§4.6.8ὅσα δὲ μὴ ἐστιν αὐτῶν ἐμπροσθόκεντρα, 8 ὀδόντας ἔχει τὰ μὲν ἐδωδῆς χάριν τὰ δὲ τοῦ λαμβάνειν καὶ προσάγεσθαι τὴν τροφήν, οἷον οἴ τε μύρμηκες καὶ τὸ τν μελιττῶν πασῶν γένος.
And those of them which do not have stings in front, 8 have teeth, some for the sake of eating, and others for taking and bringing to themselves their food, such as both ants and the genus of all bees.
ὅσα δʼ ὀπισθόκεντρά ἐστι, διὰ τὸ θυμὸν ἔχειν ὅπλον ἔχει τὸ κέντρον.
On the other hand, those which have stings behind, because of having spirit, have the sting as a weapon.
§4.6.9ἔχουσι δὲ τὰ μὲν ἐν ἑαυτοῖς 9 τὰ κέντρα, καθάπερ αἱ μέλιτται καὶ οἱ σφῆκες, διὰ τὸ πτηνὰ εἶναι.
And some have 9 their stings within themselves, like bees and wasps, because of being winged.
λεπτὰ μὲν γὰρ ὄντα καὶ ἔξω εὔφθαρτα ἦν· εἰ δʼ ἀπεῖχεν ὥσπερ τοῖς σκορπίοις, βάρος ἂν παρεῖχεν.
For being delicate, if they were outside, they would be easily destroyed; and if they projected as in scorpions, they would present a weight.
τοῖς δὲ σκορπίοις πεζοῖς οὖσι καὶ κέντρον ἔχουσιν ἀναγκαῖον ἐπὶ ταῦτ᾿ ἔχειν τὸ κέντρον, ἢ μιηθὲν χρήσιμον εἶναι πρὸς τὴν ἀλκήν.
But for scorpions, being terrestrial and having a sting, it is necessary to have the sting in this position, or else for it to be of no use for defense.
δίπτερον δʼ οὐθέν ἐστιν ὀπισθόκεντρον.
And no two-winged insect has a sting behind.
§4.6.10διὰ τὸ 10 ἀσθενῆ γὰρ καὶ μικρὰ εἶναι δίπτερά ἐστιν· ἱκανὰ γὰρ τὰ μικρὰ αἴρεσθαι ὑπὸ τῶν ἐλαττόνων τὸν ἀριθμόν.
For because 10 of being weak and small they are two-winged; for small things are capable of being raised by a smaller number of wings.
διὰ ταὐτὸ δὲ τοῦτο καὶ ἔμπροσθεν ἔχει τὸ κέντρον· ἀσθενῆ γὰρ ὄντα μόλις δύναται τοῖς ἔμπροσθεν τύπτειν.
And for this same reason they also have the sting in front; for being weak they can scarcely strike with the front parts.
τὰ δὲ πολύπτερα, διὰ τὸ μείζω τὴν φύσιν εἶναι, πλειόνων τετύχηκε πτερῶν καὶ ἰσχύει τοῖς ὄπισθεν μορίοις.
But those with many wings, because of being larger in nature, have obtained more wings and are strong in their hinder parts.
§4.6.1111 βέλτιον δʼ ἐνδεχομένου μὴ ταὐτὸ ὄργανον ἐπὶ ἀνομοίας ἔχειν χρήσεις, ἀλλὰ τὸ μὲν ἀμυντικὸν ὀξύτατον. τὸ δὲ γλωττικὸν σομφὸν καὶ σπαστικὸν τῆς τροφῆς.
And 11 it is better, when possible, not to have the same organ for dissimilar uses, but for the defensive organ to be extremely sharp, and the tongue-like organ to be spongy and capable of drawing in food.
ὅπου γὰρ ἐνδέχεται χρῆσθαι δυσὶν ἐπὶ δύʼ ἔργα καὶ μὴ ἐμποδίζειν πρὸς ἕτερον, οὐδὲν ἡ φύσις εἴωσθε ποιεῖν ὧσπερ ἡ χαλκευτικὴ πρὸς εὐτέλειαν ὀβελισκολύχνιον· ἀλλʼ ὅπου μὴ ἐνδέχεται, καταχρῆται τῷ αὐτῷ ἐπὶ πλείω ἔργα.
For where it is possible to use two organs for two tasks and for them not to hinder one another, nature is not accustomed to make anything like the spit-lampstand made by coppersmiths for cheapness; but where it is not possible, she makes full use of the same for several tasks.
§4.6.1212 τοὺς δὲ πόδας τοὺς προσθίους μείζους ἔνια τούτων ἔχει, ὅπως ἐπειδὴ διὰ τὸ σκληρόφθαλμα εἶναι οὐκ ἀκριβῆ τὴν ὄψιν ἔχουσι, τὰ προσπίπτοντα τοῖς προσθίοις ἀποκαθαίρωσι σκέλεσιν· ὅπερ καὶ φαίνονται ποιοῦσαι αἵ τε μυῖαι καὶ τὰ μελιττώδη τῶν ζῴωνʼ ἀεὶ γὰρ χαρακίζουσι τοῖς προσθίοις σκέλεσιν.
And 12 some of these have their front feet larger, so that, since because of having hard eyes they do not have accurate vision, they may wipe away what falls upon them with their front legs; which indeed both flies and bee-like animals are seen doing; for they are always rubbing with their front legs.
τὰ δʼ ὀπίσθια μείζω τῶν μέσων διά τε τὴν βάδισιν καὶ πρὸς τὸ αἴρεσθαι ῥᾷον ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς ἀναπετόμενα.
And they have the hind legs larger than the middle ones both for walking and for rising more easily from the earth when flying up.
§4.6.1313 ὅσα δὲ πηδητικὰ αὐτῶν ἔτι μᾶλλον τοῦτο φανερόν, οἷον αἵ τʼ ἀκρίδες καὶ τὸ τῶν ψυλλῶν γένος· ὅταν γὰρ κάμ ψαντʼ ἐκτείνῃ πάλιν, ἀναγκαῖον ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς ἦρθαι.
And 13 in those of them which are leaping, this is still more apparent, such as locusts and the genus of fleas; for when, having bent their legs, they stretch them out again, they must necessarily be raised from the earth.
οὐκ ἔμπροσθεν δʼ ἀλλʼ ὄπισθεν μόνον ἔχουσι τὰ πηδαλιώδη αἱ ἀκρίδες· τὴν γὰρ καμπὴν ἀναγκαῖον εἴσω κεκλάσθαι, τῶν δὲ προσθίων κώλων οὐδέν ἐστι τοιοῦτον.
And locusts have their leaping legs not in front but only behind; for it is necessary for the joint to bend inwards, and none of the front limbs is of this kind.
ἑξάποδα δὲ τὰ τοιαῦτα πάντ ἐστὶ σὺν τοῖς ἁλτικοῖς μορίοις.
And all such animals are six-footed, including the leaping parts.