124 iv. 10. 



which is much as though they were lying down.'^ But to man 

 it is no easy task to remain 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 and 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 withdrawn from the parts below.^'' On this account they are 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 excre- 

 ment, nature has given them a tail or brush, subtracting for 

 the purpose some of the nutriment which would otherwise go 

 to the legs. Half-way 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 a 

 great diversity of so-called tails; and this organ like others*^ is 

 sometimes used by nature for bye-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 sorne 

 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. 



The 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 explains why these animals, as a rule, have 

 no ^* huckle-bones ; a second reason, however, being that the 

 presence of such a bone in the joint of the hind leg somewhat 

 impedes its free motion. For ex;tension and flexion can be made 

 more rapidly in parts that have but one angle than in parts that 

 have many. But the presence of a huckle-bone, as a connecting 

 bolt, is the introduction as it were of a new limb-segment between 

 the two ordinary ones. Such an addition adds to the weight of 

 690a. 



