326 l//-35
sexual intercourse, while some come to be with it. And of those which
come to be without sexual intercourse, some come to be from fire (like
the tiny animals which appear in furnaces), some from putrefied water
(like gnats), some from soured wine (like ants) .... 42. Of those which
come to be from sexual intercourse, some (i.e., most) come to be from
parents of the same species, some from parents of different species (like
mules). Again, generally, some animals are viviparous (like humans) and
some oviparous (like birds), while others produce unformed heaps of
flesh (like bears). 43. So it is likely that the dissimilarities in the mode
of generation should also produce great differences in their manner of
being affected, which would be the source of their incompatibilities,
disharmonies and conflicts.
- Moreover, the differences in the most important parts of their
bodies, especially those naturally fitted for discernment and sense-percep-
tion, are able to produce the greatest conflict among presentations; at
any rate, those with jaundice say that things which appear to us as white
are yellow, and those whose eyes are bloodshot see them as red. So since
some animals have yellow eyes, some have bloodshot eyes, some have
white eyes, and some have eyes of different colours, it is likely, I think,
that their grasp of colours is different .... - And when we press one side of our eye the forms, shapes and sizes
of visible things appear long and narrow; so it is likely that to those
animals with a slanting and elongated pupil (like goats, cats and the like)
objects should be presented differently, not as animals with round pupils
suppose them to be .... - The same argument applies to the other senses .... 54. So it is
likely that externally existing objects are observed to be different according
to the differing conditions of the animals which receive the presentations. - This sort of point can be learned even more clearly from [a consider-
ation of] what seems worth choosing and worth avoiding to animals.
Sweet oil, at any rate, seems very pleasant to men, but is unbearable to
beetles and bees. And olive oil is beneficial to men, but if sprinkled on
wasps and bees it destroys them. And sea water is unpleasant and poison-
ous for men to drink, but very pleasant and potable for fish. 56. For
washing, pigs prefer the foulest-smelling mud to clear, pure water. Some
animals eat grass, others bushes, others graze in forests or eat seeds or
flesh or milk; some like rotting food, some like it fresh; some like it raw,
some cooked by a chef. And in general, what is pleasant to some is
unpleasant, worth avoiding and fatal to others .... 58. It is possible to
cite more examples than this, but to avoid seeming pointlessly long-
winded, if it is the case that the same things are unpleasant to some
animals and pleasant to others, and if what is pleasant or unpleasant