ARISTOTLE. 59 



the superior action of the wings, as in swallows. 

 There are many species which both walk and 

 swim. Animals also differ in their habits ; thus, 

 some are gregarious, others solitary, — a distinction 

 applicable to them whether they walk, fly, or swim. 

 Some obey a leader, others act independently; 

 cranes and bees are of the former, ants of the latter 

 kind. Some feed on flesh, others on fruits, while 

 others feed indiscriminately; some have homes, 

 others use no covering of this kind, but reside in 

 the open air. Some burrow, as lizards and snakes ; 

 others, as the horse and the dog, live above ground. 

 Some animals seek their food at night, others by 

 day; some are tame, others wild; some utter 

 sounds, others are mute, and some sing; all of 

 them, however, sing or cry in some way at the sea- 

 son of pairing. 



In this way he proceeds, stating briefly the va- 

 rious circumstances in which animals differ from 

 each other, and in conclusion asserting that man is 

 the only one capable of design ; for, says he, al- 

 though many of them have memory and docility, 

 none but man have the faculty of reflection. 



These general propositions or aphorisms are not 

 so simple or so easily attained as one might imagine 

 on reading them inattentively. Let any person 

 who has a tolerably comprehensive idea of the series 

 of animated beings reflect a little, and he will per- 

 ceive, that such as the following must be derived 

 from the observation of a great number of facts : — 

 Those parts which seize the food, and into which 

 it is received, are found in all animals. The sense 

 of touch is the only one common to all. Every living 

 creature has a humour, blood or sanies, the loss of 



