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interpreted in two different ways. Thus, some animals are termed terrestrial as
inhaling air, and others aquatic as taking in water; and there are others which
do not actually take in these elements, but nevertheless are constitutionally
adapted to the cooling influence, so far as is needful to them, of one element
or the other, and hence are called terrestrial or aquatic though they neither
breathe air nor take in water. Again, other animals are so called from their
finding their food and fixing their habitat on land or in water: for many
animals, although they inhale air and breed on land, yet derive their food from
the water, and live in water for the greater part of their lives; and these are the
only animals to which as living in and on two elements the term ‘amphibious’
is applicable. There is no animal taking in water that is terrestrial or aerial or
that derives its food from the land, whereas of the great number of land
animals inhaling air many get their food from the water; moreover some are
so peculiarly organized that if they be shut off altogether from the water they
cannot possibly live, as for instance, the so-called sea-turtle, the crocodile, the
hippopotamus, the seal, and some of the smaller creatures, such as the fresh-
water tortoise and the frog: now all these animals choke or drown if they do
not from time to time breathe atmospheric air: they breed and rear their young
on dry land, or near the land, but they pass their lives in water.
But the dolphin is equipped in the most remarkable way of all animals: the
dolphin and other similar aquatic animals, including the other cetaceans
which resemble it; that is to say, the whale, and all the other creatures that are
furnished with a blow-hole. One can hardly allow that such an animal is
terrestrial and terrestrial only, or aquatic and aquatic only, if by terrestrial we
mean an animal that inhales air, and if by aquatic we mean an animal that
takes in water. For the fact is the dolphin performs both these processes: he
takes in water and discharges it by his blow-hole, and he also inhales air into
his lungs; for, by the way, the creature is furnished with this organ and
respires thereby, and accordingly, when caught in the nets, he is quickly
suffocated for lack of air. He can also live for a considerable while out of the
water, but all this while he keeps up a dull moaning sound corresponding to
the noise made by air-breathing animals in general; furthermore, when
sleeping, the animal keeps his nose above water, and he does so that he may
breathe the air. Now it would be unreasonable to assign one and the same
class of animals to both categories, terrestrial and aquatic, seeing that these
categories are more or less exclusive of one another; we must accordingly
supplement our definition of the term ‘aquatic’ or ‘marine’. For the fact is,
some aquatic animals take in water and discharge it again, for the same reason
that leads air-breathing animals to inhale air: in other words, with the object
of cooling the blood. Others take in water as incidental to their mode of
feeding; for as they get their food in the water they cannot but take in water
1152
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book The Complete Aristotle"
The Complete Aristotle
- Title
- The Complete Aristotle
- Author
- Aristotle
- Date
- ~322 B.C.
- Language
- English
- License
- PD
- Size
- 21.0 x 29.7 cm
- Pages
- 2328
- Keywords
- Philosophy, Antique, Philosophie, Antike, Dialogues, Metaphysik, Metaphysics, Ideologie, Ideology, Englisch
- Categories
- Geisteswissenschaften
- International
Table of contents
- 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