Full Idea
Nature proceeds little by little from things lifeless to animal life so that it is impossible to determine the exact line of demarcation, nor on which side an intermediate form should lie. ...In plants there is a continuous ascent towards the animal.
Gist of Idea
There is a gradual proceeding from the inanimate to animals, with no clear borderlines
Source
Aristotle (The History of Animals [c.344 BCE], 588b04)
Book Reference
Aristotle: 'The Basic Works of Aristotle', ed/tr. McKeon,Richard [Modern Library Classics 2001], p.635
A Reaction
This in itself should have alerted medieval Christians to the problematic nature of the idea that animal species were divinely created.
Related Idea
Idea 23302 Plants have far less life than animals, but more life than other corporeal entities [Aristotle]