter. The proof of this will be given hereafter, but for the present let it taken for granted. (The like holds good of the menstrual fluid in women, and of the part where they emit semen. This also, however, is a matter of which a more accurate account will be given hereafter. For 10the present let it be simply stated as a fact, that the catamenia of the female like the semen of the male are residual matter. Both of them, moreover, being fluid, it is only natural that the parts which serve for voidance of the urine should give issue to residues which resemble it in character.) Of the internal structure of these parts, and of the differences which exist between the parts concerned 15with semen and the parts concerned with conception, a clear account is given in the book of Researches concerning Animals and in the treatises on Anatomy. Moreover, I shall have to speak of them again when I come to deal with Generation. As regards, however, the external shape of these parts, it is plain enough that they are adapted to their operations, as indeed of necessity they must be. 20There are, however, differences in the male organ corresponding to differences in the body generally. For all animals are not of an equally sinewy nature. This organ, again, is the only one that, independently of any morbid change, admits of augmentation and of diminution of bulk. The former condition is of service in copulation, while the other is required for the advantage of the body at large. For, 25were the organ constantly in the former condition, it would be an incumbrance. The organ therefore has been formed of such constituents as will admit of either state. For it is partly sinewy, partly cartilaginous, and thus is enabled either to contract or to become extended, and is capable of admitting air.
All female quadrupeds void their urine backwards, because the position of the parts which 30this implies is useful to them in the act of copulation. This is the case with only some few males, such as the lynx, the lion, the camel, and the hare. No quadruped with a solid hoof is retromingent.
The posterior portion of the body and the parts about the legs are peculiar in man as compared with quadrupeds. Nearly all these latter have a tail, and this whether they are viviparous or oviparous.
All female quadrupeds void their urine backwards, because the position of the parts which 30this implies is useful to them in the act of copulation. This is the case with only some few males, such as the lynx, the lion, the camel, and the hare. No quadruped with a solid hoof is retromingent.
The posterior portion of the body and the parts about the legs are peculiar in man as compared with quadrupeds. Nearly all these latter have a tail, and this whether they are viviparous or oviparous.
689b
1 Τὰ δ' ὄπισθεν καὶ τὰ περὶ τὰ σκέλη τοῖς ἀνθρώποις
ἰδίως ἔχει πρὸς τὰ τετράποδα. Κέρκον δ' ἔχει πάντα
σχεδόν, οὐ μόνον τὰ ζῳοτόκα ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰ ᾠοτόκα· καὶ γὰρ ἂν
μὴ μέγεθος αὐτοῖς ἔχον ᾖ τοῦτο τὸ μόριον, ἀλλὰ σημείου γ'
5 ἕνεκεν ἔχουσί τινα στόλον. Ὁ δ' ἄνθρωπος ἄκερκον μέν
ἐστιν, ἰσχία δ' ἔχει, τῶν δὲ τετραπόδων οὐδέν. Ἔτι δὲ καὶ τὰ
σκέλη ὁ μὲν ἄνθρωπος σαρκώδη καὶ μηροὺς καὶ κνήμας, τὰ
δ' ἄλλα πάντ' ἄσαρκα ἔχει, οὐ μόνον τὰ ζῳοτόκα ἀλλ' ὅλως
ὅσα σκέλη ἔχει τῶν ζῴων· νευρώδη γὰρ ἔχει καὶ ὀστώδη καὶ
10 ἀκανθώδη. Τούτων δ' αἰτία μία τίς ἐστιν ὡς εἰπεῖν
ἁπάντων, διότι μόνον ἐστὶν ὀρθὸν τῶν ζῴων ἄνθρωπος. Ἵν'
οὖν φέρῃ ῥᾳδίως τἄνω κοῦφα ὄντα, ἀφελοῦσα τὸ σωματῶδες
ἀπὸ τῶν ἄνω πρὸς τὰ κάτω τὸ βάρος ἡ φύσις προσέθηκεν·
διόπερ τὰ ἰσχία σαρκώδη ἐποίησε καὶ μηροὺς καὶ γαστροκνημίας.
15 Ἅμα δὲ τήν τε τῶν ἰσχίων φύσιν καὶ πρὸς τὰς
ἀναπαύσεις ἀπέδωκε χρήσιμον· τοῖς μὲν γὰρ τετράποσιν
ἄκοπον τὸ ἑστάναι, καὶ οὐ κάμνουσι τοῦτο ποιοῦντα συνεχῶς
(ὥσπερ γὰρ κατακείμενα διατελεῖ ὑποκειμένων τεττάρων
ἐρεισμάτων), τοῖς δ' ἀνθρώποις οὐ ῥᾴδιον ὀρθῶς ἑστῶσι
20 διαμένειν, ἀλλὰ δεῖται τὸ σῶμα ἀναπαύσεως καὶ καθέδρας.
Ὁ μὲν οὖν ἄνθρωπος ἰσχία τ' ἔχει τὰ σκέλη σαρκώδη διὰ τὴν
εἰρημένην αἰτίαν, καὶ διὰ ταῦτα ἄκερκον (ἥ τε γὰρ ἐκεῖ
τροφὴ πορευομένη εἰς ταῦτα ἀναλίσκεται, καὶ διὰ τὸ ἔχειν
ἰσχία ἀφῄρηται ἡ τῆς οὐρᾶς ἀναγκαία χρῆσις), τὰ δὲ τετράποδα
25 καὶ τἆλλα ζῷα ἐξ ἐναντίας· νανώδεσι γὰρ οὖσι πρὸς
τὸ ἄνω τὸ βάρος καὶ τὸ σωματῶδες ἐπίκειται πᾶν, ἀφῃρημένον
ἀπὸ τῶν κάτωθεν· διόπερ ἀνίσχια καὶ σκληρὰ τὰ σκέλη
ἔχουσιν. Ὅπως δ' ἐν φυλακῇ καὶ σκέπῃ ᾖ τὸ λειτουργοῦν μόριον
τὴν ἔξοδον τοῦ περιττώματος, τὴν καλουμένην οὐρὰν καὶ
30 κέρκον αὐτοῖς ἀπέδωκεν ἡ φύσις, ἀφελομένη τῆς εἰς τὰ
σκέλη γιγνομένης τροφῆς. Ὁ δὲ πίθηκος διὰ τὸ τὴν μορφὴν
ἐπαμφοτερίζειν καὶ μηδετέρων τ' εἶναι καὶ ἀμφοτέρων, διὰ
τοῦτ' οὔτε οὐρὰν ἔχει οὔτ' ἰσχία, ὡς μὲν δίπους ὢν οὐράν,
ὡς δὲ τετράπους ἰσχία. Τῶν δὲ καλουμένων κέρκων διαφοραί
1For, even if the tail be of no great size, yet they have a kind of scut, as at any rate a small representative of it. But man is tail-less. He has, however, buttocks, which exist in none of the quadrupeds. His legs also are fleshy (as too are his thighs and feet); while the legs in all other animals that have any, whether viviparous or 5not, are fleshless, being made of sinew and bone and spinous substance. For all these differences there is, so to say, one common explanation, and this is that of all animals man alone stands erect. It was to facilitate the maintenance of this position that Nature made his upper parts light, taking away some of their corporeal substance, and using it to increase the weight of lithe parts below, so that the buttocks, 10the thighs, and the calves of the legs were all made fleshy. The character which she thus gave to the buttocks renders them at the same time useful in resting the body. For standing causes no fatigue to quadrupeds, and even the long continuance of this posture produces in them no weariness; for they are supported the whole time by four props, which is much as though they were lying down. But to man it is no task to 15remain for any length of time on his feet, his body demanding rest in a sitting position. This, then, is the reason why man has buttocks and fleshy legs; and the presence of these fleshy parts explains why he has no tail. For the nutriment which would otherwise go to the tail is used up in the production of these parts, while at the same time the existence of buttocks does away with the necessity of a tail. But in quadrupeds 20and other animals the reverse obtains. For they are of dwarf-like form, so that all the pressure of their weight and corporeal substance is on their upper part, and is withdrawn from the parts below. On this account they are without buttocks and have hard legs. In order, however, to cover and protect that part which serves for the evacuation of excrement, nature has given them a tail of some kind or other, 25subtracting for the purpose some of the nutriment which would otherwise go to the legs. Intermediate in shape between man and quadrupeds is the ape, belonging therefore to neither or to both, and having on this account neither tail nor buttocks; no tail in its character of biped, no buttocks in its character of quadruped. There is great diversity of so-called tails; and this organ like others is sometimes used by nature for 30by-purposes, being made to serve not only as a covering and protection to the fundament, but also for other uses and advantages of its possessor.
There are differences in the feet of quadrupeds. For in some of these animals there is a solid hoof, and in others a hoof cloven into two, and again in others a foot divided into many parts.
There are differences in the feet of quadrupeds. For in some of these animals there is a solid hoof, and in others a hoof cloven into two, and again in others a foot divided into many parts.
690a
1 τ' εἰσὶ πλείους καὶ ἡ φύσις παρακαταχρῆται καὶ ἐπὶ
τούτων, οὐ μόνον πρὸς φυλακὴν καὶ σκέπην τῆς ἕδρας, ἀλλὰ
καὶ πρὸς ὠφέλειαν καὶ χρῆσιν τοῖς ἔχουσιν.
Οἱ δὲ πόδες τοῖς μὲν τετράποσι διαφέρουσιν· τὰ μὲν
5 γὰρ μώνυχα αὐτῶν ἐστι τὰ δὲ διχηλὰ τὰ δὲ πολυσχιδῆ,
μώνυχα μὲν ὅσοις διὰ μέγεθος καὶ τὸ πολὺ γεῶδες ἔχειν ἀντὶ
κεράτων καὶ ὀδόντων εἰς τὴν τοῦ ὄνυχος φύσιν τὸ τοιοῦτον
μόριον ἔλαβεν ἀπόκρισιν, καὶ διὰ πλῆθος ἀντὶ πλειόνων ὀνύχων
εἷς ὄνυξ ἡ ὁπλή ἐστιν.
10 Καὶ ἀστράγαλον δὲ διὰ τοῦτο οὐκ ἔχουσιν ὡς ἐπὶ τὸ πολὺ
εἰπεῖν, διὰ τὸ δυσκινητοτέραν εἶναι τὴν καμπὴν τοῦ ὄπισθεν
σκέλους ἀστραγάλου ἐνόντος· θᾶττον γὰρ ἀνοίγεται καὶ κλείεται
τὰ μίαν ἔχοντα γωνίαν ἢ πλείους, ὁ δ' ἀστράγαλος γόμφος
ὢν ὥσπερ ἀλλότριον κῶλον ἐμβέβληται τοῖς δυσί, βάρος μὲν
15 παρέχον, ποιοῦν δ' ἀσφαλεστέραν τὴν βάσιν. Διὰ γὰρ τοῦτο
καὶ ἐν τοῖς ἐμπροσθίοις οὐκ ἔχουσιν ἀστράγαλον τὰ ἔχοντα
ἀστράγαλον, ἀλλ' ἐν τοῖς ὄπισθεν, ὅτι δεῖ ἐλαφρὰ εἶναι τὰ
ἡγούμενα καὶ εὔκαμπτα, τὸ δ' ἀσφαλὲς καὶ τὴν τάσιν ἐν
τοῖς ὄπισθεν. Ἔτι δὲ πρὸς τὸ ἀμύνεσθαι ἐμβριθεστέραν ποιεῖ
20 τὴν πληγήν· τὰ δὲ τοιαῦτα τοῖς ὄπισθεν χρῆται κώλοις,
λακτίζοντα τὸ λυποῦν. Τὰ δὲ διχηλὰ ἔχει ἀστράγαλον (κουφότερα
γὰρ τὰ ὄπισθεν), καὶ διὰ τὸ ἔχειν ἀστράγαλον καὶ
οὐ μώνυχά ἐστιν, ὡς τὸ ἐκλεῖπον ὀστῶδες ἐκ τοῦ ποδὸς ἐν τῇ
κάμψει μένον. Τὰ δὲ πολυδάκτυλα οὐκ ἔχει ἀστράγαλον·
25 οὐ γὰρ ἂν ἦν πολυδάκτυλα, ἀλλὰ τοσοῦτον ἐσχίζετο τὸ
πλάτος ὅσον ἐπέχει ὁ ἀστράγαλος. Διὸ καὶ τῶν ἐχόντων
αὐτὸν τὰ πλείω διχηλά. Ὁ δ' ἄνθρωπος πόδας μεγίστους ἔχει τῶν ζῴων ὡς κατὰ
μέγεθος, εὐλόγως· μόνον γὰρ ἕστηκεν ὀρθόν, ὥστε τοὺς
μέλλοντας δύ' ὄντας ἕξειν πᾶν τὸ τοῦ σώματος βάρος δεῖ μῆκος
30 ἔχειν καὶ πλάτος. Καὶ τὸ τῶν δακτύλων δὴ μέγεθος ἐναντίως
ἔχει ἐπί τε τῶν ποδῶν καὶ τῶν χειρῶν κατὰ λόγον· τῶν
μὲν γὰρ τὸ λαμβάνειν ἔργον καὶ πιέζειν, ὥστε δεῖ μακροὺς
1The hoof is solid when the body is large and the earthy matter present in great abundance; in which case the earth, instead of forming teeth and horns, is separated in the character of a nail, and being very abundant forms one continuous nail, that is a hoof, in place of several. This consumption of the earthy matter on the hoof 5explains why these animals, as a rule, have no huckle-bones; a second reason being that the presence of such a bone in the joint of the hind leg somewhat impedes its free motion. For extension and flexion can be made more rapidly in parts that have but one angle than in parts that have several. But the presence of a huckle-bone, as a connecting bolt, is the introduction as it were of a new limb-segment between 10the two ordinary ones. Such an addition adds to the weight of the foot, but renders the act of progression more secure. Thus it is that in such animals as have a hucklebone, it is only in the posterior and not in the anterior limbs that this bone is found. For the anterior limbs, moving as they do in advance of the others, require to be light and capable of ready flexion, whereas firmness and extensibility are 15what are wanted in the hind limbs. Moreover, a huckle-bone adds weight to the blow of a limb, and so renders it a suitable weapon of defence; and these animals all use their hind legs to protect themselves, kicking out with their heels against anything which annoys them. In the cloven-hoofed quadrupeds the lighter character of the hind legs admits of there being a huckle-bone; and the presence of the huckle-bone 20prevents them from having a solid hoof, the bony substance remaining in the joint, and therefore being deficient in the foot. As to the polydactylous quadrupeds, none of them have huckle-bones. For if they had they would not be polydactylous, but the divisions of the foot would only extend to that amount of its breadth which was covered by the huckle-bone. Thus it is that most of the animals that have 25huckle-bones are cloven-hoofed.
