History of Monsters. 446 Ulysses Aldrovandi

...arises from the fact that the male seed perfectly overcomes the female seed; for this reason, a boy is said to have been born from a cow. When, however, the fetus takes on the likeness of the mother, it happens because the seed of the human agent is weak. Because the matter is not properly mastered, he cannot imprint his own likeness upon it, and thus the offspring ends up resembling the beast rather than the human.

Finally, if in a union between a human and a brute, the animal seed is stronger in forming the upper parts, while the human seed is only strong enough to generate the lower parts, then monsters come into the world that are endowed with the heads of asses, dogs, or calves. We might also suggest that in the womb of a beast or a woman—whether through the coupling of a human or of wild animals—the seeds of both are received and, due to the narrowness of the space, become mixed. From this coalescing material, a beast with a human head or a human with a beast's head can arise, as the reader can observe in the provided illustrations.

As a final crowning point to these causes, we must assert that the power of the Demon should not be overlooked. By tricking the senses of onlookers, he can make a human appear with a lion's head. Indeed, he is sometimes capable of snatching away the genuine offspring and secretly substituting a monster brought from elsewhere for the woman in labor. Furthermore, with God's permission, the Demon can introduce all the natural causes of a monster into the womb, or weaken the power of the sperm to such an extent that the fetus is not born in the likeness of its parents.

At other times, he can so corrupt the spermatic material that only the limbs of some imperfect animal are formed in the womb. Nor would we stray from the right path if we were to say that the fertile seed of a different species of animal could be carried into the womb by a Demon, so that monstrous fetuses with the head of an ape or a calf might arise from it. Unless, of course, we prefer to argue that by the Demon's power, the fetus of a brute can be joined to a human fetus. Beyond this, the Demon can afflict a fetus with illness, defiling it into a beastly form. Finally, he can impart some horrific phantom to the imagination of the parents, so that at the appointed time, an offspring marked with a beast's head emerges into the vital air.

#### DEFORMED CONSTITUTION OF THE HEAD.

Thus far, we have spoken of doubled heads and of heads belonging to other species, occurring in both human and animal offspring. Now we must discuss heads that are remarkable for some notable feature, yet do not depart entirely from their own species. First, if we consider hair, I remember seeing some years ago a foreign woman with a head so fertile in hair that her locks, when unrolled, reached all the way to the ground. For this reason, she traveled for profit, presenting herself as a great wonder to the public by letting down her hair.

We have observed this same marvel in beasts; three years ago, a horse belonging to the Most Illustrious Count Filippo Aldrovandi, a Senator of Bologna, died. It bore a mane on its neck that hung down to the ground, sweeping the earth as it walked; perhaps because of its long hair, this horse was named "Bella Donna."

Furthermore, a boy was born with a beard in the year of our Lord 308 in Antioch, during the time of the Emperor Constantius; we discussed this monster in the section on Omens. There is also a portrait of a German woman kept in the Museum of the Most Illustrious Senate of Bologna; years ago, because of the remarkable beard she wore, which hung down as far as her belly, she was led about to be seen by everyone.

Moreover, extraordinary infants have been born with teeth, such as the bearded boy we mentioned just now from the year 308. Livy also recorded that a girl was born with teeth in Osimo. Similarly, according to Marcello Donato, in the year 1572, a certain daughter of a tailor, with three