BOOK X. Lxxxvi. i88-L\x\vin. 191 



hiiman being. For a number of animals spring from 

 some hidden and secret sourcc, even in the quadruped 

 class, for instance salamanders, a creature shaped 

 like a lizard, covered with spots, never appearing 

 except in great rains and disappearing in fine weather. 

 It is so chilly that it puts out fire by its contact, in 

 the same 'way as ice does. It vomits from its mouth 

 a milky slaver, one touch of which on any part of the 

 human body causes all the hair to drop otf, and the 

 portion touched changes its colour and breaks out 

 in a tetter. 



LXXXVII. Consequently some creatures are born otber 

 from parents that themselves were not born and ofTcpro- 

 vvere without any similar origin, Hke the ones men- ''"«-"o»- 

 tioned above and all those that are produced by the 

 spring and a fixed season of the year. Some of these 

 are infertile, for instance the salamander, and in 

 these there is no male or female, as also there is no 

 sex in eels and all the species that are neither vivi- 

 parous nor oviparous ; also oysters " and the other 

 creatures cHnging to the bottom of shallow water or to 

 rocks are neuters. But self-generated creatures if 

 divided into males and females do produce an ofT-spring 

 by coupling, but it is imperfect and unHke the parent 

 and not productive in its turn : for instance flies pro- 

 duce maggots. This is shown more clearly by the 

 aature of the creatures called insects, aH of which are 

 difficult to describe and must be discussed in a work 

 devoted specially to them. Consequently the 

 psychology of the beforesaid creatures, and the 

 remainder of the discussion, must be appended. 



LXXXVIII. Among the senses, that of touch in Keennesso/ 

 man ranks before all the other species, and taste ^1^^,^^^ 

 next; but in the remaining senses he is surpassed «pecie*. 



413 



