The text discusses how human limbs function without overwhelmingly feeling their weight due to their connection to the whole body. It contrasts smaller and larger beings, using Roman soldiers as an example to demonstrate that familiarity with weight, such as carrying weapons, reduces the perceived burden. The piece also notes a natural difference in height between men and women.
Proportionate Limb Measurement
It is supported, so that by its own weight, those parts of the body such as arms and hands do not fall due to their weight. Thus, it seems to us quite unlikely; when we consider that arms and hands, feet and legs do not make us feel their weight in walking, standing, lying, or working, due to the connection these parts have with the whole body. We also do not believe anyone can complain about this. What happens in a smaller scale will, according to the same proportion existing between a small child and an adult person, also occur on a larger scale. As the man is, so are his powers. Indeed, when Cicero said that the weapons of Roman soldiers do not feel heavier in the field than carrying their own hands and arms; he wished to imply that they felt no additional burden from their limbs, and that their martial equipment did not feel heavy from familiarity, comparing probability with actuality. We conclude that it is not at all a good consequence: Excessively large stone statues topple under their own weight (and possibly only through age and many past disasters). Therefore, no man of 100 or 200 feet, well proportioned and suited to his required function, could exist.
There is also generally a natural distinction in height between a man and a woman. Typically, there are more tall men than very tall women. The landscape also influences