Of all animals man has the largest foot in proportion to the size of the body. This is only what might be expected. For seeing that he is the only animal that stands erect, the two feet which are intended to bear all the weight of the body must be both long and broad. Equally intelligible is it that the proportion between the size of the fingers and that of the whole hand should be 30inverted in the case of the toes and feet. For the function of the hands is to take hold of objects and retain them by pressure; so that the fingers require to be long.
Of all animals man has the largest foot in proportion to the size of the body. This is only what might be expected. For seeing that he is the only animal that stands erect, the two feet which are intended to bear all the weight of the body must be both long and broad. Equally intelligible is it that the proportion between the size of the fingers and that of the whole hand should be 30inverted in the case of the toes and feet. For the function of the hands is to take hold of objects and retain them by pressure; so that the fingers require to be long.
690b
1 ἔχειν (τῷ γὰρ καμπτομένῳ μέρει περιλαμβάνει ἡ χείρ),
τῶν δὲ τὸ βεβηκέναι ἀσφαλῶς, ὥστε τοῦτο δεῖ τὸ μόριον
εἶναι νομίζειν τὸ ἄσχιστον τοῦ ποδὸς τῶν δακτύλων. Ἐσχίσθαι
δὲ βέλτιον ἢ ἄσχιστον εἶναι τὸ ἔσχατον· ἅπαν γὰρ ἂν συμπαθὲς
5 ἦν ἑνὸς μορίου πονήσαντος, ἐσχισμένων δ' εἰς δακτύλους
τοῦτ' οὐ συμβαίνει ὁμοίως. Ἔτι δὲ καὶ βραχεῖς ὄντες
ἧττον συμβλάπτοιντο· διὸ πολυσχιδεῖς οἱ πόδες τῶν ἀνθρώπων,
οὐ μακροδάκτυλοι δ' εἰσίν. Τὸ δὲ τῶν ὀνύχων γένος διὰ
τὴν αὐτὴν αἰτίαν καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν χειρῶν ἔχουσιν· δεῖ γὰν σκέπεσθαι
10 τὰ ἀκρωτήρια μάλιστα διὰ τὴν ἀσθένειαν.
1For it is by its flexed portion that the hand grasps an object. But the function of the feet is to enable us to stand securely, and for this the undivided part of the foot requires to be of larger size than the toes. However, it is better for the extremity to be divided than to be undivided. For in an undivided foot disease of any one part would 5extend to the whole organ; whereas, if the foot be divided into separate digits, there is not an equal liability to such an occurrence. The digits, again, by being short would be less liable to injury. For these reasons the feet in man are many-toed, while the separate digits are of no great length. The toes, finally, are furnished with nails for the same reason as are the fingers, namely because such projecting parts are weak and 10therefore require special protection.
Book 4,Chapter 11 (690b11–692b2)
Περὶ μὲν οὖν τῶν ἐναίμων ζῴων καὶ ζῳοτόκων καὶ πεζῶν
εἴρηται σχεδὸν περὶ πάντων.
Τῶν δ' ἐναίμων ζῴων ᾠοτόκων δὲ τὰ μέν ἐστι τετράποδα
τὰ δ' ἄποδα. Τοιοῦτον δ' ἓν μόνον γένος ἐστὶν ἄπουν,
15 τὸ τῶν ὄφεων· ἡ δ' αἰτία τῆς ἀποδίας αὐτῶν εἴρηται ἐν
τοῖς περὶ τῆς πορείας τῶν ζῴων διωρισμένοις. Τὰ δ' ἄλλα
παραπλησίαν ἔχει τὴν μορφὴν τοῖς τετράποσι καὶ ᾠοτόκοις.
Ἔχει δὲ τὰ ζῷα ταῦτα κεφαλὴν μὲν καὶ τὰ ἐν αὐτῇ μόρια διὰ
τὰς αὐτὰς αἰτίας τοῖς ἄλλοις τοῖς ἐναίμοις ζῴοις, καὶ γλῶτταν
20 ἐν τῷ στόματι πλὴν τοῦ ποταμίου κροκοδείλου· οὗτος
δ' οὐκ ἂν δόξειεν ἔχειν, ἀλλὰ τὴν χώραν μόνον. Αἴτιον δ'
ὅτι τρόπον μέν τινα ἅμα χερσαῖος καὶ ἔνυδρός ἐστιν· διὰ
μὲν οὖν τὸ χερσαῖος εἶναι ἔχει χώραν γλώττης, διὰ δὲ τὸ
ἔνυδρος ἄγλωττος. Οἱ γὰρ ἰχθύες, καθάπερ εἴρηται πρότερον,
25 οἱ μὲν οὐ δοκοῦσιν ἔχειν, ἂν μὴ σφόδρα ἀνακλίνῃ τις, οἱ δ'
ἀδιάρθρωτον ἔχουσιν. Αἴτιον δ' ὅτι ὀλίγη ἦν χρεία τούτοις
τῆς γλώττης διὰ τὸ μὴ ἐνδέχεσθαι μασᾶσθαι μηδὲ προγεύεσθαι,
ἀλλ' ἐν τῇ καταπόσει γίνεσθαι τὴν αἴσθησιν καὶ
τὴν ἡδονὴν πᾶσι τούτοις τῆς τροφῆς. Ἡ μὲν γὰρ γλῶττα
30 τῶν χυμῶν ποιεῖ τὴν αἴσθησιν, τῶν δὲ ἐδεστῶν ἐν τῇ
καθόδῳ ἡ ἡδονή· καταπινομένων γὰρ αἰσθάνονται τῶν λιπαρῶν
καὶ θερμῶν καὶ τῶν ἄλλων τῶν τοιούτων. Ἔχει μὲν οὖν
καὶ τὰ ζῳοτόκα ταύτην τὴν αἴσθησιν, καὶ σχεδὸν τῶν πλείςτων
We have now done with such sanguineous animals as live on land and bring forth their young alive; and, having dealt with all their main kinds, we may pass on to such sanguineous animals as are oviparous. Of these some have four feet, while others have none. The latter form a single genus, namely the Serpents; and why these are apodous has been already explained in the dissertation on Animal Progression. 15Irrespective of this absence of feet, serpents resemble the oviparous quadrupeds in their conformation.
In all these animals there is a head with its component parts; its presence being determined by the same causes as obtain in the case of other sanguineous animals; and in all, with the single exception of the river crocodile, there is a tongue inside the mouth. In this one exception there would seem to be no actual tongue, but 20merely a space left vacant for it. The reason is that a crocodile is in a way a land-animal and a water-animal combined. In its character of land-animal it has a space for a tongue; but in its character of water-animal it is without the tongue itself. For in some fishes, as has already been mentioned, there is no appearance whatsoever of a tongue, unless the mouth be stretched open very widely indeed; while in others it is indistinctly 25separated from the rest of the mouth. The reason for this is that a tongue would be of but little service to such animals, seeing that they are unable to chew their food or to taste it before swallowing, the pleasurable sensations they derive from it being limited to the act of deglutition. For it is in their passage down the gullet that solid edibles cause enjoyment, while it is by the tongue that the savour of fluids is perceived. 30Thus it is during deglutition that the oiliness, the heat, and other such qualities of food are recognized; and, in fact, the satisfaction from most solid edibles and dainties is derived almost entirely from the dilatation of the oesophagus during deglutition.
In all these animals there is a head with its component parts; its presence being determined by the same causes as obtain in the case of other sanguineous animals; and in all, with the single exception of the river crocodile, there is a tongue inside the mouth. In this one exception there would seem to be no actual tongue, but 20merely a space left vacant for it. The reason is that a crocodile is in a way a land-animal and a water-animal combined. In its character of land-animal it has a space for a tongue; but in its character of water-animal it is without the tongue itself. For in some fishes, as has already been mentioned, there is no appearance whatsoever of a tongue, unless the mouth be stretched open very widely indeed; while in others it is indistinctly 25separated from the rest of the mouth. The reason for this is that a tongue would be of but little service to such animals, seeing that they are unable to chew their food or to taste it before swallowing, the pleasurable sensations they derive from it being limited to the act of deglutition. For it is in their passage down the gullet that solid edibles cause enjoyment, while it is by the tongue that the savour of fluids is perceived. 30Thus it is during deglutition that the oiliness, the heat, and other such qualities of food are recognized; and, in fact, the satisfaction from most solid edibles and dainties is derived almost entirely from the dilatation of the oesophagus during deglutition.
691a
1 ὄψων καὶ ἐδεστῶν ἐν τῇ καταπόσει τῇ τάσει τοῦ
οἰσοφάγου γίνεται ἡ χάρις. Διὸ οὐχ οἱ αὐτοὶ περὶ τὰ πόματα
καὶ τοὺς χυμοὺς ἀκρατεῖς εἰσι καὶ τὰ ὄψα καὶ τὴν ἐδωδήν,
ἀλλὰ τοῖς μὲν ἄλλοις ζῴοις καὶ ἡ κατὰ τὴν γεῦσιν ὑπάρχει
5 αἴσθησις, ἐκείνοις δ' ὡσπερανεὶ ἡ ἑτέρα. Τῶν δὲ τετραπόδων
καὶ ᾠοτόκων οἱ σαῦροι, ὥσπερ οἱ ὄφεις, δικρόαν ἔχουσι τὴν
γλῶτταν καὶ ἐπ' ἄκρου τριχώδη πάμπαν, καθάπερ εἴρηται
πρότερον. Ἔχουσι δὲ καὶ αἱ φῶκαι δικρόαν τὴν γλῶτταν· διὸ
καὶ λίχνα πάντα τὰ ζῷά ἐστι ταῦτα. Ἔστι δὲ καὶ καρχαρόδοντα
10 τὰ τετράποδα τῶν ᾠοτόκων, ὥσπερ οἱ ἰχθύες.
Τὰ δ' αἰσθητήρια πάντα ὁμοίως ἔχουσι τοῖς ἄλλοις ζῴοις,
οἷον τῆς ὀσφρήσεως μυκτῆρας καὶ ὄψεως ὀφθαλμοὺς καὶ
ἀκοῆς ὦτα, πλὴν οὐκ ἐπανεστηκότα, καθάπερ οὐδ' οἱ ὄρνιθες,
ἀλλὰ τὸν πόρον μόνον. Αἴτιον δ' ἀμφοτέροις ἡ τοῦ δέρματος
15 σκληρότης· τὰ μὲν γὰρ πτερωτὰ αὐτῶν ἐστι, ταῦτα δὲ
πάντα φολιδωτά, ἔστι δ' ἡ φολὶς ὅμοιον χώρᾳ λεπίδος, φύσει
δὲ σκληρότερον. Δηλοῖ δ' ἐπὶ τῶν χελωνῶν τοῦτο καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν
μεγάλων ὄφεων καὶ τῶν ποταμίων κροκοδείλων· ἰσχυρότεραι
γὰρ γίνονται τῶν ὀστῶν ὡς οὖσαι τοιαῦται τὴν φύσιν.
20 Οὐκ ἔχουσι δὲ τὰ ζῷα ταῦτα τὴν ἄνω βλεφαρίδα, ὥσπερ
οὐδ' οἱ ὄρνιθες, ἀλλὰ τῇ κάτω μύουσι διὰ τὴν αἰτίαν τὴν εἰρημένην
ἐπ' ἐκείνων. Τῶν μὲν οὖν ὀρνίθων ἔνιοι καὶ σκαρδαμύττουσιν
ὑμένι ἐκ τῶν κανθῶν, ταῦτα δὲ τὰ ζῷα οὐ σκαρδαμύττει·
σκληροφθαλμότερα γάρ ἐστι τῶν ὀρνίθων. Αἴτιον
25 δ' ὅτι ἐκείνοις χρησιμωτέρα ἡ ὀξυωπία πτηνοῖς οὖσι πρὸς
τὸν βίον, τούτοις δ' ἧττον· τρωγλόδυτα γὰρ πάντα τὰ τοιαῦτά
ἐστιν. Εἰς δύο δὲ διῃρημένης τῆς κεφαλῆς, τοῦ τε ἄνω μορίου
καὶ τῆς σιαγόνος τῆς κάτω, ἄνθρωπος μὲν οὖν καὶ τὰ ζῳοτόκα
τῶν τετραπόδων καὶ ἄνω καὶ κάτω κινοῦσι τὰς σιαγόνας
30 καὶ εἰς τὸ πλάγιον, οἱ δ' ἰχθύες καὶ ὄρνιθες καὶ τὰ
ᾠοτόκα τῶν τετραπόδων εἰς τὸ ἄνω καὶ κάτω μόνον. Αἴτιον
δ' ὅτι ἡ μὲν τοιαύτη κίνησις χρήσιμος εἰς τὸ δακεῖν καὶ
1This sensation, then, belongs even to animals that have no tongue, but while other animals have in addition the sensations of taste, tongueless animals have, we may say, no other satisfaction than it. What has now been said explains why intemperance as regards drinks and savoury fluids does not go hand in hand 5with intemperance as regards eating and solid relishes.
In some oviparous quadrupeds, namely in lizards, the tongue is bifid, as also it is in serpents, and its terminal divisions are of hair-like fineness, as has already been described. (Seals also have a forked tongue.) This it is which accounts for all these animals being so fond of dainty food. The teeth in the four-footed Ovipara 10are of the sharp interfitting kind, like the teeth of fishes. The organs of all the senses are present and resemble those of other animals. Thus there are nostrils for smell, eves for vision, and ears for hearing. The latter organs, however, do not project from the sides of the head, but consist simply of the duct, as also is the case in birds. This is due in both cases to the hardness 15of the integument; birds having their bodies covered with feathers, and these oviparous quadrupeds with horny plates. These plates are equivalent to scales, but of a harder character. This is manifest in tortoises and river crocodiles, and also in the large serpents. For here the plates become stronger than the bones, being seemingly of the same substance as these.
These animals 20have no upper eyelid, but close the eye with the lower lid In this they resemble birds, and the reason is the same as was assigned in their case. Among birds there are some that can not only thus close the eye, but can also blink by means of a membrane which comes from its corner. But none of the oviparous quadrupeds blink; for their eyes are harder than those of birds. The reason for 25this is that keen vision and far-sightedness are of very considerable service to birds, flying as they do in the air, whereas they would be of comparatively small use to the oviparous quadrupeds, seeing that they are all of troglodytic habits.
