The History of Monsters. 212

...as if by a certain herb placed on glowing coals, according to Saint Thomas, the smoke makes beams appear to onlookers as if they were many serpents.

We can add to this a lamp filled with hare fat; when burned in a gathering of women, it compels them all to strip and dance until the light is put out. Likewise, if lamp wicks are soaked in cuttlefish ink and a bit of verdigris, those standing around will appear partly black and partly bronze. Among the Massagetae, as Homer testifies, there grow trees whose fruit, when thrown into a flame, makes those nearby act like fools, leaping from their seats to join in choral dances. Since demons are most skilled in natural things, there is no doubt they can produce many metamorphoses of this kind.

Finally, transformations that occur beyond the order of nature must be considered. Setting aside the transformation of King Nebuchadnezzar found in the sacred pages of Daniel, we encounter that of Tiridates, King of the Armenians. After he persecuted the virgins Hripsime and Gaiana in unspeakable ways to violate their modesty—eventually martyring them—he was transformed into a pig shortly thereafter by God's permission. Similarly, in the regions of Britain, there reigned a tyrant named Ceretius, who used every kind of trickery and ultimately capital punishment to turn the minds of the faithful away from the divine law of Christ. When Saint Patrick heard of the tyrant's cruelty, according to the Jesuit Eusebius, he attempted to call him back to a virtuous life and the path of salvation through warning letters. But the tyrant, despising every warning, expanded his bloody slaughter of Christians more and more each day. Thus, Saint Patrick is said to have prayed to God: "Lord God, as You are willing and able, cast out this foxy man, stained with every kind of crime and monstrosity, from the face of the earth in a monstrous way." Then, most merciful God, hearing the voice of His servant, transformed the tyrant into a fox while he stood in the marketplace surrounded by a crowd of his followers; he immediately fled from the sight of men and was never seen again.

THE WONDERS OF HUMAN NATURE.

Almost infinite wonders concerning the human body, both in word and deed, could be recounted here; but for the reader's sake, I will reflect only on the most significant. First, we should consider hair, which in some individuals has turned white in a single night. Indeed, according to Schenck, there was a noble youth in the Emperor’s court who violated the modesty of a girl he loved, even though this was a capital offense there. Consequently, he was taken to prison to be beheaded the next day. That night, seized by the dread of death, he was so changed that when he stood before the tribunal the following day, he was recognized by none of his companions, nor even by the Emperor himself. His complexion had turned from florid to sallow, his face was like a corpse, his beard was matted and foul, and finally, his entire head was covered in white hair. Seeing him, the Emperor suspected he was an impostor and ordered an investigation to see if the whiteness was fake or the beard smeared with some liquid. When it was realized there was no deception, the Emperor, stunned by the youth's horrific appearance, turned his mind from vengeance to mercy.

However, we should marvel even more at children who are born with white hair but turn black as they age. Solinus records that the Albanian people were so named because they are born with white hair. The natural reason may be that at the beginning of life, the hair is nourished by phlegm, which in time turns to blood; therefore, hair that is white at first gradually turns black as it is later nourished by blood. Conversely, Rhazes relates that he knew a man who, after drinking a dram of copperas, lost all his white hair in a single night. However, this type of remedy is not to be approved of by any means, as Galen disapproved of the use of copperas in internal medicines.

Furthermore, we learn from Dodonaeus of a nun of advanced age who, after her white hair fell out,