§4.10.4040 τῶν δὲ καλουμένων κέρκων δια φοραί τʼ εἰσὶ πλείους καὶ ἡ φύσις παρακαταχρῆται καὶ ἐπὶ τούτων, οὐ μόνον πρὸς φυλακὴν καὶ σκέπην τῆς ἕδρας, ἀλλὰ καὶ πρὸς ὠφέλειαν καὶ χρῆσιν τοῖς ἔχουσιν.
40 And of the so-called tails there are many differences, and nature makes secondary use of them also, not only for the protection and covering of the seat, but also for the benefit and use of those that have them.
οἱ δὲ πόδες τοῖς μὲν τετράποσι διαφέροουσιν· τὰ μὲν γὰρ μώνυχα αὐτῶν ἐστὶ τὰ δὲ διχηλὰ τὰ δὲ πολυσχιδῆ, μώνυχα μὲν ὅσοις διὰ μέγεθος καὶ τὸ πολὺ γεῶδες ἔχειν ἀντὶ κεράτων καὶ ὀδόντων εἰς τὴν τσῦ ὄνυχος φύσιν τὸ τοιοῦτον μόριον ἔλαβεν ἀπόκρισιν, καὶ διὰ πλῆθος ἀντὶ πλειόνων ὁνύχων εἷς ὄνυξ ἡ ὁπλή ἐστιν.
The feet differ in quadrupeds; for some of them are solid-hoofed, others cloven-hoofed, and others many-cleft, solid-hoofed being those in which, because of size and because they have much earthy matter instead of horns and teeth, such a part received secretion into the nature of a nail, and due to its abundance, instead of multiple nails, a single nail, the hoof, exists.
§4.10.41καὶ ἀστράγαλον δὲ διὰ τοῦτο 41 οὐκ ἔχουσιν ὡς ἐπὶ τὸ πολὺ εἰπεῖν, διὰ τὸ δυσκινητοτέραν εἶναι τὴν καμπὴν τοῦ ὄπισθεν σκέλους ἀστραγάλου ἐνόντος· θᾶττον γὰρ ἀνοίγεται καὶ κλείεται τὰ μίαν ἔχοντα γωνίαν ἢ πλείους, ὁ δʼ ἀστράγαλος γόμφος ὢν ὥσπερ ἀλλότριον κῶλον ἐμβέβληται τοῖς δυσί, βάρος μὲν παρέχον, ποιοῦν δʼ ἀσφαλεστέραν τὴν βάσιν.
41 And for this reason they do not, generally speaking, have an talus, because the bending of the hind leg is harder to move when an talus is present; for things that have one angle open and close faster than those that have more, while the talus, being a peg, is inserted as if a foreign limb into the two bones, providing weight, yet making the footing more secure.
§4.10.42διὰ γὰρ τοῦτο καὶ ἐν τοῖς ἐμπροσθίοις 42 οὐκ ἔχουσιν ἀστράγαλον τὰ ἔχοντα ἀστράγαλον, ἀλλʼ ἐν τοῖς ὄπισθεν, ὅτι δεῖ ἐλαφρὰ εἶναι τὰ ἡγούμενα καὶ εὔκαμπτα, τὸ δʼ ἀσφαλὲς καὶ τὴν τάσιν ἐν τοῖς ὄπισθεν.
42 For because of this, even those animals that have an talus do not have it in their forelegs, but only in their hind legs, because the leading parts must be light and flexible, while stability and tension must reside in the hind parts.
ἔτι δὲ πρὸς τὸ ἀμύνεσθαι ἐμ βριθεστέραν ποιεῖ τὴν πληγήν· τὰ δὲ τοιαύτα τοῖς ὄπισθεν χρῆται κώλοις, λακτίζοντα τὸ λυποῦν.
Moreover, for defense, it makes the blow heavier; and such animals use their hind limbs, kicking what annoys them.