Of the two separate portions which constitute the head, namely the upper part and the lower jaw, the latter in man and in the viviparous quadrupeds 30moves not only upwards and downwards, but also from side to side; while in fishes, and birds and oviparous quadrupeds, the only movement is up and down.
In some oviparous quadrupeds, namely in lizards, the tongue is bifid, as also it is in serpents, and its terminal divisions are of hair-like fineness, as has already been described. (Seals also have a forked tongue.) This it is which accounts for all these animals being so fond of dainty food. The teeth in the four-footed Ovipara 10are of the sharp interfitting kind, like the teeth of fishes. The organs of all the senses are present and resemble those of other animals. Thus there are nostrils for smell, eves for vision, and ears for hearing. The latter organs, however, do not project from the sides of the head, but consist simply of the duct, as also is the case in birds. This is due in both cases to the hardness 15of the integument; birds having their bodies covered with feathers, and these oviparous quadrupeds with horny plates. These plates are equivalent to scales, but of a harder character. This is manifest in tortoises and river crocodiles, and also in the large serpents. For here the plates become stronger than the bones, being seemingly of the same substance as these.
These animals 20have no upper eyelid, but close the eye with the lower lid In this they resemble birds, and the reason is the same as was assigned in their case. Among birds there are some that can not only thus close the eye, but can also blink by means of a membrane which comes from its corner. But none of the oviparous quadrupeds blink; for their eyes are harder than those of birds. The reason for 25this is that keen vision and far-sightedness are of very considerable service to birds, flying as they do in the air, whereas they would be of comparatively small use to the oviparous quadrupeds, seeing that they are all of troglodytic habits.
Of the two separate portions which constitute the head, namely the upper part and the lower jaw, the latter in man and in the viviparous quadrupeds 30moves not only upwards and downwards, but also from side to side; while in fishes, and birds and oviparous quadrupeds, the only movement is up and down.
691b
1 διελεῖν, ἡ δ' εἰς τὸ πλάγιον ἐπὶ τὸ λεαίνειν. Τοῖς
μὲν οὖν ἔχουσι γομφίους χρήσιμος ἡ εἰς τὸ πλάγιον κίνησις,
τοῖς δὲ μὴ ἔχουσιν οὐδὲν χρήσιμος, διόπερ ἀφῄρηται πάντων
τῶν τοιούτων· οὐδὲν γὰρ ποιεῖ περίεργον ἡ φύσις. Τὰ
5 μὲν οὖν ἄλλα πάντα κινεῖ τὴν σιαγόνα τὴν κάτω, ὁ δὲ
ποτάμιος κροκόδειλος μόνος τὴν ἄνω. Τούτου δ' αἴτιον ὅτι
πρὸς τὸ λαβεῖν καὶ κατασχεῖν ἀχρήστους ἔχει τοὺς πόδας·
μικροὶ γάρ εἰσι πάμπαν. Πρὸς οὖν ταύτας τὰς χρείας ἀντὶ
ποδῶν τὸ στόμα ἡ φύσις χρήσιμον αὐτῷ ἐποίησεν. Πρὸς δὲ
10 τὸ κατασχεῖν ἢ λαβεῖν, ὁποτέρωθεν ἂν ᾖ ἡ πληγὴ ἰσχυροτέρα,
ταύτῃ χρησιμωτέρα κινουμένη ἐστίν· ἡ δὲ πληγὴ ἰσχυροτέρα
ἀεὶ ἄνωθεν ἢ κάτωθεν. Ἐπεὶ οὖν ἀμφοτέρων μὲν διὰ
τοῦ στόματος ἡ χρῆσις, καὶ τοῦ λαβεῖν καὶ τοῦ δακεῖν,
ἀναγκαιοτέρα δ' ἡ τοῦ κατασχεῖν μήτε χεῖρας ἔχοντι μήτε
15 πόδας εὐφυεῖς, χρησιμώτερον τὴν ἄνωθεν κινεῖν σιαγόνα ἢ
τὴν κάτωθεν αὐτοῖς. Διὰ τὸ αὐτὸ δὲ καὶ οἱ καρκίνοι τὸ
ἄνωθεν τῆς χηλῆς κινοῦσι μόριον, ἀλλ' οὐ τὸ κάτωθεν· ἀντὶ
χειρὸς γὰρ ἔχουσι τὰς χηλάς, ὥστε πρὸς τὸ λαβεῖν ἀλλ' οὐ
πρὸς τὸ διελεῖν χρήσιμον δεῖ εἶναι τὴν χηλήν. Τὸ δὲ διελεῖν
20 καὶ δακεῖν ὀδόντων ἔργον ἐστίν. Τοῖς μὲν οὖν καρκίνοις καὶ
τοῖς ἄλλοις ὅσοις ἐνδέχεται σχολαίως ποιεῖσθαι τὴν λῆψιν
διὰ τὸ μὴ ἐν ὑγρῷ εἶναι τὴν χρῆσιν τοῦ στόματος, διῄρηται,
καὶ λαμβάνουσι μὲν χερσὶν ἢ ποσί, διαιροῦσι δὲ τῷ στόματι
καὶ δάκνουσιν· τοῖς δὲ κροκοδείλοις ἐπ' ἀμφότερα χρήσιμον τὸ
25 στόμα πεποίηκεν ἡ φύσις, κινουμένων οὕτω τῶν σιαγόνων.
Ἔχουσι δὲ καὶ αὐχένα πάντα τὰ τοιαῦτα διὰ τὸ πλεύμονα
ἔχειν· δέχονται γὰρ τὸ πνεῦμα διὰ τῆς ἀρτήριας μῆκος
ἐχούσης. Ἐπεὶ δὲ τὸ μεταξὺ κεφαλῆς καὶ ὤμων κέκληται
αὐχήν, ἥκιστα τῶν τοιούτων ὁ ὄφις δόξειεν ἂν ἔχειν αὐχένα,
30 ἀλλὰ τὸ ἀνάλογον τῷ αὐχένι, εἴ γε δεῖ τοῖς εἰρημένοις
ἐσχάτοις διορίζειν τὸ μόριον τοῦτο. Ἴδιον δὲ πρὸς τὰ συγγενῆ
τῶν ζῴων ὑπάρχει τοῖς ὄφεσι τὸ στρέφειν τὴν κεφαλὴν
1The reason is that this latter movement is the one required in biting and dividing food, while the lateral movement serve to reduce substances to a pulp. To such animals, therefore, as have grinder-teeth this lateral motion is of service; but to those animals that have no grinders it would be quite useless, and they are therefore invariably 5without it. For nature never makes anything that is superfluous. While in all other animals it is the lower jaw that is movable, in the river crocodile it is exceptionally the upper. This is because the feet in this creature are so excessively small as to be useless for seizing and holding prey; on which account nature has given it a mouth that can serve for these purposes in their stead. For that direction of motion which 10will give the greater force to a blow will be the more serviceable one in holding or in seizing prey; and a blow from above is always more forcible than one from below. Seeing, then, that both the prehension and the mastication of food are offices of the mouth, and that the former of these two is the more essential in an animal that has neither hands nor suitably formed feet, these crocodiles will derive greater benefit from a 15motion of the upper jaw downwards than from a motion of the lower jaw upwards. The same considerations explain why crabs also move the upper division of each claw and not the lower. For their claws are substitutes for hands, and so require to be suitable for the prehension of food, and not for its comminution; for such comminution and biting is the office of teeth. In crabs, then, and in such other animals as are able to seize 20their food in a leisurely manner, inasmuch as their mouth is not called on to perform its office while they are still in the water, the two functions are assigned to different parts, prehension to the hands or feet, biting and comminution of food to the mouth. But in crocodiles the mouth has been so framed by nature as to serve both purposes, the jaws being made to move in the manner just described.
Another part present in 25these animals is a neck, this being the necessary consequence of their having a lung. For the windpipe by which the air is admitted to the lung is of some length. If, however, the definition of a neck be correct, which calls it the portion between the head and the shoulders, a serpent can scarcely be said with the same right as the rest of these animals to have a neck, but only to have something analogous to that part of the 30body. It is a peculiarity of serpents, as compared with other animals allied to them, that they are able to turn their head backwards without stirring the rest of the body.
Another part present in 25these animals is a neck, this being the necessary consequence of their having a lung. For the windpipe by which the air is admitted to the lung is of some length. If, however, the definition of a neck be correct, which calls it the portion between the head and the shoulders, a serpent can scarcely be said with the same right as the rest of these animals to have a neck, but only to have something analogous to that part of the 30body. It is a peculiarity of serpents, as compared with other animals allied to them, that they are able to turn their head backwards without stirring the rest of the body.
692a
1 εἰς τοὔπισθεν ἠρεμοῦντος τοῦ σώματος τοῦ λοιποῦ.
Τούτου δ' αἴτιον ὅτι καθάπερ τὰ ἔντομα ἑλικτόν ἐστιν, ὥστε
εὐκάμπτους καὶ χονδρώδεις τοὺς σπονδύλους ἔχειν. Ἐξ
ἀνάγκης μὲν οὖν διὰ ταύτην τὴν αἰτίαν τοῦτο συμβέβηκεν
5 αὐτοῖς, πρὸς δὲ τὸ βέλτιον φυλακῆς τε ἕνεκα τῶν ὄπισθεν
βλαπτόντων· μακρὸν γὰρ ὂν καὶ ἄπουν ἀφυές ἐστι πρός τε
τὴν στροφὴν καὶ πρὸς τὴν τῶν ὄπισθεν τήρησιν. Οὐδὲν γὰρ
ὄφελος αἴρειν, στρέφειν δὲ μὴ δύνασθαι τὴν κεφαλήν.
Ἔχουσι δὲ τὰ τοιαῦτα καὶ τῷ στήθει ἀνάλογον μόριον.
10 Μαστοὺς δ' οὔτ' ἐνταῦθα οὔτ' ἐν τῷ ἄλλῳ σώματι ἔχουσιν·
ἔχει δ' οὐδεὶς οὐδ' ὄρνις οὐδ' ἰχθύς. Τούτου δ' αἴτιον τὸ
μηδὲ γάλα ἔχειν τούτων μηδέν· ὁ δὲ μαστὸς ὑποδοχὴ καὶ
ὥσπερ ἀγγεῖόν ἐστι γάλακτος. Ἔχει δ' οὐδὲ ταῦτα οὔτ' ἄλλο
τῶν μὴ ζῳοτοκούντων ἐν αὑτοῖς οὐδὲν γάλα, διότι ᾠοτοκοῦσιν,
15 ἐν δὲ τῷ ᾠῷ ἐγγίνεται ἡ γαλακτώδης ὑπάρχουσα ἐν τοῖς
ζῳοτόκοις τροφή. Σαφέστερον δὲ περὶ αὐτῶν λεχθήσεται ἐν
τοῖς περὶ γενέσεως. Περὶ δὲ τῆς τῶν καμπύλων κάμψεως
ἐπέσκεπται πρόσθεν ἐν τοῖς περὶ πορείας κοινῇ πᾶσιν.
Ἔχουσι δὲ καὶ κέρκον τὰ τοιαῦτα, τὰ μὲν μείζω, τὰ δὲ
20 ἐλάττω, ὑπὲρ ἧς τὴν αἰτίαν καθόλου πρότερον εἰρήκαμεν.
Ἰσχνότατος δ' ὁ χαμαιλέων τῶν ᾠοτόκων καὶ πεζῶν ἐστι
πάντων· ὀλιγαιμότατος γάρ ἐστιν. Αἴτιον δὲ τὸ τῆς ψυχῆς
ἦθός ἐστιν αὐτοῦ· διὰ γὰρ τὸν φόβον γίνεται πολύμορφος.
Κατάψυξις γὰρ ὁ φόβος δι' ὀλιγαιμίαν καὶ δι' ἔνδειάν ἐστι
25 θερμότητος. Καὶ περὶ μὲν τῶν ἐναίμων ζῴων τῶν τ' ἀπόδων
1The reason of this is that a serpent, like an insect, has a body that admits of being curled up, its vertebrae being cartilaginous and easily bent. The faculty in question belongs then to serpents simply as a necessary consequence of this character of their vertebrae; but at the same time it has a final cause, for it enables 5them to guard against attacks from behind. For their body, owing to its length and the absence of feet, is ill-suited for turning round and protecting the hinder parts; and merely to lift the head, without the power of turning it round, would be of no use whatsoever.
The animals with which we are dealing have, moreover, a part which corresponds to the breast; but neither here nor elsewhere in their body 10have they any mammae, as neither has any bird or fish. This is a consequence of their having no milk; for a mamma is a receptacle for milk and, as it were, a vessel to contain it. This absence of milk is not peculiar to these animals, but is common to all such as are not internally viviparous. For all such produce eggs, and the nutriment which in Vivipara has the character of milk is in them engendered 15in the egg. Of all this, however, a clearer account will be given in the treatise on Generation. As to the mode in which the legs bend, a general account, in which all animals are considered, has already been given in the dissertation on Progression. These animals also have a tail, larger in some of them, smaller in others, and the reason for this has been stated in general terms in an earlier passage.
Of 20all oviparous animals that live on land there is none so lean as the Chamaeleon. For there is none that has so little blood. The explanation of this is to be found in the psychical temperament of the creature. For it is of a timid nature, as the frequent changes it undergoes in its outward aspect testify. But fear is a refrigeration, and results from deficiency of natural heat and scantiness of blood.
The animals with which we are dealing have, moreover, a part which corresponds to the breast; but neither here nor elsewhere in their body 10have they any mammae, as neither has any bird or fish. This is a consequence of their having no milk; for a mamma is a receptacle for milk and, as it were, a vessel to contain it. This absence of milk is not peculiar to these animals, but is common to all such as are not internally viviparous. For all such produce eggs, and the nutriment which in Vivipara has the character of milk is in them engendered 15in the egg. Of all this, however, a clearer account will be given in the treatise on Generation. As to the mode in which the legs bend, a general account, in which all animals are considered, has already been given in the dissertation on Progression. These animals also have a tail, larger in some of them, smaller in others, and the reason for this has been stated in general terms in an earlier passage.
Of 20all oviparous animals that live on land there is none so lean as the Chamaeleon. For there is none that has so little blood. The explanation of this is to be found in the psychical temperament of the creature. For it is of a timid nature, as the frequent changes it undergoes in its outward aspect testify. But fear is a refrigeration, and results from deficiency of natural heat and scantiness of blood.
