160 l/-23 to l/-24
and Spartans and everything in these cities is properly said to belong to
those peoples, in the same way one must hold that everything in the
entire cosmos belongs to gods and men. 155. Moreover, although the
orbits of the sun and moon and the other stars help the cosmos hold
together, they also serve as a [wonderful] spectacle for men. For no sight
is less likely to become boring, none is more beautiful and none more
outstanding with respect to rationality and cleverness; for by measuring
out their courses we learn when the various seasons change and reach
their peaks. And if men alone know these things, one must judge that
they were created for the sake of men.
- The earth is rich with grain and other kinds of vegetables and
pours them forth with the greatest generosity; do you think that it was
made for the sake of beasts or of men? What should I say about vines
and olive trees? Their most rich and fertile fruits are of no use at all to
beasts. Beasts have no knowledge of sowing, cultivating, of reaping and
bringing in the harvest at the proper time, nor of putting it up and
storing it; only men can use and care for these things. 157. Just as we
should say that lyres and flutes are made for the sake of those who can
use them, so one must admit that the things I have been talking about
are provided only for the sake of those who use them; and if some animals
steal or snatch some of it from them, we shall still not say that those
things were made for their sake. For men do not store grain for the sake
of mice or ants, for rather for the sake of their wives, children and
households. So animals use such things by stealth, as I said, but their
masters do so openly and freely. 158. So one must concede that this
generous supply of goods was provided for the sake of men, unless the
great richness and variety of fruits, and their pleasant taste, odour and
appearance, leaves any doubt about whether nature presented them to
men alone.
So far is it from being true that these things were provided for the
sake of the beasts, that we can see that even the beasts themselves were
created for man's sake. What are sheep for except to provide wool which
can be worked and woven into clothes for men? And without man's
cultivation and care they could not have been nourished or maintained,
nor produced anything of use to others. What can be the meaning of the
faithful guard service of dogs, their loving admiration of their masters,
their hatred of outsiders, and their remarkable skill in tracking and speed
in the hunt? Only that they were created to serve man's needs .....
159 .... It would take too long to recount the useful services provided
by mules and asses, which were certainly provided for man's use. 160.
What is there in pigs, except food? Chrysippus says that the pig was
given a soul in place of salt, to keep the meat from spoiling. Because it