Note 46 — Chapter I · MAN.
Reading edition
This reminds us of the terms of the riddle proposed to Œdipus by the Sphinx: “What being is that, which, with four feet, has two feet and three feet, and only one voice; but its feet vary, and when it has most it is weakest?” to which he answered, That it is man, who is a quadruped in childhood, two-footed in manhood, and moving with the aid of a staff in old age.