692b
1 καὶ τετραπόδων, ὅσα τε μόρια αὐτῶν ἐστιν ἐκτὸς καὶ
διὰ τίν' αἰτίαν, εἴρηται σχεδόν.
1We have now done with such sanguineous animals as are quadrupedous and also such as are apodous, and have stated with sufficient completeness what external parts they possess, and for what reason they have them.
Book 4,Chapter 12 (692b3–695a27)
Ἐν δὲ τοῖς ὄρνισιν ἡ πρὸς ἄλληλα διαφορὰ ἐν τῇ
τῶν μορίων ἐστὶν ὑπεροχῇ καὶ ἐλλείψει καὶ κατὰ τὸ μᾶλλον
5 καὶ ἧττον. Εἰσὶ γὰρ αὐτῶν οἱ μὲν μακροσκελεῖς οἱ δὲ
βραχυσκελεῖς, καὶ τὴν γλῶτταν οἱ μὲν πλατεῖαν ἔχουσιν οἱ δὲ
στενήν· ὡσαύτως δὲ καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν ἄλλων μορίων. Ἰδίᾳ δ' ἐπ'
ὀλίγον διαφέρουσιν ἀλλήλων τοῖς μορίοις· πρὸς δὲ τὰ ἄλλα
ζῷα καὶ τῇ μορφῇ τῶν μορίων διαφέρουσιν.
10 Πτερωτοὶ μὲν οὖν ἅπαντές εἰσιν, καὶ τοῦτ' ἴδιον ἔχουσι
τῶν ἄλλων. Τὰ γὰρ μόρια τῶν ζῴων τὰ μέν ἐστι φολιδωτὰ
τὰ δὲ λεπιδωτὰ τυγχάνουσιν ὄντα, οἱ δ' ὄρνιθες πτερωτοί.
Καὶ τὸ πτερὸν σχιστὸν καὶ οὐχ ὅμοιον τῷ εἴδει τοῖς ὁλοπτέροις·
τῶν μὲν γὰρ ἄσχιστον τῶν δὲ σχιστόν ἐστι, καὶ τὸ μὲν
15 ἄκαυλον, τὸ δ' ἔχει καυλόν. Ἔχουσι δὲ καὶ ἐν τῇ κεφαλῇ
περιττὴν καὶ ἴδιον τὴν τοῦ ῥύγχους φύσιν πρὸς τἆλλα. Τοῖς
μὲν γὰρ ἐλέφασιν ὁ μυκτὴρ ἀντὶ χειρῶν, τῶν δ' ἐντόμων
ἐνίοις ἀντὶ στόματος ἡ γλῶττα, τούτοις δ' ἀντὶ ὀδόντων
καὶ χειρῶν τὸ ῥύγχος ὄστινον. Περὶ δὲ τῶν αἰσθητηρίων
20 εἴρηται πρόσθεν. Αὐχένα δὲ τεταμένον ἔχει τῇ φύσει καὶ διὰ τὴν αὐτὴν
αἰτίαν ἥνπερ καὶ τἆλλα· καὶ τοῦτον τὰ μὲν βραχὺν τὰ δὲ
μακρόν, καὶ σχεδὸν ἀκόλουθον τοῖς σκέλεσι τὰ πλεῖστα. Τὰ
μὲν γὰρ μακροσκελῆ μακρόν, τὰ δὲ βραχυσκελῆ βραχὺν ἔχει
τὸν αὐχένα χωρὶς τῶν στεγανοπόδων. Τὰ μὲν γὰρ εἰ εἶχε
The differences of birds compared one with another are differences of magnitude, and of the greater or smaller development of parts. 5Thus some have long legs, others short legs; some have a broad tongue, others a narrow tongue; and so on with the other parts. There are few of their parts that differ save in size, taking birds by themselves. But when birds are compared with other animals the parts present differences of form also. For in some animals these are hairy, in others scaly, and in others have scale-like plates, while birds are feathered.
Birds, 10then, are feathered, and this is a character common to them all and peculiar to them. Their feathers, too, are split and distinct in kind from the undivided feathers of insects; for the bird's feather is barbed, these are not; the bird's feather has a shaft, these have none. A second strange peculiarity which distinguishes birds from all other animals is their beak. For as in elephants the nostril serves in place of hands, 15and as in some insects the tongue serves in place of mouth, so in birds there is a beak, which, being bony, serves in place of teeth and lips. Their organs of sense have already been considered.
All birds have a neck extending from the body; and the purpose of this neck is the same as in such other animals as have one. This neck in some birds is long, in others short; its length, as a general rule, being pretty nearly determined 20by that of the legs. For long-legged birds have a long neck, short-legged birds a short one, to which rule, however, the web-footed birds form an exception. For to a bird perched up on long legs a short neck would be of no use whatsoever in collecting food from the ground; and equally useless would be a long neck, if the legs were short.
Birds, 10then, are feathered, and this is a character common to them all and peculiar to them. Their feathers, too, are split and distinct in kind from the undivided feathers of insects; for the bird's feather is barbed, these are not; the bird's feather has a shaft, these have none. A second strange peculiarity which distinguishes birds from all other animals is their beak. For as in elephants the nostril serves in place of hands, 15and as in some insects the tongue serves in place of mouth, so in birds there is a beak, which, being bony, serves in place of teeth and lips. Their organs of sense have already been considered.
All birds have a neck extending from the body; and the purpose of this neck is the same as in such other animals as have one. This neck in some birds is long, in others short; its length, as a general rule, being pretty nearly determined 20by that of the legs. For long-legged birds have a long neck, short-legged birds a short one, to which rule, however, the web-footed birds form an exception. For to a bird perched up on long legs a short neck would be of no use whatsoever in collecting food from the ground; and equally useless would be a long neck, if the legs were short.
693a
1 βραχὺν ἐπὶ σκέλεσι μακροῖς, οὐκ ἂν ὑπηρέτει αὐτοῖς
ὁ αὐχὴν πρὸς τὴν ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς νομήν, τοῖς δ' εἰ μακρὸς ἦν
ἐπὶ βραχέσιν. Ἔτι τοῖς κρεωφάγοις αὐτῶν ὑπεναντίον τὸ
μῆκος πρὸς τὸν βίον· ὁ γὰρ μακρὸς αὐχὴν ἀσθενής· τοῖς δ'
5 ὁ βίος ἐκ τοῦ κρατεῖν ἐστιν. Διόπερ οὐδὲν τῶν γαμψωνύχων
μακρὸν ἔχει τὸν αὐχένα. Τὰ δὲ στεγανόποδα καὶ διῃρημένους
μὲν ἔχοντα τοὺς πόδας σεσιμωμένους δέ, ὡς ἐν τῷ
αὐτῷ γένει ὄντα τοῖς στεγανόποσι, τὸν μὲν αὐχένα μακρὸν
ἔχουσιν (χρήσιμος γὰρ τοιοῦτος ὢν πρὸς τὴν τροφὴν
10 τὴν ἐκ τοῦ ὑγροῦ), τὰ δὲ σκέλη πρὸς τὴν νεῦσιν βραχέα.
Διαφορὰν δ' ἔχει καὶ τὰ ῥύγχη κατὰ τοὺς βίους. Τὰ μὲν γὰρ
εὐθὺ ἔχει τὰ δὲ γαμψόν, εὐθὺ μὲν ὅσα τροφῆς ἕνεκεν, γαμψὸν
δὲ τὸ ὠμοφάγον. Χρήσιμον γὰρ πρὸς τὸ κρατεῖν τὸ
τοιοῦτον, τὴν δὲ τροφὴν ἀναγκαῖον ἀπὸ ζῴων πορίζεσθαι.
15 Ὅσων δὲ ὁ βίος ἕλειος καὶ ποηφάγος, πλατὺ τὸ ῥύγχος
ἔχουσιν· πρός τε γὰρ τὴν ὄρυξιν χρήσιμον τὸ τοιοῦτον καὶ
πρὸς τὴν τῆς τροφῆς σπάσιν καὶ κουράν. Ἔνια δὲ μακρὸν
ἔχει τὸ ῥύγχος τῶν τοιούτων ὥσπερ καὶ τὸν αὐχένα
διὰ τὸ λαμβάνειν τὴν τροφὴν ἐκ τοῦ βάθους. Καὶ τὰ πολλὰ
20 τῶν τοιούτων καὶ τῶν στεγανοπόδων ἢ ἁπλῶς ἢ κατὰ τὸ
μόριον ταὐτὸ θηρεύοντα ζῇ τῶν ἐν τῷ ὑγρῷ ἔνια ζῳδαρίων·
καὶ γίνεται τοῖς τοιούτοις ὁ μὲν αὐχὴν καθάπερ ἁλιευταῖς
ὁ κάλαμος, τὸ δὲ ῥύγχος οἷον ὁρμιὰ καὶ τὸ ἄγκιστρον.
Τὰ δὲ πρανῆ τοῦ σώματος καὶ τὰ ὕπτια καὶ τὰ τοῦ καλουμένου
25 θώρακος ἐπὶ τῶν τετραπόδων, ὁλοφυὴς ὁ τόπος ἐπὶ
τῶν ὀρνίθων ἐστίν. Ἀπηρτημένας γὰρ ἀπὸ τῶν βραχιόνων
καὶ τῶν σκελῶν τῶν προσθίων ἔχουσι τὰς πτέρυγας, ἴδιόν
1Such birds, again, as are carnivorous would find length in this part interfere greatly with their habits of life. For a long neck is weak, and it is on their superior strength that carnivorous birds depend for their subsistence. No bird, therefore, that has talons ever has an elongated neck. In web-footed birds, however, 5and in those other birds belonging to the same class, whose toes though actually separate have flat marginal lobes, the neck is elongated, so as to be suitable for collecting food from the water; while the legs are short, so as to serve in swimming. The beaks of birds, as their feet, vary with their modes of life. For in some the beak is straight, in others crooked; straight, in those who use it merely 10for eating; crooked, in those that live on raw flesh. For a crooked beak is an advantage in fighting; and these birds must, of course, get their food from the bodies of other animals, and in most cases by violence. In such birds, again, as live in marshes and are herbivorous the beak is broad and flat, this form being best suited for digging and cropping, and for pulling up plants. In some of these 15marsh birds, however, the beak is elongated, as too is the neck, the reason for this being that the bird get its food from some depth below the surface. For most birds of this kind, and most of those whose feet are webbed, either in their entirety or each part separately, live by preying on some of the smaller animals that are to be found in water, and use these parts for their capture, the neck acting 20as a fishing-rod, and the beak representing the line and hook.
The upper and under sides of the body, that is of what in quadrupeds is called the trunk, present in birds one unbroken surface, and they have no arms or forelegs attached to it, but in their stead wings, which are a distinctive peculiarity of these animals; and, as these wings are substitutes for arms, their terminal segments lie on the 25back in the place of a shoulder-blade.
The legs are two in number, as in man; not however, as in man, bent outwards, but bent inwards like the legs of a quadruped.
The upper and under sides of the body, that is of what in quadrupeds is called the trunk, present in birds one unbroken surface, and they have no arms or forelegs attached to it, but in their stead wings, which are a distinctive peculiarity of these animals; and, as these wings are substitutes for arms, their terminal segments lie on the 25back in the place of a shoulder-blade.
The legs are two in number, as in man; not however, as in man, bent outwards, but bent inwards like the legs of a quadruped.
693b
1 τι μόριον· διόπερ ἀντὶ ὠμοπλάτης τὰ τελευταῖα ἐπὶ
τοῦ νώτου τῶν πτερύγων ἔχουσιν. Σκέλη δὲ καθάπερ ἄνθρωπος
δύο, κεκαμμένα καθάπερ τὰ τετράποδα εἴσω, καὶ οὐχ
ὥσπερ ἄνθρωπος ἔξω· τὰς δὲ πτέρυγας, ὡς τὰ πρόσθια
5 σκέλη τῶν τετραπόδων, ἐπὶ τὸ περιφερές. Δίπουν δ' ἐξ
ἀνάγκης ἐστίν· τῶν γὰρ ἐναίμων ἡ τοῦ ὄρνιθος οὐσία, ἅμα δὲ
καὶ πτερυγωτός. Τὰ δ' ἔναιμα οὐ κινεῖται πλείοσιν ἢ
τέτταρσι σημείοις. Τὰ μὲν οὖν ἀπηρτημένα μόρια, τέτταρα,
ὥσπερ τοῖς ἄλλοις τοῖς πεζοῖς καὶ τοῖς πορευτικοῖς, ἔστι καὶ
10 τοῖς ὄρνισιν, ἀλλὰ τοῖς μὲν βραχίονες καὶ σκέλη τέτταρα
ὑπάρχει, τοῖς δ' ὄρνισιν ἀντὶ τῶν προσθίων σκελῶν ἢ βραχιόνων
πτερύγιον κοινόν ἐστιν (κατὰ ταύτας γὰρ τονικοί
εἰσι, τῷ δ' ὄρνιθι ἐν τῇ οὐσίᾳ τὸ πτητικόν ἐστιν), ὥστε λείπεται
αὐτοῖς ἐξ ἀνάγκης δίποσιν εἶναι. Οὕτω γὰρ τέτταρσι
15 σημείοις κινήσονται μετὰ τῶν πτερύγων.
Στῆθος δ' ἔχουσιν ἅπαντες ὀξὺ καὶ σαρκῶδες, ὀξὺ μὲν
πρὸς τὴν πτῆσιν (τὰ γὰρ πλατέα, πολὺν ἀέρα ὠθοῦντα
δυσκίνητά ἐστι), σαρκῶδες δέ, διότι τὸ ὀξὺ ἀσθενὲς μὴ
πολλὴν ἔχον σκέπην. Ὑπὸ δὲ τὸ στῆθος κοιλία μέχρι πρὸς
20 τὴν ἔξοδον τοῦ περιττώματος καὶ τὴν τῶν σκελῶν καμπήν,
καθάπερ τοῖς τετράποσι καὶ τοῖς ἀνθρώποις. Μεταξὺ μὲν
οὖν τῶν πτερύγων καὶ τῶν σκελῶν ταῦτα τὰ μόριά ἐστιν.
Ὀμφαλὸν δ' ἐν μὲν τῇ γενέσει ἅπαντα ἔχει ὅσαπερ ζῳοτοκεῖται
ἢ ᾠοτοκεῖται, τῶν δ' ὀρνίθων αὐξηθέντων ἄδηλος.
