518 Ulysses Aldrovandi

...examined with the greatest care, he possessed a penis along with a scrotum and testicles, beneath which—specifically in the perineum—was a slit fashioned in the manner of a vulva, though it did not penetrate. In contrast, the female hermaphrodite was a woman from that race of Ethiopians whom the Italian commoners call Gypsies. She was unable to comfortably perform either the active or passive role in intercourse, as the penis did not exceed the length or thickness of a pinky finger, and the opening of the vulva was so narrow that it could not admit even the tip of that same finger. The signs for identifying the nature of hermaphrodites—by which we can safely declare whether they should be classified as female or male—were explained in the section on differences in the first chapter of this History.

This foulness, or ambiguity of sex, is also sometimes observed in animals. Indeed, Pliny records that mares of this kind were seen in the time of Nero. Nero even hitched these mares, which shared the characteristics of both sexes and were found in the Trier region of Gaul, to his chariot. Textor also relates that while Xerxes was preparing his army for the invasion of Greece, a mule gave birth to a foal equipped with both sets of genitals, male and female. Furthermore, Cardanus observed a hermaphrodite horse in Antwerp; it had one testicle in its proper place, yet its udders were swollen like a mare's. It also had a vulva in the correct position, but a penis protruded from it. Indeed, it would whinny at mares like a male, with its head held high and a sturdier body.

Having set these examples out, we shall turn to the causes. The authors who investigate the causes of a "monstrous womb" have observed that they most often arise from the terror and fear experienced by the mother while carrying the fetus. Rufus wrote that it can happen by some chance that, through sudden dread, the seed contracts some defect in these members. He admits to having seen an infant whose sex was uncertain because the testicles protruded without a genital member, and a slit was visible below the testicles through which urine flowed. The mother confessed that she had been so terrified by a certain sight that she conjectured the infant’s condition was contracted from it. Nevertheless, such monstrous births can also result from the agitation of the seed for any number of reasons.

Before we speak of the causes of hermaphrodites, we must briefly consider whether they should be counted among the different types of monsters, as some who embrace an alternative view reason as follows: they argue that "monsters" are things that happen rarely, but since hermaphrodites are born frequently, they should not be placed in the category of monsters. Furthermore, they bolster this opinion by claiming that androgynes seem to display no actual defect of Nature. Indeed, when the power of both seeds—paternal and maternal—is so vigorous in the formation of the fetus that the infant perfectly achieves both sexes, this should not be considered an error of Nature, since Nature is then producing its own likeness in both sexes. Therefore, according to this view, not all hermaphrodites are grouped with monsters, but only those whose sex is imperfect due to smallness, or those whose sex is transposed.

We believe that this opinion should not be held. First, because hermaphrodites only appear to be born frequently when compared to other monsters, not in absolute terms. Secondly, we believe that no, or at least very few, monstrous fetuses have ever been perfect in both sexes. Moreover, even if they were born so, they should still be classified as monsters, since Nature always intends to produce a male and not a female in the generation of animals; when it falls short of this perfect level, it creates a female. Finally, we have the clear teaching of Aristotle, who called hermaphrodites monstrous and wrote that in them, one sex is functional while the other is useless.

Thus, if we turn our minds to their causes, we first encounter the opinion of the astrologers, who attribute the cause of this effect to the stars—especially when a conjunction of Venus and Mercury occurs in bicorporeal signs. Paulus Aegineta seems to agree with this view. Suessanus embraces another cause, writing that males are procreated from the first day to the fifth after the end of the menstrual flow, females up to the eighth, and hermaphrodites up to the twelfth. However, neither reason nor experience supports this view, since a male or a female is generated from the predominant seed of the father or mother, regardless of the specific day. Furthermore, if androgynes were produced after the twelfth day of the flow