The Goal of the Wise

Furthermore, every sleeping thing is thought to lose its senses and all forces of this kind when sleep possesses it. Hence, naturally, some sleepers are seen to extend themselves in their posture. And other reasons, of which Aristotle speaks, [show] that many, in a posture unprepared for such animals—
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their feet are greatly fatigued while sleeping, which truly happens. When they wish to rest while standing, they rest in turns, sometimes upon one foot, sometimes upon the other. Just as it happens with various animals walking: when they wish to rest, they stand upon their feet, and they rest now upon one foot, and soon upon the other. And there is another reason: for when the feet themselves are brought together in their composition, they consist of bones, nerves, muscles, skin, blood, and horn. The extremities of these are naturally cold, and in sleep, the extremities are chilled due to the withdrawal of the heat itself to the places of digestion; the feet themselves are naturally cold, [and] they are slightly chilled in sleep. When the limbs are chilled—

they fail in their operation. And lest they become completely heated, to the point that their virtues are infected ...? their operations ...? before they retreat inside the feathers so that they also contract their feet in this posture, successively, first from one foot and afterward from the other. If the belly is cold while sleeping, they place their breasts upon the belly so that the internal parts are little able to contribute, hanging from below. But there is enough on these matters, and they cannot be known much. For if the belly is cold, they would raise their feathers as if? much ...like a man...? neither ...would they be hindered...? when they wish to rest, wanting to describe by what means they acquire food and how and why owls go out to hunt at night. These operations which terrestrial birds have in flying to obtain food are many. For some terrestrial birds are not flyers and have no gait, like the manner of larger swallows, of which Aristotle says that they are seen almost in the early spring, and in autumn, and in summer, sometimes, and especially a little before—

At the bottom of the page, there are two black ink sketches of birds. The bird on the left is perched and facing right, while the bird on the right is also perched and facing right, but with its head turned back toward its wing. The sketches are simple but detailed enough to show feathers and posture.