25 Δῆλον δ' ἐν τοῖς περὶ γένεσιν. Εἰς γὰρ τὸ ἔντερον ἡ
σύμφυσις γίνεται, καὶ οὐχ ὥσπερ τοῖς ζῳοτόκοις τῶν
φλεβῶν τι μόριόν ἐστιν.
Ἔτι τῶν ὀρνίθων οἱ μὲν πτητικοὶ καὶ τὰς πτέρυγας ἔχουσι
1The wings are bent like the forelegs of a quadruped, having their convexity turned outwards. That the feet should be two in number is a matter of necessity. For a bird is essentially a sanguineous animal, and at the same time essentially a winged animal; and no sanguineous animal has more than four points for 5motion In birds, then, as in those other sanguineous animals that live and move upon the ground, the limbs attached to the trunk are four in number. But, while in all the rest these four limbs consist of a pair of arms and a pair of legs, or of four legs as in quadrupeds, in birds the arms or forelegs are replaced by a pair of wings, and this is their distinctive character. For it is of 10the essence of a bird that it shall be able to fly; and it is by the extension of wings that this is made possible. Of all arrangements, then, the only possible, and so the necessary, one is that birds shall have two feet; for this with the wings will give them four points for motion. The breast in all birds is sharp-edged, and fleshy. The sharp edge is to minister to flight, for broad 15surfaces move with considerable difficulty, owing to the large quantity of air which they have to displace; while the fleshy character acts as a protection, for the breast, owing to its form, would be weak, were it not amply covered.
Below the breast lies the belly, extending, as in quadrupeds and in man, to the vent and to the place where the legs are jointed to the trunk.
Such, then, 20are the parts which lie between the wings and the legs. Birds like all other animals, whether produced viviparously or from eggs, have an umbilicus during their development, but, when the bird has attained to fuller growth, no signs of this remain visible. The cause of this is plainly to be seen during the process of development; for in birds the umbilical cord unites with the intestine, 25and is not a portion of the vascular system, as is the case in viviparous animals.
Some birds, again, are well adapted for flight, their wings being large and strong. Such, for instance, are those that have talons and live on flesh.
Below the breast lies the belly, extending, as in quadrupeds and in man, to the vent and to the place where the legs are jointed to the trunk.
Such, then, 20are the parts which lie between the wings and the legs. Birds like all other animals, whether produced viviparously or from eggs, have an umbilicus during their development, but, when the bird has attained to fuller growth, no signs of this remain visible. The cause of this is plainly to be seen during the process of development; for in birds the umbilical cord unites with the intestine, 25and is not a portion of the vascular system, as is the case in viviparous animals.
Some birds, again, are well adapted for flight, their wings being large and strong. Such, for instance, are those that have talons and live on flesh.
694a
1 μεγάλας καὶ ἰσχυράς, οἷον οἱ γαμψώνυχες καὶ οἱ
ὠμοφάγοι· ἀνάγκη γὰρ πτητικοῖς εἶναι διὰ τὸν βίον, ὥσθ'
ἕνεκα τούτου καὶ πλῆθος ἔχουσι πτερῶν καὶ τὰς πτέρυγας
μεγάλας. Ἔστι δ' οὐ μόνον τὰ γαμψώνυχα ἀλλὰ καὶ ἄλλα
5 γένη ὀρνίθων πτητικά, ὅσοις ἡ σωτηρία ἐν τῇ ταχυτῆτι τῆς
πτήσεως ἢ ἐκτοπιστικά. Ἔνια δ' οὐ πτητικὰ τῶν ὀρνίθων
ἐστὶν ἀλλὰ βαρέα, οἷς ὁ βίος ἐπίγειος καὶ ἔστι καρποφάγα ἢ
πλωτὰ καὶ περὶ ὕδωρ βιοτεύουσιν. Ἔστι δὲ τὰ μὲν τῶν
γαμψωνύχων σώματα μικρὰ ἄνευ τῶν πτερύγων διὰ τὸ εἰς
10 ταύτας ἀναλίσκεσθαι τὴν τροφὴν εἰς τὰ ὅπλα καὶ τὴν βοήθειαν·
τοῖς δὲ μὴ πτητικοῖς τοὐναντίον τὰ σώματα ὀγκώδη,
διὸ βαρέα ἐστίν. Ἔχουσι δ' ἔνιοι τῶν βαρέων βοήθειαν ἀντὶ τῶν πτερύγων
τὰ καλούμενα πλῆκτρα ἐπὶ τοῖς σκέλεσιν. Ἅμα δὲ οἱ αὐτοὶ
οὐ γίνονται πλῆκτρα ἔχοντες καὶ γαμψώνυχες· αἴτιον δ' ὅτι
15 οὐδὲν ἡ φύσις ποιεῖ περίεργον. Ἔστι δὲ τοῖς μὲν γαμψωνύχοις
καὶ πτητικοῖς ἄχρηστα τὰ πλῆκτρα· χρήσιμα γάρ
ἐστιν ἐν ταῖς πεζαῖς μάχαις· διὸ ὑπάρχει ἐνίοις τῶν βαρέων.
Τούτοις δ' οὐ μόνον ἄχρηστοι ἀλλὰ καὶ βλαβεροὶ οἱ γαμψοὶ
ὄνυχες τῷ ἐμπήγνυσθαι ὑπεναντίοι πρὸς τὴν πορείαν ὄντες.
20 Διὸ καὶ γαμψώνυχα πάντα χαλεπῶς πορεύεται καὶ ἐπὶ
πέτραις οὐ καθιζάνουσιν· ὑπεναντία γὰρ αὐτοῖς πρὸς ἀμφότερα
ἡ τῶν ὀνύχων φύσις. Ἐξ ἀνάγκης δὲ τοῦτο περὶ τὴν
γένεσιν συμβέβηκεν· τὸ γὰρ γεῶδες ἐν τῷ σώματι καὶ θερμὸν
χρήσιμα μόρια γίνεται πρὸς τὴν ἀλκήν. Ἄνω μὲν ῥυὲν
25 ῥύγχους ἐποίησε σκληρότητα ἢ μέγεθος, ἂν δὲ κάτω ῥυῇ,
πλῆκτρα ἰσχυρὰ ἐν τοῖς σκέλεσιν ἢ ἐπὶ τῶν ποδῶν ὀνύχων
μέγεθος καὶ ἰσχύν.
Ἅμα δ' ἄλλοθι καὶ ἄλλοθι ἕκαστα τούτων οὐ ποιεῖ. Διασπωμένη
γὰρ ἀσθενὴς γίνεται ἡ φύσις τούτου τοῦ περιττώματος·
1For their mode of life renders the power of flight a necessity, and it is on this account that their feathers are so abundant and their wings so large. Besides these, however, there are also other genera of birds that can fly well; all those, namely, that depend on speed for security, or that are of migratory habits. On the 5other hand, some kinds of birds have heavy bodies and are not constructed for flight. These are birds that are frugivorous and live on the ground, or that are able to swim and get their living in watery places. In those that have talons the body, without the wings, is small; for the nutriment is consumed in the production of these wings, and of the weapons and defensive appliances; whereas in birds that 10are not made for flight the contrary obtains, and the body is bulky and so of heavy weight. In some of these heavy-bodied birds the legs are furnished with what are called spurs, which replace the wings as a means of defence. Spurs and talons never co-exist in the same bird. For nature never makes anything superfluous; and if a bird can fly, and has talons, it has no use for spurs; for these are weapons 15for fighting on the ground, and on this account are an appanage of certain heavy-bodied birds. These latter, again, would find the possession of talons not only useless but actually injurious; for the claws would stick into the ground and interfere with progression. This is the reason why all birds with talons walk so badly, and why they never settle upon rocks. For the character of their claws is ill-suited 20for either action.
All this is the necessary consequence of the process of development. For the earthy matter in the body issuing from it is converted into parts that are useful as weapons. That which flows upwards gives hardness or size to the beak; and, should any flow downwards, it either forms spurs upon the legs or gives size and strength to the claws upon the feet. But it does not at one and the 25same time produce both these results, one in the legs, the other in the claws; for such a dispersion of this residual matter would destroy all its efficiency. In other birds this earthy residue furnishes the legs with the material for their elongation; or sometimes, in place of this, fills up the interspaces between the toes.
All this is the necessary consequence of the process of development. For the earthy matter in the body issuing from it is converted into parts that are useful as weapons. That which flows upwards gives hardness or size to the beak; and, should any flow downwards, it either forms spurs upon the legs or gives size and strength to the claws upon the feet. But it does not at one and the 25same time produce both these results, one in the legs, the other in the claws; for such a dispersion of this residual matter would destroy all its efficiency. In other birds this earthy residue furnishes the legs with the material for their elongation; or sometimes, in place of this, fills up the interspaces between the toes.
694b
1 τοῖς δὲ σκελῶν κατασκευάζει μῆκος, ἐνίοις
δ' ἀντὶ τούτων συμπληροῖ τὸ μεταξὺ τῶν ποδῶν. Καὶ διὰ
τοῦτο ὡς ἀναγκαῖον οἱ πλωτοὶ τῶν ὀρνίθων οἱ μὲν ἁπλῶς
εἰσι στεγανόποδες, οἱ δὲ διῃρημένην μὲν ἔχουσι τὴν καθ'
5 ἕκαστα τῶν δακτύλων φύσιν, πρὸς ἑκάστῳ δ' αὐτῶν προσπέφυκεν οἷον πλάτη καθ' ὅλον συνεχής. Ἐξ ἀνάγκης μὲν οὖν
ταῦτα συμβαίνει διὰ ταύτας τὰς αἰτίας· ὡς δὲ διὰ τὸ βέλτιον
ἔχουσι τοιούτους τοὺς πόδας τοῦ βίου χάριν, ἵνα ζῶντες ἐν
ὑγρῷ καὶ τῶν πτερῶν ἀχρείων ὄντων τοὺς πόδας χρησίμους
ἔχωσι πρὸς τὴν νεῦσιν. Γίνονται γὰρ ὥσπερ κῶπαι εἰσπλέουσι
10 τὰ πτερύγια τοῖς ἰχθύσιν· διὸ καὶ ἐὰν τῶν μὲν τὰ πτερύγια
σφαλῇ, τῶν δὲ τὰ μεταξὺ τῶν ποδῶν, οὐκέτι νέουσιν. Ἔνιοι
δὲ μακροσκελεῖς τῶν ὀρνίθων εἰσίν. Αἴτιον δ' ὅτι ὁ βίος τῶν
τοιούτων ἕλειος· τὰ γὰρ ὄργανα πρὸς τὸ ἔργον ἡ φύσις ποιεῖ,
ἀλλ' οὐ τὸ ἔργον πρὸς τὰ ὄργανα. Διὰ μὲν οὖν τὸ μὴ πλωτὰ
15 εἶναι οὐ στεγανόποδά ἐστι, διὰ δὲ τὸ ἐν ὑπείκοντι εἶναι τὸν
βίον μακροσκελῆ καὶ μακροδάκτυλα, καὶ τὰς καμπὰς ἔχουσι
πλείους ἐν τοῖς δακτύλοις οἱ πολλοὶ αὐτῶν. Ἐπεὶ δὲ οὐ
πτητικὰ μέν, ἐκ τῆς δ' αὐτῆς ὕλης ἐστὶ πάντα, ἡ εἰς τὸ
οὐροπύγιον αὐτοῖς τροφὴ εἰς τὰ σκέλη καταναλισκομένη ταῦτα
20 ηὔξησεν. Διὸ καὶ ἐν τῇ πτήσει ἀντ' οὐροπυγίου χρῶνται
αὐτοῖς· πέτονται γὰρ ἀποτείνοντες εἰς τὸ ὄπισθεν· οὕτω
γὰρ αὐτοῖς χρήσιμα τὰ σκέλη, ἄλλως δὲ ἐμποδίζοιεν ἄν.
Ἔνια δὲ βραχέα σκέλη πρὸς τῇ γαστρὶ ἔχοντα πέτανται. Τοῖς
μὲν γὰρ αὐτῶν οὐκ ἐμποδίζουσιν οἱ πόδες οὕτω, τοῖς δὲ
25 γαμψώνυξι καὶ πρὸ ἔργου εἰσὶ πρὸς τὴν ἁρπαγήν. Τῶν δ'
ἐχόντων ὀρνίθων τὸν αὐχένα μακρὸν οἱ μὲν παχύτερον
ἔχοντες πέτανται ἐκτεταμένῳ τῷ αὐχένι, οἱ δὲ λεπτὸν καὶ
μακρὸν συγκεκαμμένῳ· ἐπιπεταμένοις γὰρ διὰ τὴν σκέπην
ἧττον εὔθρυπτόν ἐστιν.
1Thus it is simply a matter of necessity, that such birds as swim shall either be actually web-footed, or shall have a kind of broad blade-like margin running along the whole length of each distinct toe. The forms, then, of these feet are simply the necessary results of the causes that have been mentioned. Yet at 5the same time they are intended for the animal's advantage. For they are in harmony with the mode of life of these birds, who, living on the water, where their wings are useless, require that their feet shall be such as to serve in swimming. For these feet are so developed as to resemble the oars of a boat, or the fins of a fish; and the destruction of the foot-web has the same effect as the 10destruction of the fins; that is to say, it puts an end to all power of swimming.
In some birds the legs are very long, the cause of this being that they inhabit marshes. I say the cause, because nature makes the organs for the function, and not the function for the organs. It is, then, because these birds are not meant for swimming that their feet are without webs, and it is because they live 15on ground that gives way under the foot that their legs and toes are elongated, and that these latter in most of them have an extra number of joints. Again, though all birds have the same material composition, they are not all made for flight; and in these, therefore, the nutriment that should go to their tail-feathers is spent on the legs and used to increase their size. This is the reason 20why these birds when they fly make use of their legs as a tail, stretching them out behind, and so rendering them serviceable, whereas in any other position they would be simply an impediment.
In other birds, where the legs are short, these are held close against the belly during flight. In some cases this is merely to keep the feet out of the way, but in birds that have talons the position 25has a further purpose, being the one best suited for rapine. Birds that have a long and a thick neck keep it stretched out during flight; but those whose neck though long is slender fly with it coiled up. For in this position it is protected, and less likely to get broken, should the bird fly against any obstacle.
