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some animals the mouth is contracted, while in others it is of wide
dimensions. The contracted form belongs to such animals as use the mouth
merely for nutritive, respiratory, and vocal purposes; whereas in such as use it
as a means of defence it has a wide gape. This is its invariable form in such
animals as are saw-toothed. For seeing that their mode of warfare consists in
biting, it is advantageous to them that their mouth shall have a wide opening;
for the wider it opens, the greater will be the extent of the bite, and the more
numerous will be the teeth called into play.
What has just been said applies to fishes as well as to other animals; and
thus in such of them as are carnivorous, and made for biting, the mouth has a
wide gape; whereas in the rest it is small, being placed at the extremity of a
tapering snout. For this form is suited for their purposes, while the other
would be useless.
In birds the mouth consists of what is called the beak, which in them is a
substitute for lips and teeth. This beak presents variations in harmony with the
functions and protective purposes which it serves. Thus in those birds that are
called Crooked-clawed it is invariably hooked, inasmuch as these birds are
carnivorous, and eat no kind of vegetable food whatsoever. For this form
renders it serviceable to them in obtaining the mastery over their prey, and is
better suited for deeds of violence than any other. Moreover, as their weapons
of offence consist of this beak and of their claws, these latter also are more
crooked in them than in the generality of birds. Similarly in each other kind of
bird the beak is suited to the mode of life. Thus, in woodpeckers it is hard and
strong, as also in crows and birds of crowlike habit, while in the smaller birds
it is delicate, so as to be of use in collecting seeds and picking up minute
animals. In such birds, again, as eat herbage, and such as live about marshes-
those, for example, that swim and have webbed feet-the bill is broad, or
adapted in some other way to the mode of life. For a broad bill enables a bird
to dig into the ground with ease, just as, among quadrupeds, does the broad
snout of the pig, an animal which, like the birds in question, lives on roots.
Moreover, in these root-eating birds and in some others of like habits of life,
the tips of the bill end in hard points, which gives them additional facility in
dealing with herbaceous food.
The several parts which are set on the head have now, pretty nearly all,
been considered. In man, however, the part which lies between the head and
the neck is called the face, this name, (prosopon) being, it would seem,
derived from the function of the part. For as man is the only animal that
stands erect, he is also the only one that looks directly in front (proso) and the
only one whose voice is emitted in that direction.
1283
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Buch The Complete Aristotle"
The Complete Aristotle
- Titel
- The Complete Aristotle
- Autor
- Aristotle
- Datum
- ~322 B.C.
- Sprache
- englisch
- Lizenz
- PD
- Abmessungen
- 21.0 x 29.7 cm
- Seiten
- 2328
- Schlagwörter
- Philosophy, Antique, Philosophie, Antike, Dialogues, Metaphysik, Metaphysics, Ideologie, Ideology, Englisch
- Kategorien
- Geisteswissenschaften
- International
Inhaltsverzeichnis
- Part 1; Logic (Organon) 3
- Categories 4
- On Interpretation 34
- Prior Analytics, Book I 56
- Prior Analytics, Book II 113
- Posterior Analytics, Book I 149
- Posterior Analytics, Book II 193
- Topics, Book I 218
- Topics, Book II 221
- Topics, Book III 237
- Topics, Book IV 248
- Topics, Book V 266
- Topics, Book VI 291
- Topics, Book VII 317
- Topics, Book VIII 326
- On Sophistical Refutations 348
- Part 2; Universal Physics 396
- Physics, Book I 397
- Physics, Book II 415
- Physics, Book III 432
- Physics, Book IV 449
- Physics, Book V 481
- Physics, Book VI 496
- Physics, Book VII 519
- Physics, Book VIII 533
- On the Heavens, Book I 570
- On the Heavens, Book II 599
- On the Heavens, Book III 624
- On the Heavens, Book IV 640
- On Generation and Corruption, Book I 651
- On Generation and Corruption, Book II 685
- Meteorology, Book I 707
- Meteorology, Book II 733
- Meteorology, Book III 760
- Meteorology, Book IV 773
- Part 3; Human Physics 795
- On the Soul, Book I 796
- On the Soul, Book II 815
- On the Soul, Book III 840
- On Sense and the Sensible 861
- On Memory and Reminiscence 889
- On Sleep and Sleeplessness 899
- On Dreams 909
- On Prophesying by Dreams 918
- On Longevity and the Shortness of Life 923
- On Youth, Old Age, Life and Death, and Respiration 929
- Part 4; Animal Physics 952
- The History of Animals, Book I 953
- The History of Animals, Book II translated 977
- The History of Animals, Book III 1000
- The History of Animals, Book IV 1029
- The History of Animals, Book V 1056
- The History of Animals, Book VI 1094
- The History of Animals, Book VII 1135
- The History of Animals, Book VIII 1150
- The History of Animals, Book IX 1186
- On the Parts of Animals, Book I 1234
- On the Parts of Animals, Book II 1249
- On the Parts of Animals, Book III 1281
- On the Parts of Animals, Book IV 1311
- On the Motion of Animals 1351
- On the Gait of Animals 1363
- On the Generation of Animals, Book I 1381
- On the Generation of Animals, Book II 1412
- On the Generation of Animals, Book III 1444
- On the Generation of Animals, Book IV 1469
- On the Generation of Animals, Book V 1496
- Part 5; Metaphysics 1516
- Part 6; Ethics and Politics 1748
- Nicomachean Ethics, Book I 1749
- Nicomachean Ethics, Book II 1766
- Nicomachean Ethics, Book III 1779
- Nicomachean Ethics, Book IV 1799
- Nicomachean Ethics, Book V 1817
- Nicomachean Ethics, Book VI 1836
- Nicomachean Ethics, Book VII 1851
- Nicomachean Ethics, Book VIII 1872
- Nicomachean Ethics, Book IX 1890
- Nicomachean Ethics, Book X 1907
- Politics, Book I 1925
- Politics, Book II 1943
- Politics, Book III 1970
- Politics, Book IV 1997
- Politics, Book V 2023
- Politics, Book VI 2053
- Politics, Book VII 2065
- Politics, Book VIII 2091
- The Athenian Constitution 2102
- Part 7; Aesthetic Writings 2156