History of Monsters, 716. Ulysses Aldrovandi on Celestial Monsters. Chapter 13.

In accordance with the order established at the beginning of this History, we must now direct our attention to those things generated in the upper regions of the world beyond the accustomed laws of Nature. Because of their location, these are termed "celestial monsters," as "Heaven" is used here in a broad sense. It should be noted that there exists a certain superior world, or Nature, consisting of several spheres that move only in circles. Closest to this are the elements that comprise this inferior and sublunary world: namely fire, air, water, and earth. Their positions and places are arranged so that fire follows the celestial nature, followed by air, then water, and finally earth.

Thus, from these four elements that constitute this lower world, certain meteorological effects occasionally arise. Since these do not occur frequently, they are called monsters; and because they are born on high, they are designated as celestial—though this name may also encompass something new and never before observed among the stars.

We will deliberately bypass the debate regarding the bodies contained between Heaven and Earth initiated by Anaxagoras. He believed that while the highest Heaven was of a fiery nature, all other bodies down to the Earth were composed only of air. This is not the place to dispute such matters, as philosophers have resolved this doubt elsewhere. For now, we must adopt the persona of that philosopher whom the ancients called a "meteorologist." His role is to study those things created in the higher reaches of the sublunary world, such as rain, dew, frost, snow, and hail. However, because these return in a kind of cycle at regular intervals, they are not granted the name of "monster" and consequently do not concern our work. Therefore, we shall ascend higher to the fiery phenomena: specifically comets, shooting stars, pillars of fire, torches, and burning pyramids, as well as various images of living creatures appearing in the air and clouds. Because these occur so rarely, they are called monsters and portents.

Monstrous Images of Living Creatures Observed in the Higher Regions.

Only a few images of men will be recounted here, as many others of this kind were recorded and illustrated in the section on Prophecies in the first chapter of this book. Truly marvelous to behold were the battle lines of many soldiers seen in the air by the inhabitants of many places in Switzerland in the year 1474, as recorded in the Annals of Basel. In that year, the Swiss led out countless forces of infantry and cavalry against the Duke of Milan and, in the month of November, achieved victory at the Ticino River.

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