In some birds the legs are very long, the cause of this being that they inhabit marshes. I say the cause, because nature makes the organs for the function, and not the function for the organs. It is, then, because these birds are not meant for swimming that their feet are without webs, and it is because they live 15on ground that gives way under the foot that their legs and toes are elongated, and that these latter in most of them have an extra number of joints. Again, though all birds have the same material composition, they are not all made for flight; and in these, therefore, the nutriment that should go to their tail-feathers is spent on the legs and used to increase their size. This is the reason 20why these birds when they fly make use of their legs as a tail, stretching them out behind, and so rendering them serviceable, whereas in any other position they would be simply an impediment.
In other birds, where the legs are short, these are held close against the belly during flight. In some cases this is merely to keep the feet out of the way, but in birds that have talons the position 25has a further purpose, being the one best suited for rapine. Birds that have a long and a thick neck keep it stretched out during flight; but those whose neck though long is slender fly with it coiled up. For in this position it is protected, and less likely to get broken, should the bird fly against any obstacle.
695a
1 Ἰσχίον δ' ἔχουσι μὲν οἱ ὄρνιθες πάντες ᾗ οὐκ
ἂν δόξαιεν ἔχειν, ἀλλὰ δύο μηροὺς ἴσχειν διὰ τὸ τοῦ ἰσχίου
μῆκος· ὑποτέταται γὰρ μέχρι μέσης τῆς γαστρός. Αἴτιον δ' ὅτι δίπουν ἐστὶ τοῦτο τὸ ζῷον, οὐκ ὀρθόν, ὡς εἴ γε εἶχε
καθάπερ ἐν τοῖς ἀνθρώποις ἢ τοῖς τετράποσιν, ἀπὸ τῆς
5 ἕδρας βραχὺ τὸ ἰσχίον καὶ τὸ σκέλος εὐθὺς ἐχόμενον, ἠδυνάτει
ἂν ὀρθὸν ἑστάναι. Ὁ μὲν γὰρ ἄνθρωπος ὀρθόν, τοῖς
δὲ τετράποσι πρὸς τὸ βάρος σκέλη ἐμπρόσθια ὑπερήρεισται.
Οἱ δ' ὄρνιθες οὐκ ὀρθοὶ μὲν διὰ τὸ νανώδεις εἶναι τὴν φύσιν,
σκέλη δ' ἐμπρόσθια οὐκ ἔχουσιν (διὰ τοῦτο πτέρυγας ἔχουσιν
10 ἀντ' αὐτῶν)· ἀντὶ δὲ τούτου μακρὸν ἡ φύσις τὸ ἰσχίον
ποιήσασα εἰς μέσον προσήρεισεν· ἐντεῦθεν δὲ ὑπέθηκε τὰ
σκέλη, ὅπως ἰσορρόπου ὄντος τοῦ βάρους ἔνθεν καὶ ἔνθεν
πορεύεσθαι δύνηται καὶ μένῃ. Δι' ἣν μὲν οὖν αἰτίαν δίπουν
ἐστὶν οὐκ ὀρθὸν ὂν εἴρηται. Τοῦ δ' ἄσαρκα τὰ σκέλη εἶναι
15 ἡ αὐτὴ αἰτία καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν τετραπόδων, ὑπὲρ ἧς καὶ πρόσθεν
εἴρηται. Τετραδάκτυλος δ' ἐστὶ πᾶς ὄρνις σχιζόπους ὁμοίως καὶ
στεγανόπους. Περὶ γὰρ τοῦ στρουθοῦ τοῦ Λιβυκοῦ ὕστερον
ἐροῦμεν ὅτι διχηλός, ἅμα τοῖς λοιποῖς ἐναντιώμασιν οἷς ἔχει
πρὸς τὸ τῶν ὀρνίθων γένος. Τούτων δὲ τοὺς μὲν τρεῖς ἔχει
20 πρόσθεν, ἕνα δ' ὄπισθεν πρὸς ἀσφάλειαν ἀντὶ πτέρνης.
Καὶ τῶν μακροσκελῶν λείπει τοῦτο κατὰ μέγεθος, οἷον
συμβέβηκεν ἐπὶ τῆς κρεκός, πλείους δ' οὐκ ἔχουσι δακτύλους.
Ἐπὶ μὲν οὖν τῶν ἄλλων οὕτως ἡ τῶν δακτύλων ἔχει θέσις, ἡ
δ' ἴυγξ δύο μόνον ἔχει τοὺς ὄπισθεν καὶ δύο τοὺς ἔμπροσθεν.
25 Αἴτιον δ' ὅτι ἧττόν ἐστιν αὐτῆς τὸ σῶμα προπετὲς ἐπὶ
τὸ πρόσθεν ἢ τὸ τῶν ἄλλων. Ὄρχεις δ' ἔχουσι μὲν πάντες
οἱ ὄρνιθες, ἐντὸς δ' ἔχουσιν· ἡ δ' αἰτία ἐν τοῖς περὶ τὰς γενέσεις
λεχθήσεται τῶν ζῴων.
1In all birds there is an ischium, but so placed and of such length that it would scarcely be taken for an ischium, but rather for a second thigh-bone; for it extends as far as to the middle of the belly. The reason for this is that the bird is a biped, and yet is unable to stand erect. For if its ischium extended but a short way from 5the fundament, and then immediately came the leg, as is the case in man and in quadrupeds, the bird would be unable to stand up at all. For while man stands erect, and while quadrupeds have their heavy bodies propped up in front by the forelegs, birds can neither stand erect owing to their dwarf-like shape, nor have anterior legs to prop them up, these legs being replaced by wings. As a remedy for this Nature has given 10them a long ischium, and brought it to the center of the body, fixing it firmly; and she has placed the legs under this central point, that the weight on either side may be equally balanced, and standing or progression rendered possible. Such then is the reason why a bird, though it is a biped, does not stand erect. Why its legs are destitute of flesh has also already been stated; for the reasons are the same as in 15the case of quadrupeds.
In all birds alike, whether web-footed or not, the number of toes in each foot is four. For the Libyan ostrich may be disregarded for the present, and its cloven hoof and other discrepancies of structure as compared with the tribe of birds will be considered further on. Of these four toes three are in front, while the fourth points backward, serving, as a heel, to give steadiness. In the 20long-legged birds this fourth toe is much shorter than the others, as is the case with the Crex, but the number of their toes is not increased. The arrangement of the toes is such as has been described in all birds with the exception of the wryneck. Here only two of the toes are in front, the other two behind; and the reason for this is that the body of the wryneck is not inclined forward so much as that of other birds. 25All birds have testicles; but they are inside the body. The reason for this will be given in the treatise On the Generation of Animals.
In all birds alike, whether web-footed or not, the number of toes in each foot is four. For the Libyan ostrich may be disregarded for the present, and its cloven hoof and other discrepancies of structure as compared with the tribe of birds will be considered further on. Of these four toes three are in front, while the fourth points backward, serving, as a heel, to give steadiness. In the 20long-legged birds this fourth toe is much shorter than the others, as is the case with the Crex, but the number of their toes is not increased. The arrangement of the toes is such as has been described in all birds with the exception of the wryneck. Here only two of the toes are in front, the other two behind; and the reason for this is that the body of the wryneck is not inclined forward so much as that of other birds. 25All birds have testicles; but they are inside the body. The reason for this will be given in the treatise On the Generation of Animals.
Book 4,Chapter 13 (695a28–697b13)
Τὰ μὲν οὖν τῶν ὀρνίθων μόρια
Thus then are fashioned the parts of birds. But in fishes a still further stunting has occurred in the external parts.
695b
1 τὸν τρόπον ἔχει τοῦτον.
Τὸ δὲ τῶν ἰχθύων γένος ἔτι μᾶλλον κεκολόβωται
τῶν ἐκτὸς μορίων. Οὔτε γὰρ σκέλη οὔτε χεῖρας οὔτε πτέρυγας
ἔχουσιν (εἴρηται δὲ περὶ τούτων ἡ αἰτία πρότερον),
5 ἀλλ' ὅλον ἀπὸ τῆς κεφαλῆς τὸ κύτος συνεχές ἐστι μέχρι
τῆς οὐρᾶς. Ταύτην δ' οὐχ ὁμοίαν ἔχουσι πάντες, ἀλλὰ
τὰ μὲν παραπλησίαν, τῶν δὲ πλατέων ἔνια ἀκανθώδη καὶ
μακράν. Ἡ ἐκεῖθεν γὰρ αὔξησις γίνεται εἰς τὸ πλάτος, οἷόν
ἐστι νάρκαις καὶ τρυγόσι καὶ εἴ τι τοιοῦτον ἄλλο σέλαχός
10 ἐστιν. Τῶν μὲν οὖν τοιούτων ἀκανθῶδες καὶ μακρὸν τὸ
οὐραῖόν ἐστιν, ἐνίων δὲ σαρκῶδες μὲν βραχὺ δὲ διὰ τὴν
αὐτὴν αἰτίαν δι' ἥνπερ ταῖς νάρκαις· διαφέρει γὰρ οὐδέν, ἢ
βραχὺ μὲν σαρκωδέστερον δὲ, ἢ μακρὸν μὲν ἀσαρκότερον δ'
εἶναι. Ἐπὶ δὲ τῶν βατράχων τὸ ἐναντίον συμβέβηκεν· διὰ
15 γὰρ τὸ μὴ σαρκῶδες εἶναι τὸ πλάτος αὐτῶν τὸ ἐμπρόσθιον,
ὅσον ἀφῄρηται σαρκῶδες, πρὸς τὸ ὄπισθεν αὐτὸ ἔθηκεν ἡ
φύσις καὶ τὴν οὐράν. Οὐκ ἔχουσι δὲ ἀπηρτημένα κῶλα οἱ ἰχθύες, διὰ τὸ νευστικὴν
εἶναι τὴν φύσιν αὐτῶν κατὰ τὸν τῆς οὐσίας λόγον,
ἐπεὶ οὔτε περίεργον οὐδὲν οὔτε μάτην ἡ φύσις ποιεῖ. Ἐπεὶ
20 δ' ἔναιμά ἐστι κατὰ τὴν οὐσίαν, διὰ μὲν τὸ νευστικὰ εἶναι
πτερύγια ἔχει, διὰ δὲ τὸ μὴ πεζεύειν οὐκ ἔχει πόδας· ἡ γὰρ
τῶν ποδῶν πρόσθεσις πρὸς τὴν ἐπὶ τῷ πεδίῳ κίνησιν χρήσιμός
ἐστιν. Ἅμα δὲ πτερύγια τέτταρα καὶ πόδας οὐχ οἷόν
τε ἔχειν, οὐδ' ἄλλο κῶλον τοιοῦτον οὐδέν· ἔναιμα γάρ. Οἱ δὲ
25 κορδύλοι βράγχια ἔχοντες πόδας ἔχουσιν· πτερύγια γὰρ οὐκ
ἔχουσιν, ἀλλὰ τὴν οὐρὰν μανώδη καὶ πλατεῖαν. Ἔχουσι δὲ
τῶν ἰχθύων ὅσοι μὴ πλατεῖς, καθάπερ βάτος καὶ τρυγών,
τέτταρα πτερύγια, δύο μὲν ἐν τοῖς πρανέσι, δύο δ' ἐν τοῖς
1For here, for reasons already given, there are neither legs nor hands nor wings, the whole body from head to tail presenting one unbroken surface. This tail differs in different fishes, in some approximating in character to the fins, while in others, namely in some of the flat kinds, it is spinous and elongated, because the material 5which should have gone to the tail has been diverted thence and used to increase the breadth of the body. Such, for instance, is the case with the Torpedos, the Trygons, and whatever other Selachia there may be of like nature. In such fishes, then, the tail is spinous and long; while in some others it is short and fleshy, for the same reason which makes it spinous and long in the Torpedo. For to be short and fleshy comes 10to the same thing as to be long and less amply furnished with flesh.
What has occurred in the Fishing-frog is the reverse of what has occurred in the other instances just given. For here the anterior and broad part of the body is not of a fleshy character, and so all the fleshy substance which has been thence diverted has been placed by nature in the tail and hinder portion of the body.
In fishes there are no limbs 15attached to the body. For in accordance with their essential constitution they are swimming animals; and nature never makes anything superfluous or void of use. Now inasmuch as fishes are made swimming they have fins, and as they are not made for walking they are without feet; for feet are attached to the body that they may be of use in progression on land. Moreover, fishes cannot have feet, or any other similar limbs, 20as well as four fins; for they are essentially sanguineous animals. The Cordylus, though it has gills, has feet, for it has no fins but merely has its tail flattened out and loose in texture.
Fishes, unless, like the Batos and the Trygon, they are broad and flat, have four fins, two on the upper and two on the under side of the body; and no fish ever has more than these. For, if it had, it would be a bloodless animal.
The 25upper pair of fins is present in nearly all fishes, but not so the under pair; for these are wanting in some of those fishes that have long thick bodies, such as the eel, the conger, and a certain kind of Cestreus that is found in the lake at Siphae.
What has occurred in the Fishing-frog is the reverse of what has occurred in the other instances just given. For here the anterior and broad part of the body is not of a fleshy character, and so all the fleshy substance which has been thence diverted has been placed by nature in the tail and hinder portion of the body.
In fishes there are no limbs 15attached to the body. For in accordance with their essential constitution they are swimming animals; and nature never makes anything superfluous or void of use. Now inasmuch as fishes are made swimming they have fins, and as they are not made for walking they are without feet; for feet are attached to the body that they may be of use in progression on land. Moreover, fishes cannot have feet, or any other similar limbs, 20as well as four fins; for they are essentially sanguineous animals. The Cordylus, though it has gills, has feet, for it has no fins but merely has its tail flattened out and loose in texture.
Fishes, unless, like the Batos and the Trygon, they are broad and flat, have four fins, two on the upper and two on the under side of the body; and no fish ever has more than these. For, if it had, it would be a bloodless animal.
The 25upper pair of fins is present in nearly all fishes, but not so the under pair; for these are wanting in some of those fishes that have long thick bodies, such as the eel, the conger, and a certain kind of Cestreus that is found in the lake at Siphae.
