§3.2.12 Περὶ δὲ κεράτων λεκτέον· καὶ γὰρ ταύτα πέφυκε τοῖς ἔχουσιν ἐν τῇ κεφαλῇ.
2 Concerning horns we must speak; for these also naturally belong to the head in those that have them.
ἔχει δʼ οὐδὲν μὴ ζῳοτόκον.
And no non-viviparous animal has them.
καθʼ ὁμιοιὸτητα δὲ καὶ μεταφορὰν λέγεται καὶ ἑτέρων τινὧν κέρατα· ἀλλ’ οὐδενὶ οὐτῶν τὸ ἔργον τοῦ κέρατος ὑπάέρχει.
But by similarity and metaphor, horns are spoken of also in certain other animals; yet to none of them does the function of the horn belong.
βοηθείας γὰρ καὶ ἀλκῆς χάέρι, ἔχουσι τὰ ζῳοτόκα, ὂ τῶν ὄλλων τῶν λεγομένων ἔχειν κέρας οὐδενὶ συμβέβηκεν· οὐδὲν γὰρ χρῆται τοῖς κέρασιν οὔτʼ ἀμυνὸμενον οὕτε πρὸς τὸ κρατεῖν, ἅπερ ἰσχύος ἐστὶν ἔργα.
For the viviparous animals have them for the sake of protection and prowess, which has happened to none of the other animals said to have horns; for none of them uses horns either for defending itself or for overpowering, which are functions of strength.
§3.2.22 ὅσα μὲν οὖν πολυσχιδῆ τῶν ζῴων, οὐδὲν ἔχει κέρας.
2 Therefore, of the many-toed animals, none has horns.
τούτου δʼ αἱττιον ὅτι τὸ μὲν κέρας βοηθείας σἴτίον ἐστε, τοῖς δὲ πολυσχιδέσιν ὑπάρχουσιν ἕτεραι βοήθειαι· δέδωκε γὰρ ἡ φύσις τοῖς μὲν ὄνυχας, τοῖς δʼ ὀδόντας μαχητικούς, τοῖς δʼ ἄλλο τι μόριον ίκανὸν ἀμύνειν.
And the cause of this is that while the horn is a cause of protection, other protections belong to the many-toed; for nature has given claws to some, fighting teeth to others, and to others some other part sufficient for defense.
§3.2.33 τῶν δὲ διχαλῶν τὰ μὲν πολλὰ κέρατα ἔχει πρὸς ἀλκὴν, καὶ τῶν μωνύχων ἔνια, τὰ δὲ καὶ πρὸς βοήθειαν.
3 But of the cloven-hoofed animals, most have horns for prowess, and some of the solid-hoofed do too, and some also for protection.
ὅσοις δὲ μὴ δέδωκεν ἡ φύσις ἄλλην ἀλκὴν πρὸς σωτηρίαν, οἷον ταχυτῆτα σώματος, καθάπερ τοῖς ἵπποις βεβοήθηκεν, ἤ μέγεθος, ὥσπερ ταῖς καμήλοις· καὶ γὰρ μεγέθοας ὺπερβολὴ τὴν ἀπὸ τῶν ἄλλων ζῴων φθορὰν ίκανὴ κωλύειν, ὅπερ συμβέπηκε ταῖς καμήλοις, ἔτι δὲ μάλλον τοῖς ἐλέφοασιν.
And to those to whom nature has not given other prowess for safety, such as swiftness of body, just as she has aided horses, or magnitude, as she has aided camels—for indeed an excess of magnitude is sufficient to prevent destruction by other animals, which is the case with camels, and still more with elephants—[horns are given].
τὰ δὲ χαυλιόδοντα, ὥσπερ καὶ τὸ τῶν ὑῶν γένος, διχαλὸν.
On the other hand, those with tusks, just as the race of swine, are cloven-hoofed.
§3.2.44 ὅσοις δʼ ἄχρηστος πέφυκεν ἡ τῶν κεράτων ἐξοχή, τούτοις προστέθεικεν ἑτέραν βοήθειαν ἡ φύσις, οἷον ταῖς μὲν ἐλάφοις τάέχος (τὸ γὰρ μέγεθος αὐτῶν καὶ τὸ πολυσχιδὲς μᾶλλον βλάπτει ἤ ὠφελεῖ), καὶ βουβάλοις δὲ καὶ δορκάσι (πρὸς ἔνια μὲν γὰρ ἀνθιστάμενα τοῖς κέρασιν ἀμύνονταε, τὰ δὲ θηριύόδη καὶ μέχμα ἀποφεύγουσι), τοῖς δὲ βονάσοις (καὶ γὰρ τούτοις γαμήψὰ τὰ κέρατα πέφυκε πρὸς ἄλληλα) τὴν τού περιττἀδματος ἄφεσιν· τούτῳ γὰρ ἀμύνεται φοβηθέντα· καὶ ταύτῃ δὲ τῇ προέσει διασωζεται ἕτερα.
