350 Ulisse Aldrovandi

it happened that, exceeding the power of nature, monstrous infants were born—specifically, infants distinguished by a tail. When Thomas Becket, that just man, arrived in Strood (a village situated on the Medway River which flows past Rochester), the local inhabitants, seeking to inflict some disgrace upon Thomas, did not hesitate to cut off his horse’s tail. They did this to please their King, who often used to declare that he could not find peace from a single priest in his own kingdom and lacked faithful friends who might free him from this annoyance. But later, this mark of infamy was erased along with the men who had sinned.

So much for the miracles performed beyond the power of nature in those fetuses that were brought into the light as monsters by God’s command. It remains for us to speak of those infants who, though born monstrous, were granted a beautiful physical form shortly thereafter, beyond the ordinary course of nature. Let that one miracle stand as an example for all: Caesarius of Heisterbach recounts a story told to Godfrey, a master of novices, in the house of probation. While Godfrey was once governing a certain parish, he baptized a monstrous boy who was hideously deformed by a fleshy mass that had grown upon his side. But after he washed the monstrous infant a third time in the sacred water, invoking the name of the Most Holy Trinity, the monstrous flesh vanished through a power beyond nature. Consequently, the parents and bystanders, proclaiming the virtue of the Sacrament of Baptism, gave immense glory to the infinite power of the Supreme Creator.

PROBLEMS

Propositions involving inquiries are not lacking when it comes to monsters; indeed, at first glance, the curious mind desires to know why monsters are produced by Nature. Aristotle assigns the cause for this in his *Physics*, where he says that Nature always strives to produce what is better and more perfect, but due to the disposition of the matter, the poor conformation of the womb, or the influence of the stars, it produces only what it can while pursuing the intended goal of the work.

From this, a second problem arises: does Nature have some end in view when producing monsters?

Philosophers respond in the affirmative. For if Nature looked to no end, the fetus would undoubtedly be formless; yet it is not always formless. Therefore, according to the mind of Aristotle, when Nature errs in generation, it subsequently pursues its end in the nearest possible category—producing a female instead of a male, a biped instead of a human, or, when hindered, a quadruped. From this, we must conclude that while Nature may err, it very rarely generates fish and never trees—although Athenaeus, on the authority of Hecataeus, recounts that a dog gave birth to a vine trunk, though many declare this birth to be a fable.

And if anyone should doubt this, saying that an erring Nature ought to produce bipedal birds rather than another kind of quadruped, Cardanus responds that when Nature intends a certain genus, it necessarily tries to fashion some species of that genus. Thus, when it cannot achieve a specific proper end, it looks to the closest one and strives to build something in another category, provided the matter does not resist. For this reason, a multiform monster is produced from matter composed of diverse parts, whereas a formless monster results from truly useless matter.

Again, the curious inquire why monstrous fetuses live in the womb but perish easily once brought into the light. Cardanus responds that things are preserved by the same causes upon which they depend, and those things that are attached to another easily live together (*convivere*), since being born together, they share the life of those with whom they were generated. However, since it is more difficult to live independently (*vivere*) than to live together (*convivere*), it follows that monsters live in the womb but perish easily once they have emerged into the vital air. This is because, once born, they are removed from their own nature, thus becoming weaker and unhealthy, and so they die.

Yet another response can be brought forward: namely, that when monsters begin to be generated, they differ very little from the generation of perfect beings; but because over the course of time, as they are completed, they deviate greatly from the nature of those generating them, it follows that the more monsters grow, the more weakness they acquire, because from their natural