§2.16.116 Τοῖς μὲν οὖν ἄλλοις ζῴοις τοῖς τετράποσι καὶ ζῳοτύκοις οὐ πόρρω τρόπον τινὰ διέστηκεν ἀλλήλων τὸ τῆς ὀσφρήσεως αίσθητήριον, ἀλλʼ ὅσα μὲν ἔχει προμήκεις είς στενὸν ἀπηγμένας τὰς σιαγόνας, ἐν τῷ καλουμένῳ ῥύγχει καὶ τὸ τῶν μυκτήρων ἐνυπαρχε μόριον κατὰ τὸν ἐνδεχόμενον τρόπον, τοῖς δʼ ἄλλοις μᾶλλον διηρθρωμένον ἐστὶ πρὸς τὰς σιαγόνας.
16 In the other quadrupeds and viviparous animals, the organ of smell is not, in a way, far separated from each other; but those which have long jaws drawn out to a narrow end, have the part of the nostrils situated in what is called the snout in the possible manner, while in the others it is more distinctly articulated in relation to the jaws.
§2.16.22 ἡ δʼ ἐλέφας ἰδιαίτατον ἔχει τοῦτο τὸ μόριον τῶν ἄλλων ζῴων· τό τε γὰρ μέγεθος καὶ τὴν δύναμιν ἔχει περιττὴν.
2 The elephant, however, has this part in a most peculiar manner compared to other animals; for it possesses extraordinary size and power.
μυκτὴρ γάρ ἐστιν ᾧ τὴν τροφὴν προσάγεται, καθάπερ χειρι χρώμενος, πρὸς τὸ στόμα, τήν τε ξηρὰν καὶ τὴν ὑγράν, καὶ τὰ δένδρα περιελίττων ἀνασπᾷ, καὶ χρῆται καθαπερανεὶ χειρί.
For it is a nostril with which it conveys its food, both dry and wet, to its mouth, just as if using a hand, and wraps around trees and pulls them up, using it as if it were indeed a hand.
τὴν γὰρ φύσιν ἑλῶδες ἅμα τὸ ζῷόν ἐστι καὶ πεξόν, ὥστʼ ἐπεὶ τὴν τροφὴν ἐξ ὑγροῦ συνέβαινεν ἔχειν, ἀναπνεῖν δʼ ἀναγκαῖον πεξὸν ὅν καὶ ἔναιμον, καὶ μὴ ταχεῖαν ποιεῖσθαι τὴν μεταβολὴν ἐκ τού ὑγροῦ πρὸς τὸ ξηρόν, καθάπερ ἔνια τῶν ζῳοτὸκων καὶ ἐναίμων καὶ ἀναπτνεὸντων, τὸ γὰρ μέγεθος ὅν ὑπερβάλλον, ἀναγκαῖον ὁμοίως ὴν χρῆσθαι τῷ ὑγρῷ σπερ καὶ τῇ γῇ.
For by nature the animal is at once marsh-dwelling and terrestrial, so that since it happened to obtain its food from the wet, and yet being terrestrial and sanguineous it was necessary for it to breathe, and not to make a rapid transition from the wet to the dry, like some of the viviparous, sanguineous, and breathing animals, for since its size was exceeding, it was necessary for it to use the wet in the same way as the land.
§2.16.33 οἷον οὑν τοῖς κολυμβηταῖς ἔνιοι πρὸς τὴν ἀναπνοὴν ὄργανα πορίζονται, ἵνα πολὺν χρόνον ἐν τῇ θαλάττῃ μένοντες ἕλκωσιν ἔξωθεν το ὑγροῦ διὰ τοῦ ὀργάνου τὸν ἀέρα, τοιοῦτον ἡ φύσις τὸ τού μυκτῆρος μέγεθος ἐποίησε τοῖς ἐλέφοασιν.
3 Just as, then, some divers provide themselves with instruments for respiration, so that remaining for a long time in the sea they may draw air from outside the water through the instrument, in such a manner nature made the size of the nostril for elephants.
διόπερ ἀναπτνέουσιν ἄραντες ἄνω διὰ τοῦ ῦδατος τὸν μυκτὴρα, ἄν ποτε ποιῶνται διʼ ὑγρὸν τὴν πορείαν· καθάπερ γὰρ εἴπομεν, μυκτήρ ἐστιν ἡ προβοσκὶς τοῖς ἐλέφοασιν.
Therefore they breathe by raising their nostril high up through the water, if they ever make their journey through the wet; for, as we said, the trunk is the nostril for elephants.