4 But to those in whom the prominence of horns is naturally useless, nature has added another protection, as swiftness to deer (for their magnitude and branching of horns rather harm than benefit them), and also to antelopes and gazelles (for while they resist some enemies by defending themselves with their horns, they flee from wild beasts and fierce ones), and to bonases (for to these also the horns are naturally curved towards each other) the discharge of excrement; for with this they defend themselves when frightened, and by this emission others are saved.
ἅμα δʼ ίκανὰς καὶ πλείους βοηθείας οὐ δέὅωκεν ἡ ψύσις τοῖς αὑτοῖς·
At the same time, nature has not given sufficient and multiple protections to the same animals.
ἔστι δὲ τὰ πλεῖστα τῶν κερατοφόρων διχαλά, λέγεται δὲ καὶ μύνυχον, ὅν καλοῦσιν Ἰνδικὸν ὄνον.
And most horn-bearing animals are cloven-hoofed, but a solid-hoofed one is also said to exist, which they call the Indian ass.
§3.2.5τὰ μὲν οὖν πλεῖστα, καθάπερ καὶ τὸ 5 σὤμα διῄρηται τῶν ζῴων οἷς ποιεῖται τὴν κίνησιν, δεξιὸν καὶ ἀριστερὸν, καὶ κέρατα δύο πέφυκεν ἔχειν διὰ τὴν αίτίαν ταύτην· ἔστι δὲ καὶ μονοκέρατα, οἷον ὅ τʼ ὄρυξ καὶ ὁ Ἰνδικὸς καλούμενος ὄνος.
5 Most animals, therefore, just as the body of animals by which they perform movement is divided into right and left, are also naturally disposed to have two horns for this cause; but there are also one-horned animals, such as the oryx and the so-called Indian ass.
ἔστι δʼ ὁ μὲν ὄρυξ διχαλόν, ὁ δʼ ὄνος μώνυχον.
And the oryx is cloven-hoofed, while the ass is solid-hoofed.
ἔχει δὲ τὰ μονοκέρατα τὸ κέρας ἐν τῷ μέσῳ της κεφαλῆς· οὕτω γὰρ ἑκάτερον τῶν μερῶν μάλιστʼ ἄν ἔχοι κέρας ἕν· τὸ γὰρ μέσον ὁμοίωος κοινὸν ἀμφοτέρων τῶν ἐσχάτων.
And the one-horned animals have their horn in the middle of the head; for in this way each of the two parts would most of all share one horn, since the middle is equally common to both extremes.
§3.2.6εὐλόγωος δʼ θν δόξειε μονόκερων εἶναι τὸ μύνυχον 6 τοῦ διχαλοῦ μάλλον· ὁπλὴ γὰρ καὶ χηλὴ τὴν αὐτὴν ἔχει κέρατι φύσιν, ὥσ’ ἅμα καὶ τοῖς αὐτοῖς ἡ σχέσις γίνεται τῶν ὁπλῶν καὶ τῶν κεράτων.
6 And it would seem reasonable that the solid-hoofed animal should be one-horned rather than the cloven-hoofed; for the solid hoof and the cloven hoof have the same nature as a horn, so that at the same time and to the same animals the distribution of hoofs and horns occurs.
ἔτι δʼ ἡ σχίσις καὶ τὸ διχαλὸν κατʼ ἔλλειψιν τὴς φύσεος ἐστιν, ὥστʼ εὐλόγως τοῖς μωνύχοις ἐν ταῖς ὁπλαῖς δοῦσα τὴν ὑπεροχὴν ἡ φύσις ἅνωσθεν ἀφεῖλε καὶ μονόκερων ἐποίησεν.
Furthermore, splitting and being cloven-hoofed is due to a deficiency of nature, so that, reasonably, having given the superiority in hoofs to the solid-hoofed, nature took it away from above and made them one-horned.