History of Monsters. 673

...we then decided to present to the reader, so that he might contemplate how Nature, through various protrusions and depressions, formed the shape of a serpent in a small branch, as shown in illustration III.

This most famous man chose to call this figure a "serpentine branch," since its appearance completely mimicked a snake. It was called a branch and not a root, because a similar specimen had been observed in *Clematis*, commonly known as traveler's joy. In that case, a small twig had grown between two branches that exactly resembled a Cenchrite snake. Therefore, just as such a branch was produced in *Clematis*, nothing prevents a similar branch from being able to grow in another plant as well.

We gather that the illustrated figure represents a branch and not a root from the fact that it completely lacks fibers. In the natural world, no plant grows whose root is devoid of fibers—whether large, medium, or small. For both perfect and imperfect plants, fibers are necessary for life to draw nourishment from the earth, as they correspond proportionally to the mesenteric veins that carry chyle to the liver in animals.

What we have just observed carved by Nature in roots and certain branches can sometimes be seen in various stones tumbled through torrents and rivers, where stones occasionally resemble the shape of bread, cheese, or melons.

Indeed, Olaus Magnus reports that on the shores of the Ostrogoths—specifically the eastern shores of the sea called Bråviken—stones are observed that represent various parts of the human body, as if they were artfully carved. However, the locals, accustomed to such sights, think nothing of these images.

So far we have reflected on Nature's carvings; now we must contemplate Nature's paintings. For if it happens that art, by sculpting and painting, emulates Nature in all things, in turn Nature, as if playing with art, seems to imitate the role of the sculptor and painter. She skillfully arranges certain lines—as if drawn with a brush—on branches, tree trunks, and sometimes on stones, so that they express various images of things.

Therefore, we present here for inspection a portion of a Guaiacum tree trunk, still preserved in the public museum, in which two figures are seen rendered to the life: one is a water bird, and the other is a mushroom.

The tree trunk in which these two figures are seen was not decorated with them except on the lower part that faced the ground. The upper part of the Guaiacum stem appeared somewhat split and was divided into two smaller parts about a span and a half wide; but in the lower part, which was not split at all, those two figures appeared opposite each other, seeming to correspond to two split branches, or rather to the pith of the branches. While Guaiacum wood by its nature usually has a certain blackish pith that is larger than the wood surrounding it, the opposite is observed in this wood, as the black spots are smaller than the surrounding wood.

Thus, on one part of the wood, the figure of a water bird is seen—specifically a sea heron called a *Totanus*—and on the other part of the trunk, an image is visible resembling the form of that mushroom which the common people call *Galletto*, as shown in illustration IV.

We cannot but admire these beautiful works of Nature. She generates not only monstrous things in animals, but also in stones and plants, where, through a variety of spots, she fashions many images of animals, herbs, and other things. We believe these are undoubtedly created by chance, although some, especially Albertus Magnus, attribute their generation to the constellations. For they claim that if it happens that the stars dispose natural agents toward the procreation of dogs, then a man is born with a face somewhat mimicking the bared teeth of a dog; and likewise, at that time, similar figures of dogs are delineated in certain stones and tree trunks, and so they assert regarding other animal forms.