The text discusses the action of pulling and pushing exerted by muscles. It explains that many physical actions involve pushing, even if they appear to be pulling. The text differentiates between going ahead of a load and using tools to bring it towards us, and going behind the load to push it forward, emphasizing that both are fundamentally pushing actions.
Positioning the Figures in
Muscles, and their own operation have said; we can conclude with confidence that the man pulling towards himself exerts more force than one pushing away. Indeed, if the entire body did not bring significant force to the shoulders and arms, the pushing man could not do more than if someone placed a stick under his armpit and pushed with just that.
If one were to examine this action thoroughly, we would find that pulling (performed by people or laborious animals) cannot truly be described as such; instead, all actions intended to carry something, pull forward, and displace, are fundamentally a matter of pushing forward. Yet, we typically differentiate these actions with two names based on handling and the manner in which we operate, as one method is more convenient and forceful than the other, depending on its approach, as illustrated by the example of these two men. For when we go ahead of the load and bring it to us using a rope, hook, or other means, we call that pulling; but when going behind the load and pushing it forward in any way, we call it pushing or shoving. However, in both manners, it essentially remains a form of pushing. Based on this principle, we can say that a horse, wagon, cart, or sled pushes forward and does not pull at all. This will no longer seem strange to us, for we merely exert effort to make such a thing happen in life where
Translation Notes
- "Beelden" translates to "Figures," referring to representations of human forms in art. - "Stoten of Stecken" means "pushing or shoving."