696a
1 ὑπτίοις. Πλείω δὲ τούτων οὐδείς· ἄναιμοι γὰρ ἂν
ἦσαν. Τούτων δὲ τὰ μὲν ἐν τῷ πρανεῖ σχεδὸν πάντες ἔχουσι,
τὰ δ' ἐν τοῖς ὑπτίοις ἔνιοι τῶν μακρῶν καὶ πάχος ἐχόντων
οὐκ ἔχουσιν, οἷον ἔγχελυς καὶ γόγγρος καὶ κεστρέων τι γένος
5 τὸ ἐν τῇ λίμνῃ τῇ ἐν Σιφαῖς. Ὅσα δ' ἐστὶ μακροφυέστερα
καὶ ὀφιώδη μᾶλλον, οἷον σμύραινα, οὐδὲν ἔχουσι πτερύγιον
ἁπλῶς, ἀλλὰ ταῖς καμπαῖς κινοῦνται, χρώμεναι τῷ ὑγρῷ
ὥσπερ οἱ ὄφεις τῇ γῇ· τοῦτον γὰρ τὸν τρόπον οἱ ὄφεις νέουσιν
ὅνπερ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς ἕρπουσιν. Αἰτία δὲ τοῦ μὴ ἔχειν τοὺς
10 ὀφιώδεις τῶν ἰχθύων πτερύγια ἥπερ καὶ τῶν ὄφεων τοῦ
ἄποδας εἶναι. Τὸ δ' αἴτιον ἐν τοῖς περὶ πορείας καὶ κινήσεως
τῶν ζῴων εἴρηται. Ἢ γὰρ κακῶς ἂν ἐκινοῦντο, τέτταρσι
σημείοις κινούμενα. Εἴτε γὰρ σύνεγγυς εἶχον τὰ
πτερύγια, μόγις ἂν ἐκινοῦντο, εἴτε πόρρω, διὰ τὸ πολὺ
15 μεταξύ. Εἰ δὲ πλείω τὰ κινητικὰ σημεῖα εἶχον, ἄναιμα ἂν
ἦν. Ἡ δ' αὐτὴ αἰτία καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν δύο μόνον ἐχόντων πτερύγια
ἰχθύων· ὀφιώδη γάρ ἐστι καὶ εὐμηκέστερα, καὶ χρῆται
τῇ κάμψει ἀντὶ τῶν δύο πτερυγίων. Διὸ καὶ ἐν τῷ ξηρῷ
ἕρπουσι καὶ ζῶσι πολὺν χρόνον, καὶ τὰ μὲν οὐκ εὐθύ, τὰ
20 δ' οἰκεῖα τῆς πεζῆς ὄντα φύσεως ἧττον ἀσπαρίζει. Αὐτῶν
δὲ τῶν πτερυγίων τὰ ἐν τοῖς πρανέσιν ἔχει τὰ δύο ἔχοντα
πτερύγια μόνον, ὅσα μὴ κωλύεται διὰ τὸ πλάτος. Τὰ δ'
ἔχοντα, πρὸς τῇ κεφαλῇ ἔχει, διὰ τὸ μὴ ἔχειν μῆκος ἐν τῷ
τόπῳ, ᾧ ἀντὶ τούτων κινήσεται· ἐπὶ γὰρ τὴν οὐρὰν πρόμηκες
25 τὸ τῶν τοιούτων ἐστὶν ἰχθύων σῶμα. Οἱ δὲ βάτοι καὶ τὰ
τοιαῦτα ἀντὶ τῶν πτερυγίων τῷ ἐσχάτῳ πλάτει νέουσιν. Ἡ
δὲ νάρκη καὶ ὁ βάτραχος τὰ ἐν τῷ πρανεῖ κάτω διὰ τὸ πλάτος
τῶν ἄνω, τὰ δ' ἐν τοῖς ὑπτίοις πρὸς τῇ κεφαλῇ. Οὐ γὰρ
κωλύει κινεῖσθαι τὸ πλάτος, ἀλλ' ἀντὶ τοῦ ἄνω ἐλάττω ταῦτα
30 τῶν ἐν τῷ πρανεῖ ἔχει. Ἡ δὲ νάρκη πρὸς τῇ οὐρᾷ ἔχει τὰ
δύο πτερύγια· ἀντὶ δὲ τῶν δύο τῷ πλάτει χρῆται ὡς δυσὶ
πτερυγίοις ἑκατέρῳ τῷ ἡμικυκλίῳ.
Περὶ δὲ τῶν ἐν τῇ κεφαλῇ μορίων καὶ αἰσθητηρίων εἴρηται
πρότερον. Ἴδιον δ' ἔχει τὸ τῶν ἰχθύων γένος πρὸς τἆλλα
1When the body is still more elongated, and resembles that of a serpent rather than that of a fish, as is the case in the Smuraena, there are absolutely no fins at all; and locomotion is effected by the flexures of the body, the water being put to the same use by these fishes as is the ground by serpents. For serpents swim in 5water exactly in the same way as they glide on the ground. The reason for these serpent-like fishes being without fins is the same as that which causes serpents to be without feet; and what this is has been already stated in the dissertations on the Progression and the Motion of Animals. The reason was this. If the points of motion were four, motion would be effected under difficulties; for either the two 10pairs of fins would be close to each other, in which case motion would scarcely be possible, or they would be at a very considerable distance apart, in which case the long interval between them would be just as great an evil. On the other hand, to have more than four such motor points would convert the fishes into bloodless animals. A similar explanation applies to the case of those fishes that have only 15two fins. For here again the body is of great length and like that of a serpent, and its undulations do the office of the two missing fins. It is owing to this that such fishes can even crawl on dry ground, and can live there for a considerable time; and do not begin to gasp until they have been for a considerable time out of the water, while others, whose nature is akin to that of land-animals, do not even 20do as much as that. In such fishes as have but two fins it is the upper pair (pectorals) that is present, excepting when the flat broad shape of the body prevents this. The fins in such cases are placed at the head, because in this region there is no elongation, which might serve in the absence of fins as a means of locomotion; whereas in the direction of the tail there is a considerable lengthening out in 25fishes of this conformation. As for the Bati and the like, they use the marginal part of their flattened bodies in place of fins for swimming.
In the Torpedo and the Fishing-frog the breadth of the anterior part of the body is not so great as to render locomotion by fins impossible, but in consequence of it the upper pair (pectorals) are placed further back and the under pair (ventrals) are placed close to 30the head, while to compensate for this advancement they are reduced in size so as to be smaller than the upper ones. In the Torpedo the two upper fins (pectorals) are placed on the tail, and the fish uses the broad expansion of its body to supply their place, each lateral half of its circumference serving the office of a fin.
In the Torpedo and the Fishing-frog the breadth of the anterior part of the body is not so great as to render locomotion by fins impossible, but in consequence of it the upper pair (pectorals) are placed further back and the under pair (ventrals) are placed close to 30the head, while to compensate for this advancement they are reduced in size so as to be smaller than the upper ones. In the Torpedo the two upper fins (pectorals) are placed on the tail, and the fish uses the broad expansion of its body to supply their place, each lateral half of its circumference serving the office of a fin.
696b
1 τὰ ἔναιμα ζῷα τὴν τῶν βραγχίων φύσιν· δι' ἣν δ'
αἰτίαν, εἴρηται ἐν τοῖς περὶ ἀναπνοῆς. Καὶ ἔχει δὲ τὰ
ἔχοντα βράγχια τὰ μὲν ἐπικαλύμματα τοῖς βραγχίοις, τὰ
δὲ σελάχη πάντα (χονδράκανθα γάρ) ἀκάλυπτα. Αἴτιον δ'
5 ὅτι οἱ μὲν ἀκανθώδεις εἰσί, τὸ δ' ἐπικάλυμμα ἀκανθῶδες,
τὰ δὲ σελάχη πάντα χονδράκανθα. Ἔτι δ' αἱ κινήσεις τῶν
μὲν νωθραὶ διὰ τὸ μὴ ἀκανθώδη εἶναι μηδὲ νευρώδη, τῶν
δὲ ἀκανθωδῶν ταχεῖα· τοῦ δ' ἐπικαλύμματος ταχεῖαν δεῖ
γίνεσθαι τὴν κίνησιν· ὥσπερ γὰρ πρὸς ἐκπνοὴν ἡ τῶν βραγχίων
10 ἐστὶ φύσις. Διὰ τοῦτο τοῖς σελαχώδεσι καὶ αὐτῶν
τῶν πόρων ἡ συναγωγὴ γίνεται τῶν βραγχίων, καὶ οὐ δεῖ
ἐπικαλύμματος, ὅπως γίγνηται ταχεῖα. Οἱ μὲν οὖν αὐτῶν
ἔχουσι πολλὰ βράγχια οἱ δ' ὀλίγα, καὶ οἱ μὲν διπλᾶ οἱ δ' ἁπλᾶ·
τὸ δ' ἔσχατον ἁπλοῦν οἱ πλεῖστοι. Τὴν δ' ἀκρίβειαν ἐκ τῶν
15 ἀνατομῶν περὶ τούτων καὶ ἐν ταῖς ἱστορίαις ταῖς περὶ τὰ
ζῷα δεῖ θεωρεῖν. Αἴτιον δὲ τοῦ πλήθους καὶ τῆς ὀλιγότητος
τὸ τοῦ ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ θερμοῦ πλῆθος καὶ ὀλιγότης· θάττω γὰρ
καὶ ἰσχυροτέραν τὴν κίνησιν δεῖ εἶναι τοῖς πλείω ἔχουσι
θερμότητα. Τὰ δὲ πλείω καὶ διπλᾶ βράγχια τοιαύτην ἔχει
20 τὴν φύσιν μᾶλλον τῶν ἁπλῶν καὶ ἐλαττόνων. Διὸ καὶ ἔνια
αὐτῶν ἔξω ζῆν δύναται πολὺν χρόνον, τῶν ἐχόντων ἐλάττω
καὶ ἧττον ἐγκρατῆ τὰ βράγχια, οἷον ἔγχελυς καὶ ὅσα ὀφιώδη·
οὐ γὰρ πολλῆς δέονται καταψύξεως.
Ἔχει δὲ καὶ περὶ τὸ στόμα διαφοράς. Τὰ μὲν γὰρ κατ'
25 ἀντικρὺ ἔχει τὸ στόμα καὶ εἰς τὸ πρόσθεν, τὰ δ' ἐν τοῖς
ὑπτίοις, οἷον οἵ τε δελφῖνες καὶ τὰ σελαχώδη· καὶ ὕπτια
στρεφόμενα λαμβάνει τὴν τροφήν. Φαίνεται δ' ἡ φύσις οὐ
μόνον σωτηρίας ἕνεκεν ποιῆσαι τοῦτο τῶν ἄλλων ζῴων (ἐν
γὰρ τῇ στρέψει σῴζεται τἆλλα βραδυνόντων· πάντα γὰρ τὰ
30 τοιαῦτα ζῳοφάγα ἐστίν), ἀλλὰ καὶ πρὸς τὸ μὴ ἀκολουθεῖν
τῇ λαιμαργίᾳ τῇ περὶ τὴν τροφήν· ῥᾷον γὰρ λαμβάνοντα διεφθείρετ'
ἂν διὰ τὴν πλήρωσιν ταχέως. Πρὸς δὲ τούτοις περιφερῆ
καὶ λεπτὴν ἔχοντα τὴν τοῦ ῥύγχους φύσιν οὐχ οἷόν τ'
εὐδιαίρετον ἔχειν. Ἔτι δὲ καὶ τῶν ἄνω τὸ στόμα ἐχόντων
1The head, with its several parts, as also the organs of sense, have already come under consideration.
There is one peculiarity which distinguishes fishes from all other sanguineous animals, namely, the possession of gills. Why they have these organs has been set forth in the treatise on Respiration. These gills are in most fishes covered by 5opercula, but in the Selachia, owing to the skeleton being cartilaginous, there are no such coverings. For an operculum requires fish-spine for its formation, and in other fishes the skeleton is made of this substance, whereas in the Selachia it is invariably formed of cartilage. Again, while the motions of spinous fishes are rapid, those of the Selachia are sluggish, inasmuch as they have neither fish-spine nor sinew; but an operculum 10requires rapidity of motion, seeing that the office of the gills is to minister as it were to expiration. For this reason in Selachia the branchial orifices themselves effect their own closure, and thus there is no need for an operculum to ensure its taking place with due rapidity. In some fishes the gills are numerous, in others few in number; in some again they are double, in others single. The last gill in most cases is single. 15For a detailed account of all this, reference must be made to the treatises on Anatomy, and to the book of Researches concerning Animals.
It is the abundance or the deficiency of the cardiac heat which determines the numerical abundance or deficiency of the gills. For, the greater an animal's heat, the more rapid and the more forcible does it require the branchial movement to be; and numerous and double gills act with more force and 20rapidity than such as are few and single. Thus, too, it is that some fishes that have but few gills, and those of comparatively small efficacy, can live out of water for a considerable time; for in them there is no great demand for refrigeration. Such, for example, are the eel and all other fishes of serpent-like form.
Fishes also present diversities as regards the mouth. For in some this is placed in front, at the very extremity of 25the body, while in others, as the dolphin and the Selachia, it is placed on the under surface; so that these fishes turn on the back in order to take their food. The purpose of Nature in this was apparently not merely to provide a means of salvation for other animals, by allowing them opportunity of escape during the time lost in the act of turning-for all the fishes with this kind of mouth prey on living animals-but also to prevent 30these fishes from giving way too much to their gluttonous ravening after food. For had they been able to seize their prey more easily than they do, they would soon have perished from over-repletion. An additional reason is that the projecting extremity of the head in these fishes is round and small, and therefore cannot admit of a wide opening.
There is one peculiarity which distinguishes fishes from all other sanguineous animals, namely, the possession of gills. Why they have these organs has been set forth in the treatise on Respiration. These gills are in most fishes covered by 5opercula, but in the Selachia, owing to the skeleton being cartilaginous, there are no such coverings. For an operculum requires fish-spine for its formation, and in other fishes the skeleton is made of this substance, whereas in the Selachia it is invariably formed of cartilage. Again, while the motions of spinous fishes are rapid, those of the Selachia are sluggish, inasmuch as they have neither fish-spine nor sinew; but an operculum 10requires rapidity of motion, seeing that the office of the gills is to minister as it were to expiration. For this reason in Selachia the branchial orifices themselves effect their own closure, and thus there is no need for an operculum to ensure its taking place with due rapidity. In some fishes the gills are numerous, in others few in number; in some again they are double, in others single. The last gill in most cases is single. 15For a detailed account of all this, reference must be made to the treatises on Anatomy, and to the book of Researches concerning Animals.
It is the abundance or the deficiency of the cardiac heat which determines the numerical abundance or deficiency of the gills. For, the greater an animal's heat, the more rapid and the more forcible does it require the branchial movement to be; and numerous and double gills act with more force and 20rapidity than such as are few and single. Thus, too, it is that some fishes that have but few gills, and those of comparatively small efficacy, can live out of water for a considerable time; for in them there is no great demand for refrigeration. Such, for example, are the eel and all other fishes of serpent-like form.
