Chapter XII.

1. These parts are possessed in common by the male and female; the position of the external parts, whether above or below, before or behind, on the right side or the left, will appear on mere inspection. It is necessary, however, to enumerate them, for the reasons which I have mentioned before, that its proper place being assigned to each part, any difference in their arrangement in man and other animals may be less likely to escape our notice.

2. In man, the parts of the body are more naturally divided into upper and lower than in any other animal, for all the upper and lower parts of his body are arranged according to the order of nature above and below; in the same way, also, the fore and hind parts, and those on the right and left, are placed naturally. But in other animals some of these parts are either not at all so placed, or they are much more confused than in man. The head is placed above the body in all animals, but in man alone, as we have said, is this part corresponding to the order of all things.

3. Next to the head is the neck, then the breast and the back, the one before and the other behind; and each of them in the following order:—the stomach, loins, pudenda, haunch, then the thigh and leg, and, last of all, the foot. The legs have the joint bent forwards, in which direction also is their manner of walking, and the more moveable part of the legs as well as the joint is bent forward: the heel is behind. Each of the ankles is like an ear. From the right and left side come arms, having the joint bent inwards, so that the flexures both of the legs and arms are towards each other, especially in man.

4. The senses and the organs of sense, the eyes, nostril, and tongue are in the same position, and in the anterior part of the body; but the hearing, and its organ, and the ears are at the side, and upon the same circumference as the eyes. Man has the eyes closer together, in proportion to his size, than other animals. The sense of touch is the most accurate of the human senses, and next to this the taste. In the rest of his senses he is far surpassed by other animals.