On the adaptation of external nature to the physical condition of man: principally with reference to the supply of his wants and the exercise of his intellectual faculties / By John Kidd.

  • John Kidd
Date:
1837
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: On the adaptation of external nature to the physical condition of man: principally with reference to the supply of his wants and the exercise of his intellectual faculties / By John Kidd. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    Aristotle. All viviparous animals have eyes, except the mole; and even this ani- mal, although it has neither the fa- culty of sight, nor eyes readily vi- sible, cannot be said to be altoge- ther without eyes; for if its skin be taken off, you may distinguish not only the natural situation of the eyes, but that black central part of the eye itself in which the pupil is contained; as if these organs had been imperfectly developed, and the skin had grown over them. If the skin, which is thick, be stripped off from the head, you may perceive on its inner surface, and in the usual region, distinct eyes; which, though smal] and shrunk, as_ it were, have all the essential parts of those organs, namely, a_ pupil placed in the centre of the black part of the eye, and that black part surrounded by the white.* Zvyor oxo. TAYTO (exe 6pdaAWoUs) TARY aorahuxos. ToT de Tpomov wey TIV? Exe av bgin Is, OAWS 0? ovx eye. OAug wev Yop 0vb? Op ova’ ExEI EIS TO pavepov djAous spdarpois Apaipedevros Of tol Odpuaros eyes THY TE KHpOV TOV OULAT WY xo TOV OPbAAWGY TH LEAOLVOL KATH FOV TOov XO THY Ywpay THY DUCE ToIg GObaAWoIg UrapyouTav Ev TG) ExTOs, aig év +7 yevddss anpoupdvey xod etouo~ pévou sod d/puares. p. 18. >Agaupe- bévros 02 rod dgpyarog avtog rarcog amo Tig KEpAATS xara T7V YUpav T7V Eko TOV duparuv gdwbev sicw of cpbarpol diepbapuévor, wave’ Eyovrss TaUTe Te wEpn ToS ddnLivois? Exouss yap TO rE wtrav Kol TO Evrog TOU PEAaVOS T7V KOL- Aovmévyy xOpyv, Kal TO KUXAGTIOV. DP. 100, 101. Cuvier, tom. I. The eye of the mole is so small, and so concealed by the skin, that for a long time this animal was sup- posed to be without eyes. The blind rat-mole has no visible trace of external eyes; but in taking off the skin, a very small black point is observable, which appears to have the organization of an eye, without the possibility of being em- ployed as such, because the skin passes over it not only in an entire state, but as thick and as closely covered with hair as in any other part of the face. This may proba- bly be the animal which, according to M. Olivier, gave the idea to the ancients of describing the mole as totally blind.t Son e@il est si petit, et tellement caché par le poil, qu’on en a nié long-temps l’existence. p. 137. Le rat-taupe aveugle—n’a meéme point du tout d’eil visible au dehors: mais quand on eléve sa peau, on trouve un trés-petit point noir qui parait organise comme un eil, sans pouvoir servir a la vision, puisque la peau passe dessus sans s’ouvrir ni s’amincir, et sans y avoir moins de poils qu’autre part.—lIl se pour- rait, comme le dit M. Olivier, qu’il efit donné aux anciens lidee de fair la taupe toute-a-fait aveugle. p. 201. ;