Fishes also present diversities as regards the mouth. For in some this is placed in front, at the very extremity of 25the body, while in others, as the dolphin and the Selachia, it is placed on the under surface; so that these fishes turn on the back in order to take their food. The purpose of Nature in this was apparently not merely to provide a means of salvation for other animals, by allowing them opportunity of escape during the time lost in the act of turning-for all the fishes with this kind of mouth prey on living animals-but also to prevent 30these fishes from giving way too much to their gluttonous ravening after food. For had they been able to seize their prey more easily than they do, they would soon have perished from over-repletion. An additional reason is that the projecting extremity of the head in these fishes is round and small, and therefore cannot admit of a wide opening.
697a
1 τὰ μὲν ἀνερρωγὸς ἔχει τὸ στόμα τὰ δὲ μύουρον, ὅσα
μὲν σαρκοφάγα, ἀνερρωγός, ὥσπερ τὰ καρχαρόδοντα, διὰ τὸ
ἐν τῷ στόματι εἶναι τοῖς τοιούτοις τὴν ἰσχύν, ὅσα δὲ μὴ
σαρκοφάγα, μύουρον. Τὸ δὲ δέρμα οἱ μὲν λεπιδωτὸν ἔχουσιν αὐτῶν (ἡ δὲ λεπὶς
5 διὰ λαμπρότητα καὶ λεπτότητα τοῦ σώματος ἀφίσταται), οἱ
δὲ τραχύ, οἷον ῥίνη καὶ βάτος καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα· ἐλάχιστα δὲ
τὰ λεῖα. Τὰ δὲ σελάχη ἀλεπίδωτα μὲν τραχέα δ' ἐστὶ διὰ τὸ
χονδράκανθα εἶναι· τὸ γὰρ γεῶδες ἐκεῖθεν ἡ φύσις εἰς τὸ
δέρμα κατανήλωκεν.
10 Ὄρχεις δ' οὐδεὶς ἔχει ἰχθὺς οὔτ' ἐκτὸς οὔτ' ἐντός, οὐδ'
ἄλλο τι τῶν ἀπόδων οὐδέν, διὸ οὐδ' οἱ ὄφεις. Πόρον δὲ τοῦ
περιττώματος καὶ τῶν περὶ τὴν γένεσιν τὸν αὐτόν, καθάπερ καὶ
τἆλλα ᾠοτόκα πάντα καὶ τετράποδα, διὰ τὸ μὴ ἔχειν κύστιν
μηδὲ γίνεσθαι περίττωμ' αὐτοῖς ὑγρόν. Τὸ μὲν οὖν τῶν
15 ἰχθύων γένος πρὸς τἆλλα ζῷα ταύτας ἔχει τὰς διαφοράς.
Οἱ δὲ δελφῖνες καὶ αἱ φάλαιναι καὶ πάντα τὰ τοιαῦτα τῶν
κητῶν βράγχια μὲν οὐκ ἔχουσιν, αὐλὸν δὲ διὰ τὸ πλεύμονα
ἔχειν· δεχόμενα γὰρ κατὰ τὸ στόμα τὴν θάλατταν ἀφιᾶσι
κατὰ τὸν αὐλόν. Ἀνάγκη μὲν γὰρ δέξασθαι τὸ ὑγρὸν διὰ τὸ
20 λαμβάνειν τὴν τροφὴν ἐν τῷ ὑγρῷ· δεξάμενα δ' ἀφιέναι
ἀναγκαῖον. Τὰ μὲν οὖν βράγχιά ἐστι χρήσιμα τοῖς μὴ ἀναπνέουσιν·
δι' ἣν δ' αἰτίαν, εἴρηται ἐν τοῖς περὶ ἀναπνοῆς·
ἀδύνατον γὰρ ἅμα τὸ αὐτὸ ἀναπνεῖν καὶ βράγχια ἔχειν· ἀλλὰ
πρὸς τὴν ἄφεσιν τοῦ ὕδατος ἔχουσι τὸν αὐλόν. Κεῖται δ'
25 αὐτοῖς οὗτος πρὸ τοῦ ἐγκεφάλου· διελάμβανε γὰρ ἂν ἀπὸ
τῆς ῥάχεως αὐτόν. Αἴτιον δὲ τοῦ πλεύμονα ταῦτα ἔχειν καὶ
ἀναπνεῖν, ὅτι τὰ μεγάλα τῶν ζῴων πλείονος δεῖται θερμότητος,
ἵνα κινῆται. Διὸ ὁ πλεύμων ἔγκειται αὐτοῖς θερμότητος
ὢν πλήρης αἱματικῆς. Ἔστι δὲ ταῦτα τρόπον τινὰ
30 πεζὰ καὶ ἔνυδρα· τὸν μὲν γὰρ ἀέρα δέχεται ὡς πεζά, ἄποδα
δ' ἐστὶ καὶ λαμβάνει ἐκ τοῦ ὑγροῦ τὴν τροφὴν ὥσπερ τὰ
ἔνυδρα.
1Again, even when the mouth is not placed on the under surface, there are differences in the extent to which it can open. For in some cases it can gape widely, while in others it is set at the point of a small tapering snout; the former being the case in carnivorous fishes, such as those with sharp interfitting teeth, whose strength 5lies in their mouth, while the latter is its form in all such as are not carnivorous.
The skin is in some fishes covered with scales (the scale of a fish is a thin and shiny film, and therefore easily becomes detached from the surface of the body). In others it is rough, as for instance in the Rhine, the Batos, and the like. Fewest of all are those whose skin is smooth. The Selachia have no scales, but a rough skin. 10This is explained by their cartilaginous skeleton. For the earthy material which has been thence diverted is expended by nature upon the skin.
No fish has testicles either externally or internally; as indeed have no apodous animals, among which of course are included the serpents. One and the same orifice serves both for the excrement and for the generative secretions, as is the case also in all other oviparous 15animals, whether two-footed or four-footed, inasmuch as they have no urinary bladder and form no fluid excretion.
Such then are the characters which distinguish fishes from all other animals. But dolphins and whales and all such Cetacea are without gills; and, having a lung, are provided with a blow-hole; for this serves them to discharge the sea-water which has been taken into the mouth. For, feeding as they do in 20the water, they cannot but let this fluid enter into their mouth, and, having let it in, they must of necessity let it out again. The use of gills, however, as has been explained in the treatise on Respiration, is limited to such animals as do not breathe; for no animal can possibly possess gills and at the same time be a respiratory animal. In order, therefore, that these Cetacea may discharge the water, they 25are provided with a blow-hole. This is placed in front of the brain; for otherwise it would have cut off the brain from the spine. The reason for these animals having a lung and breathing, is that animals of large size require an excess of heat, to facilitate their motion. A lung, therefore, is placed within their body, and is fully supplied with blood-heat. These creatures are after a fashion land and water animals 30in one. For so far as they are inhalers of air they resemble land-animals, while they resemble water-animals in having no feet and in deriving their food from the sea.
The skin is in some fishes covered with scales (the scale of a fish is a thin and shiny film, and therefore easily becomes detached from the surface of the body). In others it is rough, as for instance in the Rhine, the Batos, and the like. Fewest of all are those whose skin is smooth. The Selachia have no scales, but a rough skin. 10This is explained by their cartilaginous skeleton. For the earthy material which has been thence diverted is expended by nature upon the skin.
No fish has testicles either externally or internally; as indeed have no apodous animals, among which of course are included the serpents. One and the same orifice serves both for the excrement and for the generative secretions, as is the case also in all other oviparous 15animals, whether two-footed or four-footed, inasmuch as they have no urinary bladder and form no fluid excretion.
Such then are the characters which distinguish fishes from all other animals. But dolphins and whales and all such Cetacea are without gills; and, having a lung, are provided with a blow-hole; for this serves them to discharge the sea-water which has been taken into the mouth. For, feeding as they do in 20the water, they cannot but let this fluid enter into their mouth, and, having let it in, they must of necessity let it out again. The use of gills, however, as has been explained in the treatise on Respiration, is limited to such animals as do not breathe; for no animal can possibly possess gills and at the same time be a respiratory animal. In order, therefore, that these Cetacea may discharge the water, they 25are provided with a blow-hole. This is placed in front of the brain; for otherwise it would have cut off the brain from the spine. The reason for these animals having a lung and breathing, is that animals of large size require an excess of heat, to facilitate their motion. A lung, therefore, is placed within their body, and is fully supplied with blood-heat. These creatures are after a fashion land and water animals 30in one. For so far as they are inhalers of air they resemble land-animals, while they resemble water-animals in having no feet and in deriving their food from the sea.
697b
1 Καὶ αἱ φῶκαι δὲ καὶ αἱ νυκτερίδες διὰ τὸ ἐπαμφοτερίζειν
αἱ μὲν τοῖς ἐνύδροις καὶ πεζοῖς, αἱ δὲ τοῖς πτηνοῖς
καὶ πεζοῖς, διὰ τοῦτο ἀμφοτέρων τε μετέχουσι, καὶ οὐδετέρων.
Αἵ τε γὰρ φῶκαι ὡς μὲν ἔνυδροι πόδας ἔχουσιν, ὡς δὲ
5 πεζαὶ πτέρυγας (τοὺς γὰρ ὄπισθεν πόδας ἰχθυώδεις ἔχουσι
πάμπαν, ἔτι δὲ τοὺς ὀδόντας πάντας καρχαρόδοντας καὶ
ὀξεῖς)· καὶ αἱ νυκτερίδες ὡς μὲν πτηνὰ ἔχουσι πόδας, ὡς δὲ
τετράποδα οὐκ ἔχουσι, καὶ οὔτε κέρκον ἔχουσιν οὔτ' οὐροπύγιον,
διὰ μὲν τὸ πτηνὰ εἶναι κέρκον· διὰ δὲ τὸ πεζὰ οὐροπύγιον.
10 Συμβέβηκε δ' αὐταῖς τοῦτ' ἐξ ἀνάγκης· εἰσὶ γὰρ
δερμόπτεροι, οὐδὲν δ' ἔχει οὐροπύγιον μὴ σχιζόπτερον· ἐκ
τοιούτου γὰρ πτεροῦ γίνεται τὸ οὐροπύγιον. Ἡ δὲ κέρκος καὶ
ἐμπόδιος ἂν ἦν ὑπάρχουσα ἐν τοῖς πτεροῖς.
1So also seals lie halfway between land and water animals, and bats half-way between animals that live on the ground and animals that fly; and so belong to both kinds or to neither. For seals, if looked on as water-animals, are yet found to have feet; and, if looked on as land-animals, are yet found to have 5fins. For their hind feet are exactly like the fins of fishes; and their teeth also are sharp and interfitting as in fishes. Bats again, if regarded as winged animals, have feet; and, if regarded as quadrupeds, are without them. So also they have neither the tail of a quadruped nor the tail of a bird; no quadruped's tail, because they are winged animals; no bird's tail, because they 10are terrestrial. This absence of tail is the result of necessity. For bats fly by means of a membrane, but no animal, unless it has barbed feathers, has the tail of a bird; for a bird's tail is composed of such feathers. As for a quadruped's tail, it would be an actual impediment, if present among the feathers.
Book 4,Chapter 14 (697b14–30)
Τὸν αὐτὸν δὲ τρόπον καὶ ὁ στρουθὸς ὁ Λιβυκός·
15 τὰ μὲν γὰρ ὄρνιθος ἔχει, τὰ δὲ ζῴου τετράποδος. Ὡς μὲν
γὰρ οὐκ ὢν τετράπους πτερὰ ἔχει, ὡς δ' οὐκ ὢν ὄρνις οὔτε
πέταται μετεωριζόμενος, καὶ τὰ πτερὰ οὐ χρήσιμα πρὸς πτῆσιν ἀλλὰ τριχώδη. Ἔτι δὲ ὡς μὲν τετράπους ὢν βλεφαρίδας
ἔχει τὰς ἄνωθεν καὶ ψιλός ἐστι τὰ περὶ τὴν κεφαλὴν
καὶ τὰ ἄνω τοῦ αὐχένος, ὥστε τριχωδεστέρας ἔχειν τὰς
20 βλεφαρίδας, ὡς δ' ὄρνις ὢν τὰ κάτωθεν ἐπτέρωται, καὶ
δίπους μέν ἐστιν ὡς ὄρνις, διχαλὸς δ' ὡς τετράπους· οὐ γὰρ
δακτύλους ἔχει ἀλλὰ χηλάς. Τούτου δ' αἴτιον ὅτι τὸ μέγεθος
οὐκ ὄρνιθος ἔχει ἀλλὰ τετράποδος. Ἐλάχιστον γὰρ ἀναγκαῖον
εἶναι τὸ μέγεθος ὡς καθόλου εἰπεῖν τὸ τῶν ὀρνίθων· οὐ
25 γὰρ ῥᾴδιον πολὺν ὄγκον κινεῖσθαι σώματος μετέωρον.
Περὶ μὲν οὖν μορίων, διὰ τίν' αἰτίαν ἕκαστόν ἐστιν ἐν τοῖς
ζῴοις, εἴρηται περὶ πάντων τῶν ζῴων καθ' ἕκαστον. Τούτων
30 διελθεῖν.
Much the same may be said also of the Libyan ostrich. For it has some of 15the characters of a bird, some of the characters of a quadruped. It differs from a quadruped in being feathered; and from a bird in being unable to soar aloft and in having feathers that resemble hair and are useless for flight. Again, it agrees with quadrupeds in having upper eyelashes, which are the more richly supplied with hairs because the parts about the head and the upper 20portion of the neck are bare; and it agrees with birds in being feathered in all the parts posterior to these. Further, it resembles a bird in being a biped, and a quadruped in having a cloven hoof; for it has hoofs and not toes. The explanation of these peculiarities is to be found in its bulk, which is that of a quadruped rather than that of a bird. For, speaking generally, a bird 25must necessarily be of very small size. For a body of heavy bulk can with difficulty be raised into the air.
Thus much then as regards the parts of animals. We have discussed them all, and set forth the cause why each exists; and in so doing we have severally considered each group of animals. We must now pass on, and in due sequence must next deal with the question of their generation.
Thus much then as regards the parts of animals. We have discussed them all, and set forth the cause why each exists; and in so doing we have severally considered each group of animals. We must now pass on, and in due sequence must next deal with the question of their generation.