Of unnatural Births; Monsters, and extraordinary Conceptions.

Hermaphrodites being Monsters in Nature, it is no more than what may be reasonably expected that my Account of their Generation, should be follow'd with some very extraordinary unnatural Births, monstrous Productions of another Kind, and wonderful Conceptions.

The Heathen Philosophers, were so prejudic'd to the Opinion of Woman's being an imperfect Animal, (alledging that Nature always propos'd to herself the Generation of Males as being the most accomplish'd piece of Workmanship;) that they look'd upon Woman as a Monster in Nature; but the Scriptures teach us, that Man and Woman are equally perfect in their Kind, and Nature cannot be suppos'd to produce more Monsters than perfect Beings, which must be the Case, if this Opinion were allow'd, Women being more numerous than the Men.

Monsters are deprav'd Conceptions, defin'd by the Ancients to be excursions of Nature, and are always Vicious, either in Figure, Situation, Magnitude, or Number. When they bear the resemblance of a Beast, they are said to be vicious in Figure; when the Parts are disproportion'd, as that one Part is too big for the other; (which is a thing very common by reason of some Excrescence) they are vicious in Magnitude; if the Ears were on the Face, or the Eyes on the Breast, &c. as was seen in a Monster born at Revanna in Italy, in the Year 1570, They are vicious in Situation, and when having two Heads or four Hands, and two Bodies join'd, as had a Monster born at Zarzara in the Year 1540, they are vicious in Number.

In the Reign of Henry the 3d, there was a Woman deliver'd of a Child, having two Heads, four Arms, and two Bodies which were join'd down to the Navel. The Heads were so plac'd that they look'd contrary ways. It was the Female Sex, and both Heads would speak, laugh and cry; and both Eat and be Hungry together, but there was but one Fundament to disburden Nature; sometimes one would Speak, and the other would keep silence, and sometimes both speak at the same time. It liv'd several Years, but one of them surviving the other, it carried the Dead one so long, that at last it fainted with the Burden. And at a Village call'd Ubaten in Flanders, a Child was Born which had two Heads and four Arms, appearing like two Maids joyn'd together, having two Arms lifted up between and above the Heads, the Thighs being plac'd as it were cross one another.

In the Year 1579, A Monster was Born in France, cover'd all over with Hair like a Beast, its Navel being in the place where his Nose should have been, his Eyes plac'd in the Situation of the Mouth; and its Mouth was in the Chin. It was of the Male-kind, and liv'd but a few Days, affrighting all that beheld it. And near Elselling in Germany, in the Year 1529, there was a Boy Born with one Head and one Body, having four Ears, four Arms, and four Feet, and but two Thighs, and two Legs: This Birth, in the Opinion of the Learned, proceeded from a Redundancy of Seed beyond what was sufficient for one Child, but not enough for Twins, wherefore Nature Form'd what she could. There might be many other particular Instances given of Monstrous Births, as some sticking together by the Bellies, others by the Breech; some Born without Arms or Legs others without Heads, yet have they liv'd for some time, till want of Sustenance made them pine away and Die, as having no place to receive it, and others with Heads like Dogs, Wolves, Bears, and other Beasts. But I shall proceed to the cause of their Generation.

The Natural Cause of Generation of Monsters, according to the Ancients, is either in the Matter, or in the Agent; in the Seed or in the Womb: The Matter may be unable to perform its Office two ways; by Defect, or by Excess: By Defect, when a Child hath but one Arm, or one Leg, &c. and by Excess, when it hath three Hands or two Heads. The Agent or Womb may be in Fault several ways, as in the forming Faculty, which may be too strong or too weak, by which a deprav'd Figure is oftentimes produc'd, the ill Conformation of the place of Conception will cause a Monstrous Birth; and the imaginative Power at the time of Conception, is so forcible, that it stamps a Character of the thing upon the Child; so that the Child of an Adulteress, by the strength of Imagination may have a nearer resemblance of her Husband, than of the Person who begat it. And some Histories mention, that through this Imaginative Faculty, a Woman at the time of Conception, beholding the Picture of a Blackamoor, produc'd a Child resembling an Æthiopian.

Monsters are sometimes Engender'd by unseasonable amorous Embraces, as when a Man enters on the Pleasures of Venus at a time as the monthly Flowings are upon his Wife; For this being against Nature, it is no wonder that it should produce an unnatural Offspring. If therefore a Man's desire be never so great for Copulation at such a time, yet the Woman ought not to admit of his Embraces; the issue of those unclean Embraces proving often Monstrous, or dull and heavy, and Defective in their Understandings.

