9



Further, the assertion that they draw in air out of the mouth or out

of the water by means of the mouth is an impossibility, for, not

having a lung, they have no windpipe; rather the stomach is closely

juxtaposed to the mouth, so that they must do the sucking with the

stomach. But in that case the other animals would do so also, which is

not the truth; and the water-animals also would be seen to do it

when out of the water, whereas quite evidently they do not. Further,

in all animals that respire and draw breath there is to be observed

a certain motion in the part of the body which draws in the air, but

in the fishes this does not occur. Fishes do not appear to move any of

the parts in the region of the stomach, except the gills alone, and

these move both when they are in the water and when they are thrown on

to dry land and gasp. Moreover, always when respiring animals are

killed by being suffocated in water, bubbles are formed of the air

which is forcibly discharged, as happens, e.g. when one forces a

tortoise or a frog or any other animal of a similar class to stay

beneath water. But with fishes this result never occurs, in whatsoever

way we try to obtain it, since they do not contain air drawn from an

external source. Again, the manner of respiration said to exist in

them might occur in the case of men also when they are under water.

For if fishes draw in air out of the surrounding water by means of

their mouth why should not men too and other animals do so also;

they should also, in the same way as fishes, draw in air out of the

mouth. If in the former case it were possible, so also should it be in

the latter. But, since in the one it is not so, neither does it

occur in the other. Furthermore, why do fishes, if they respire, die

in the air and gasp (as can be seen) as in suffocation? It is not want

of food that produces this effect upon them, and the reason given by

Diogenes is foolish, for he says that in air they take in too much air