§2.16.4ἐπεὶ δʼ ἀδύνατον ἦν εἶναι τὸν μυκτῆρα τοιοῦτον 4 μὴ μαλακὸν ὄντα μηδὲ κάμπτεσθαι δυνάμενον (ἐνεπόδιζε γὰρ ἄν τῷ μήκει πρὸς τὸ λαβεῖν τὴν θύραθεν τροφήν, καθάπερ φασὶ τὰ κέρατα τοῖς ὀπισθονόμοις βουσίν· καὶ γὰρ ἐκείνους νέμεσθαί φασιν ὑποχωροῦντας παλιμπυγηδόν) ὑπάρξαντος οὑν τοιούτου τού μυκτῆρος, ἡ φύσις παρακαταχρηται, καθάπερ εἴωσθεν, ἐπὶ πλείονα τοῖς αὐτοῖς μορίοις, ἀντὶ τῆς τῶν προσθίων ποδῶν χρείας.
And since it was impossible for the nostril to be such without 4 being soft and able to bend (for its length would have prevented it from taking food from outside, just as they say horns do to backward-grazing oxen; for they say those oxen graze by retreating backwards) — since, then, the nostril existed as such, nature turns it to extra use, as she is accustomed to do, employing the same parts for several purposes, instead of the use of the forefeet.
τούτους γὰρ τὰ πολυδάκτυλα τῶν τετραπόδων ἀντὶ χειρᾷν ἔχουσιν, ἀλλʼ οὐ μόνον ἕνεχʼ ὑποστάσεως τοῦ βάρους·
For the polydactylous of the quadrupeds have these instead of hands, and not solely for the sake of supporting their weight.
οἱ δʼ ἐλέφαντες τῶν πολυδακτύλων εἰσί, καὶ οὔτε διχαλοὺς ἔχουσιν οὔτε μώνυχας τοὺς πτόδας· ἐπεὶ δὲ τὸ μέγεθος πολὺ καὶ τὸ βάρος τὸ τοῦ σύματος, διὰ τοῦτο μόνον ἐρείσματός εἰσι χάριν, καὶ διὰ τὴν βραδυτῆτα καὶ τὴν ἀφυίαν τῆς κάμψεως σὐ χρήσιμον πρὸς ἄλλο οὐθέν.
But elephants are among the polydactylous, and have feet that are neither cloven-hoofed nor solid-hoofed; and since the size and weight of the body are great, for this reason their feet are solely for the sake of support, and because of their slowness and unfitness for bending, they are useful for nothing else.
§2.16.5διὰ μὲν σὖν τὴν ἀναπνοὴν ἔχει μυκτῆρα, καθάπερ 5 καὶ τῶν ἄλλων ἕκαστον τῶν ἐχόντων πλεύμονα ζῴων, διὰ δὲ τὴν ἐν τῷ ὑγρῷ διατριβὴν καὶ τὴν βραδυτὴτα τῆς ἐκεῖθεν μεταβολῆς δυνάμενον ἑλίττεσθαι καὶ μακρόν· ἀφῃρημένης δὲ τῆς τῶν ποδῶν χρήσεως, καὶ ἡ φύσις, ὥσπερ εἴπομεν, καταχρῆται καὶ πρὸς τὴν ἀπὸ τῶν ποδῶν γινομένην ἂν βοήθειαν τούτῳ τῷ μορίῳ.
On account of respiration, then, it has a nostril, just as does every 5 other of the animals that have lungs, but on account of its dwelling in the wet and the slowness of its transition from there, it has one that is able to coil and is long; and since the use of its feet has been taken away, nature, as we said, turns this part to extra use also for the assistance which would otherwise have come from the feet.
§2.16.6οἱ δʼ ὅρυιθες καὶ οἱ ὄφεις καὶ ὅσα 6 ἄλλ’ ἕναιμα καὶ ᾠοτόκα τῶν τετραπόδων, τοὺς μὲν πόρους ἔχουσι τῶν μυκτήρων πρὸ τοῦ στόματος, ὥστε δʼ εἰπεῖν μυκτὴρας, εί μὴ διὰ τὸ ἔργον, οὐκ ἔχουσι φανερῶς διηρθρωμένους·
But birds, serpents, and whatever 6 other of the quadrupeds are sanguineous and oviparous, have the passages of their nostrils in front of their mouth, but they do not have nostrils clearly articulated, so to speak, unless because of their function.
ἀλλʼ ἥ γʼ ὄρυις ὥστε μηθὲν ἂν εἰπεῖν ἔχειν ῥῖνας.
Indeed, the bird is such that one might say it has no nostrils at all.
τοῦτο δὲ συμβέβηκεν, ὅτι ἀντὶ σιαγόνων ἔχει τὸ καλούμενον ῥύγχος.
This has happened because, instead of jaws, it has what is called a beak.