and inequality of substance, he declared they were rendered unfit. This form represents the second mode of procreating monsters due to a defect of matter, according to the mind of Weinrich; for he reported that seeds mixed in the womb produce either nothing or a monster, unless they are joined by a certain compatibility.

Likewise, the Regents of Paris, in their commentary at the end of the second book of the *Physics*, write on this subject that monsters are also generated from diverse seeds, participating partly in one nature and partly in another. Examples include hybrid animals: such as a mule born from a horse and a donkey, or when an animal springs from a wolf and a dog. They claim this happens when the seeds of different species agree in their qualities, and that it rarely occurs when they differ. Similarly, the "monsters of Empedocles"—which were said to represent the upper part of a man and the lower part of a horse—were rarely or never seen. However, these authors are mistaken regarding Empedocles' monsters, since such creatures were said to reflect the form of a man and an ox, rather than a horse and a man, as is read in the text of Aristotle.

On this matter, Rhodiginus recounts that there was a shepherd at Sybaris named Crathis. Giving in to excessive lust, he fell in love with a most beautiful she-goat and frequently coupled with her as if she were a mistress. Meanwhile, the lead he-goat, the leader of the flock, noticed this and, incited by jealousy, waited until he saw the shepherd sleeping. He rushed at him with great force and dashed the sleeper's skull. Because of this, a famous monument was built for the shepherd, and a river was named after him. They say that from that wicked union a child was born who took after the mother in its legs and the father in its face. Nor should this be surprising, for we have accounts from the first part of the *History of Peru* that in certain parts of that region, large apes reside with whom some inhabitants, at the suggestion of demons, mingle as if with women. From this, they say, monsters are born with human heads and genitals, but the hands and feet of an ape, while the rest of the body is hairy. They do not speak, but rather mimic demons by howling.

The second form of the origin of monsters by reason of defective matter, according to the opinion of Ludovicus Mercatus, depends on the distribution of the seed throughout the woman's womb. He explains this with an elegant and clear example of molten lead: if it is poured unevenly, the resulting figures will also be uneven. Therefore, because of this defect, deformed and unequal parts of the fetus result from the seed, as we clearly see in humans when the head is thicker than is right and the other parts are significantly deformed. This form pertains to the seventh "vice of matter" described by Weinrich, where the author considers the material not as a continuous whole but as something separated by movement, which sometimes happens due to an oblique positioning. Indeed, Ambroise Paré was referring to this when he wrote that monsters are produced by the mother's faulty posture throughout the period of pregnancy. For those who sit idle at home, who sit with legs crossed, or who bend and lean their bodies forward over their knees while embroidering or sewing, or those who take on other heavy burdens or compress their bellies too tightly with bandages, undergarments, or clothing, give birth to infants who are crooked, bowed, hunchbacked, or distorted in their feet and other parts.

Weinrich supports this opinion with these words: one must consider the position of the pregnant woman, by which something in the tender and soft mass can be perverted. This is later confirmed by Levinus Lemnius, who demonstrates this with the example of Belgian women, especially those living by the sea. Being too mobile and restless during intercourse, they bring forth disfigured and unfit offspring. The narrowness of the womb must also be mentioned here, which Paré admitted can sometimes give rise to monsters. Just as apples hanging from trees are prevented from their proper growth if they are enclosed in narrow vessels before they reach their due size, so too must it be that those things contained in very cramped spaces are deprived of their freedom of movement—since, according to the philosophers, the place is the "form" of the thing placed. Consequently, they emerge diminished, maimed, or mutilated. Weinrich did not deviate from this view; he compared the shape of a womb that fails to dilate as the fetus grows to the small vessels holding tender apples, which take on no shape other than that of the containers themselves.

The third form of the origin of monsters depending on a defect of matter is proposed by Ludovicus