On the Usefulness of the Parts, Vol. II

Thus, man is not naked, vulnerable, unarmed, or unshod. Instead, he has an iron breastplate when he wishes, an instrument more difficult to pierce than any skin. There is every kind of footwear, there are weapons, and there are shelters. For not only the breastplate, but also the house, the wall, and the tower are shelters for man. If he had an innate horn on his hands or some other such 10 defensive weapon, he would have no use for his hands either for the construction of a house or a wall, or for a spear, a breastplate, or anything else of that sort. With these hands, man has woven a cloak, braided a net, a trap, a fish-weel, and a snare, so that he prevails not only over the animals on earth, but also over those in the sea and the air. Such is the hand as a weapon for defense. 16 Yet, as a peaceful and political original: zōon living being animal, man used his hands to write laws, to erect altars and statues to the gods, to construct a ship, a flute, a lyre, a chisel, tongs, and all other tools of the arts. He left behind records of these things through writings so that, through writings and hands, it is still possible for you to converse with Plato, Aristotle, Hippocrates, and the other ancients. 25 Ch. III. In this way, man is the wisest of animals.