§4.9.7πόδας 7 μὲν οὖν πάντα ἔχουσι ταῦτα ὁκτώ, ἀλλ᾿ αἱ μὲν σηπίαι καὶ αἱ τευθίδες βραχεῖς, τὰ δὲ πολυποδώδη μεγάλους.
Now all these animals have eight feet, but cuttlefish and squid have them short, while the octopus-like ones have them large.
τὸ γὰρ κύτος τοῦ σύματος αἱ μὲν μέγα ἔχουσιν οἱ δὲ μικρόν, ὥστε τοῖς μὲν ἀφεῖλεν ἀπὸ τοῦ σώματος, πρὸς δὲ τὸ μῆκος τῶν ποδῶν προσέθηκεν ἡ φύσις, ταῖς δʼ ἀπὸ τῶν ποδῶν λαβοῦσα τὸ σῶμα ηὔξησεν.
For some have the trunk of the body large and others small, so that in the former nature took away from the body and added to the length of the feet, while in the latter she took from the feet and increased the body.
διόπερ τοῖς μὲν οὐ μόνον πρὸς τὸ νεῖν χρὴσιμοι οἱ πόδες ἀλλὰ καὶ πρὸς τὸ βαδίζειν, ταῖς δʼ ἄχρηστοι· μικροὶ γάρ, τὸ δὲ κύτος μέγα ἔχουσιν.
Therefore, in the former the feet are useful not only for swimming but also for walking, while in the latter they are useless; for they are small and they have a large trunk.
§4.9.8ἐπεὶ δὲ βραχεῖς ἔχουσι τοὺς πόδας καὶ 8 ἀχρήστους πρὸς τὸ ἀντιλαμβάνεσθαι καὶ μὴ ἀπο σπᾶσθαι ἀπὸ τῶν πετρῶν, ὅταν κλύδων ᾖ καὶ χειμών, καὶ πρὸς τὸ τὰ ἄποθεν προσάγεσθαι, διὰ ταῦτα προβοσκίδας ἔχουσι δύο μακράς, αἷς ὁρμοῦσί τε καὶ ἀποσαλεύουσιν ὥσπερ πλοῖον ὅταν χειμὼν ᾖ, καὶ τὰ ἄποθεν θηρεύουσι καὶ προσάγονται ταύταις αἵ τε σηπίαι καὶ αἱ τευθίδες.
But since they have short feet which are useless for clinging to and not being torn away from the rocks when there is a swell and a storm, and also for drawing in things from a distance, for these reasons they have two long proboscises, with which both cuttlefish and squid anchor themselves and ride at anchor like a ship when there is a storm, and with these they hunt and draw in things from a distance.
οἱ δὲ πολύποδες οὐκ ἔχουσι τὰς προβοσκίδας διὰ τὸ τοὺς πόδας αὐτοῖς εἶναι πρὸς ταῦτα χρησίμους.
But octopuses do not have these proboscises, because their feet are useful to them for these purposes.
§4.9.9ὅσοις δὲ κοτυληδόνες πρὸς 9 τοῖς ποσὶ καὶ πλεκτάνει πρόσεισι, δύναμιν ἔχουσι καὶ σύνθεσιν τοιαύτην οἵανπερ τὰ πλεγμάτια οἷς οἱ ἰατροὶ οἱ ἀρχαῖοι τοὺς δακτύλους ἐνέβαλλον· οὕτω καὶ ἐκ τῶν ἰνῶν πεπλεγμέναι εἰσίν, αἷς ἕλκουσι τὰ σαρκία καὶ τὰ ἐνδιδόντα.
And in all those to which suckers and tentacles are attached, they have a power and structure of such a kind as the woven finger-traps into which ancient physicians used to insert fingers; for in this way they are also woven of fibers, with which they drag flesh and yielding things.
περιλαμβάνει μὲν γὰρ χαλαρὰ ὄντα· ὅταν δὲ συντείνῃ, πιέζει καὶ ἔχεται τοῦ ἐντὸς θιγγάνοντος παντός.
For they surround things when they are relaxed; but when they are tense, they squeeze and hold fast to everything that touches their interior.
ὥστʼ ἐτεὶ ἄλλο οὐκ ἔστιν ᾧ προσάξονται, ἀλλʼ ἢ τὰ μὲν τοῖς ποσὶ τὰ δὲ ταῖς προβοσκίσι, ταύτας ἔχουσι πρὸς ἀλκὴν καὶ τὴν ἄλλην βοήθειαν ἀντὶ χειρῶν.
So, since they have no other means by which they can draw things to themselves except either by their feet in some cases or by their proboscises in others, they have these for defense and other assistance instead of hands.
§4.9.1010 τὰ μὲν οὖν ἄλλα δικότυλά ἐστε, γένος δέ τι πολυπόδων μονοκότυλον.
Now the other kinds are double-suckered, but a certain genus of octopuses is single-suckered.
σἴτιον δὲ τὸ μῆκος καὶ ἡ λεπτότης τῆς φύσεως αὐτῶν· μονοκότυλον γὰρ ἀναγκαῖον εἶναι τὸ στενόν.
And the cause is the length and thinness of their nature; for that which is narrow must of necessity be single-suckered.
οὐκ οὖν ὡς βέλτιστον ἔχουσιν, ἀλλʼ ὡς ἀναγκαῖον διὰ τὸν ἴδιον λόγον τῆς οὐσίας.
They do not, therefore, have them in this way because it is best, but of necessity because of the specific definition of their essence.
§4.9.1111 πτερύγιον δʼ ἔχουσι ταύτα πάντα κύκλῳ περὶ τὸ κύτος.
And all these have a fin in a circle around the trunk.
τοῦτο δʼ ἐπὶ μὲν τῶν ἅλλων συναπτόμενον καὶ συνεχές ἐστι, καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν μεγάλων τευθῶν· αἱ δʼ ἐλάττους καὶ καλούμεναι τευθίδες πλατύτερόν τε τοῦτο ἔχουσι καὶ οὐ στενόν, ὅσπερ αἱ σηπίαι καὶ οἱ πολύποδες, καὶ τοῦτʼ ἀπὸ μέσου ἠργμένον, καὶ οὐ κύκλῳ διὰ παντός.
In the others, as well as in the large squids, this is joined and continuous; but the smaller ones, called squids, have this broader and not narrow, unlike the cuttlefish and octopuses, and starting from the middle of the body, and not in a circle all the way around.
τοῦτο δʼ ἔχουσιν ὅπως νέωσι καὶ πρὸς τὸ διορθοῦν, ὥσπερ τοῖς μὲν πτηνοῖς τὸ ὀρροπύγιον, τοῖς δʼ ἰχθύσι τὸ οὐραῖον.
And they have this in order to swim and for steering, just as birds have the tail-feathers and fish the tail-fin.
§4.9.1212 ἐλάχιστον δὲ τοῦτο καὶ ἥκσιστα ἐπίδηλον τοῖς πολύποσίν ἐστι διὰ τὸ μικρὸν ἔχειν τὸ κύτος καὶ διορθοῦσθαι τοῖς ποσὶν ἱκανῶς.
12 But this is smallest and least visible in octopuses, because they have a small trunk and steer themselves sufficiently with their feet.
Περὶ μὲν οὖν τῶν ἐντόμων καὶ μαλακοστράκων καὶ ὀστρακοδέρμων καὶ μαλακίων εἴρηται, καὶ περὶ τῶν ἐντὸς μορίων καὶ τῶν ἐκτός.
Concerning insects, soft-shelled animals, testaceans, and soft-bodied animals, then, both their internal and external parts have been discussed.