Aristotle's History of Animals: In Ten BooksAristotle
PhilosophyPhilosophy
Aristotle's History of Animals: In Ten Books
Aristotle
Zoology -- Pre-Linnaean works
4. All animals, excepting the elephant, bend both their fore and hind
legs in contrary directions, and also contrary to the way in which
a man's limbs are bent. For in viviparous quadrupeds, except the
elephant, the joints of the fore-legs are bent forwards, and those
of the hind-legs backwards, and they have the hollow part of their
circumference opposite to each other: the elephant is not constructed
as some have said, but is able to sit down, and bend his legs, but,
from his great weight, is unable to bend them on both sides at once,
but leans either to the right side or the left, and sleeps in this
position, but its hind legs are bent like a man's.
5. In oviparous quadrupeds, as the crocodile, lizard, and such like,
both the fore and hind legs are bent forwards, inclining a little to
the side, and likewise also in other animals with more than four feet,
except that the middle joint of their last pair of legs is always
doubtful, and is rather bent towards the side. And man also has both
the flexures of his limbs in the same direction, and those of his arms
and legs contrary to each other, for he bends the arm backwards, except
that the external part of the arm is a little inclined inwards, towards
the side; the legs bend forwards.
6. No animal bends the joints both of its fore and hind legs backwards.
The flexure of the cubitus and fore-leg is in a contrary direction to
the flexure of the shoulder in all animals, and the flexure of the knee
is contrary to that of the hip; so that since man bends his joints in
the contrary direction to many animals, those which have such joints
as man's also bend them in a contrary direction to many animals. Birds
bend their limbs in a direction similar to that of quadrupeds, for
being bipeds, they bend their legs backwards, and have wings instead of
arms, or fore-legs, and these bend forwards.
7. The seal is like a maimed quadruped, for immediately beneath the
scapula it has feet like hands, as are also those of the bear, for
they are five-fingered, and each of the fingers has three joints, and
a small claw: the hind feet are five-fingered, and each of the fingers
has joints and claws like those upon the fore-feet; in shape they are
very like the tail of a fish.
8. The movements of animals, whether they have four feet or more, are
in the direction of the longer diameter of their bodies, and thus also
they stand, the commencement of motion is always on the right side of
their bodies. The lion and the camel, both the Arabian and Bactrian,
walk with the hind-foot following the fore-foot on the same side, and
this means that the right foot is not put before the left, but follows
it.
CHAPTER II.
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