Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER II. RULES REGULATING THE PRINCIPLE OF VICIOUSNESS AND NON-VI- CIOUSNESS IN THE FOUR PRINCIPAL TORT-FEASORS ENUMERATED IN THE FIRST MISHNA. MISHNA /.: What tendency makes the foot to be considered vicious ? That of breaking (everything in its way) while walking. An animal has a tendency to cause breakage while walking in her f usual way. If, however, she were kicking (which is not her habit to do, and therefore considered a derivative of the horn), or there were gravel being kicked up from under her feet (which is sometimes her habit to do) and vessels were broken, one-half of the damage is paid. (In the case of gravel it is so by tradition; and the case is that it was done on the premises of the plaintiff.) If she stepped on a vessel and broke it, and the fragments thereof fell on another vessel and broke it, for the first vessel the full amount of the damage is paid (for it is the damage of the foot), but for the second vessel only one- half is paid (for it is the same as that of gravel ). Cocks have a tendency to walk in their usual way and cause breakage. If, however, something was attached to their feet, or they werehopping and they broke vessels, only one-half is paid (the reason is explained further on in the Gemara). Sec Gemara. t We are compelled to use in our translation of this section for male and female animals the same terms used when speaking of human beings, for the following reasons: (a) The Bible translators use the same terms when speaking of animals, either of common or distinct gender, e.g., see Leeser’s translation (which we follow in the translation of the Talmud), Numb. xxii. 25, Exod. xxii. 5, as regards ass, which is of common gender, also ibid., Exod. xxi. 29, Numb. xix. 3, as regards a distinct gender; and so in many, many other…
