B. TT."! THE H[STO.ttT ANIMALS. 25 



fore-legs are bent forwards, and those of the hind-legs back- 

 wards, 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, I s 

 but, from his great weight, is unable to bend them on both I f^ 

 sides at once, but leans either to the right side or the left, and j 

 sleeps in this position, but its hind legs are bent like a man's^J 



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 ani- 

 mals 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 back- 

 wards, 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 direc- 

 tion 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 immedi- 

 ately 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. 