Sometimes by a corruption of Seed, Monstrous Shapes are form'd, which by some is ascrib'd to the bad Influence of the Planets, that were predominant at the time of Conception; and sometimes the straightness of the Womb is attended with many Inconveniencies, for Nature not having sufficient room to frame her Work in, the Child is rumpled up, which occasions some to have hump'd Backs, crooked Arms, and Legs, round Shoulders, Wry Necks, and the like.

The divine Cause of these Monstrous Generations, proceeds from the permissive Will of our Great Creator, who many times suffers Parents to bring forth such Deform'd Creatures as a Punishment for their Lust: And some Authors are of Opinion, that outward deformity of Body is generally a Sign of the Pollution of the Heart, as a Curse upon the Child for the Incontinency of the Parents.

In the Writings of some Authors mention is made of Monsters engender'd by infernal Spirits; and as the Scriptures give us to understand that the Angels being taken with the Beauty of the Daughters of Men, went in unto them, and that from such a Conjunction, Giants were Born, so we may infer that if Angels can mix Amorously with Women, and engender Children, the Devils who only differ from Angels by their Fall, may also draw Women into immodest Pleasures, and Defile them with their Embraces: But it is highly inconsistent to suppose that our Creator who is all Purity, would permit the worst of Spirits to propogate his diabolical Offspring.

Devils assuming to themselves Human Shapes, in the opinion of Ancient Writers, may abuse both Men and Women, and with wicked People use carnal Copulation. St. Austin yields to this Notion, and that Generation may thereby be effected; but his Opinion was grounded more upon the depositions of Melancholly superstitious Persons, than from any demonstrable Proofs; and 'tis impossible that such an unnatural Conjunction can produce a humane Creature, though some will have it that it may, and that his Malice shall be a Sign of his Extraction.

The Rabbins beleived that the Silvani, Pans and Fauni, call'd Incubus's and the Tutelar Gods, were Creatures left imperfect the first Friday Evening, and not finish'd by God, as being prevented by the ensuing Sabbath; for this reason they alledg'd, these Spirits love Mountains and dark Places only, and never appear but in the Night time: And the Incubus's not only Court and desire to Caress Women, but have actually Caress'd them.

Hierenimus Cardanus writes of a Maid which was got with Child by a Devil, she thinking it had been a fair young Man who had Enjoy'd her; and some Witches fancy they have been at the Sabbath, and Caress'd by the Devil, whose Privy Parts were full of Bristles, Scaly, and the Seed cold as Ice; but this has proceeded only from a distracted Brain: Besides we learn from Scripture that Devils being pure Spirits, are quite different Substances from those of Men. That they have neither Flesh nor Blood, nor Privities, and consequently no Seed for Generation. That though they sometimes assume Bodies, these Bodies are only form'd of Air, and do not Live, neither can they exercise the Operations of Life: That having no occasion to hope for Posterity, as being Eternal and Unhappy, they cannot be suppos'd to be desirous of perpetuating their Species or to take pleasure in the Embraces of Women.

The Stories of Women having Commerce with Devils, are very Fabulous, and proceed chiefly from Dreams and Nocturnal Illusions; a Lecherous and Melancholly Woman seiz'd with the Night Mare, may verily beleive that the Devil Caresses her; especially if her Fancy is taken up with Tales of Witches. Leo Africanus tells us, That what is attributed to Devils, is committed by Lascivious Men, and Lecherous Women, who perswade others, that they are Caress'd by Devils. The Witches of the Kingdom of Fez, according to History, are very desirous that People should beleive them to be familiar with Devils, and for that Reason endeavour to tell surprizing Stories to those that consult them; they do not require any Fees from handsome Women that come to see them, but only intimate the Desire their Master has to Caress them for a Night. The Husbands take these Impostures for Truth, and surrender their Wives to the Gods and the Winds. Night being come, the brawny Sorcerer (who Employs the Persons abovemention'd, to ensnare fine Women to his Caresses) Embraces the fair one closely, and Enjoys her instead of the Devil. If this Ignorance and Superstition prevail'd in this Kingdom, I doubt not but it would very much Pleasure the frolicking Libertines.