§4.10.43τὰ δὲ διχηλὰ ἔχει ἀστράγαλον (κουφότερα γὰρ τὰ ὄπισθεν), καὶ διὰ τὸ ἔχειν ἀστράγαλον καὶ οὐ μώνυχά ἐστιν, ὡς τὸ ἐκλεῖπον ὀστῶδες ἐκ τοῦ ποδὸς ἐν τῇ κάμ ψει μένον.
But the cloven-hoofed animals have an talus (for their hind parts are lighter), and they are not solid-hoofed because they have an talus, as if the bony matter missing from the foot remained in the joint.
τὰ δὲ πολυδάκτυλα οὐκ ἔχει ἀστράγαλον· οὐ γὰρ ἂν ἦν πολυδάκτυλα, ἀλλὰ τοσοῦτον ἐσχίζετο τὸ πλάτος ὅσον ἐπέχει ὁ ἀστράγαλος.
But the many-toed animals do not have an talus; for they would not have been many-toed, but their width would have cleft only as far as the talus occupies.
διὸ καὶ τῶν ἐχόντων αὐτὸν τὰ πλείω διχηλά.
Wherefore also most of those that have it are cloven-hoofed.
§4.10.44ὁ δʼ ἄνθρωπος πόδας μεγίστους 44 ἔχει τῶν ζῴων ὡς κατὰ μέγεθος, εὐλόγως· μόνον γὰρ ἕστηκεν ὀρθόν, ὥστε τοὺς μέλλοντας δύʼ ὄντας ἕξειν πᾶν τὸ τοῦ σώματος βάρος δεῖ μῆκος ἔχειν καὶ πλάτος.
But humans have the largest feet 44 of all animals in proportion to their size, and with good reason; for human alone stands upright, so that the feet, which being only two are to support the entire weight of the body, must have length and width.
καὶ τὸ τῶν δακτύλων δὴ μέγεθος ἐναντίως ἔχει ἐπί τε τῶν ποδῶν καὶ τῶν χειρῶν κατὰ λόγον· τῶν μὲν γὰρ τὸ λαμβάνειν ἔργον καὶ πιέζειν, ὥστε δεῖ μακροὺς ἔχειν (τῷ γὰρ καμπτομένῳ μέρει περιλαμβάνει ἡ χείρ), τῶν δὲ τὸ βεβηκέναι ἀσφαλῶς, ὥστε τοῦτο δεῖ τὸ μόριον εἶναι νομίζειν τὸ ἄσχιστον τοῦ ποδὸς τῶν δακτύλων.
And indeed, the size of the digits is conversely proportioned in the feet and in the hands; for the task of the ones is to grasp and squeeze, so they must have long fingers (for the hand clasps with the bending part), while that of the others is to walk securely, so that one must consider this part of the digits to be the least cleft of the foot.
§4.10.4545 ἐσχίσθαι δὲ βέλτιον ἄσχιστον εἶναι τὸ ἔσχατον· ἅπαν γὰρ ἂν συμπαθὲς ἦν ἑνὸς μορίου πονήσαντος, ἐσχισμένων δʼ εἰς δακτύλους τοῦτʼ οὐ συμβαίνει ὁμοίως.
45 But it is better for the extremity to be cleft than to be uncleft; for the whole would suffer in sympathy if one part were injured, whereas when they are cleft into toes, this does not happen in the same way.
§4.10.4646 ἔτι δὲ καὶ βραχεῖς ὄντες ἧττον συμβλάπτοιντο· διὸ πολυσχιδεῖς οἱ πόδες τῶν ἀνθρώπων, οὐ μακροδάκτυλοι δʼ εἰσίν.
46 Moreover, being short they would be less liable to injury; wherefore the feet of humans are many-cleft, but they are not long-toed.
τὸ δὲ τῶν ὀνύχων γένος διὰ τὴν αὐτὴν αἰτίαν καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν χειρῶν ἔχουσιν· δεῖ γὰρ σκεπεσθαι τὰ ἀκρωτήρια μάλιστα διὰ τὴν ἀσθένειαν.
And they have the class of nails also on their hands for the same reason; for the extremities must be protected most of all because of their weakness.