But man alone is unable to move his ears, and all other
animals can move them. And the ears lie, with man, in the same
horizontal plane with the eyes, and not in a plane above them as is
the case with some quadrupeds. Of ears, some are fine, some are
coarse, and some are of medium texture; the last kind are best for
hearing, but they serve in no way to indicate character. Some ears are
large, some small, some medium-sized; again, some stand out far,
some lie in close and tight, and some take up a medium position; of
these such as are of medium size and of medium position are
indications of the best disposition, while the large and outstanding
ones indicate a tendency to irrelevant talk or chattering. The part
intercepted between the eye, the ear, and the crown is termed the
'temple'. Again, there is a part of the countenance that serves as a
passage for the breath, the 'nose'. For a man inhales and exhales by
this organ, and sneezing is effected by its means: which last is an
outward rush of collected breath, and is the only mode of breath
used as an omen and regarded as supernatural. Both inhalation and
exhalation go right on from the nose towards the chest; and with the
nostrils alone and separately it is impossible to inhale or exhale,
owing to the fact that the inspiration and respiration take place from
the chest along the windpipe, and not by any portion connected with
the head; and indeed it is possible for a creature to live without
using this process of nasal respiration.
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