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Ulisse Aldrovandi, Monstrorum historia cum Paralipomenis historiae omnium animalium (Bologna, 1658), pp. 21–24.
[p. 21]
To this should be referred other species of
wild men listed by Lycosthenes, such as those extremely fat women seen in the
Indian Ocean who have an unnaturally long neck, arms joined to the legs,
donkeys' shinbones and feet of a different form. He describes males like the
women but much smaller. Likewise, to be listed in this place are the women
found in the Libyan desert with breasts hanging down to their knees, lacking
the power of speech, but vociferating vehemently. There are others besides
living in the Libyan mountains which have bovine legs, human faces and feet,
vulpine tails, goat udders, and a humped back like a camel's. But since
Lycosthenes told of monsters rather through hearsay than facts, and sometimes
fanciful figments, we therefore deliberately leave all those aside, and turn
for our part to disseminate the image of those hairy men in whom it is
implanted by nature to advance by crawling. And therefore, they could be called
herpiszanthropoi by the Greeks and manugradi (handwalkers) by the Latins;
the picture is this.
[p. 22]
[Marginal note:] Ice like a protection
against weapons.
To the preceding could be added the Cynomulgi (dog-muzzled), or Cynocephali (dog-headed), equally hairy,
whose head and mouth mark them out as beasts more than men. These according to
Lycosthenes have a human body elegantly shaped except for the head which
resembles the muzzle of dogs, and they live in Northern Ethiopia. Moreover, in
Vincent [of Beauvais]'s Mirror of History this race roams the regions of
Tartary without fear, because in the bitter winter, it plunges into the water,
then immediately rolls in the dust, until the dust mixed with water freezes. This
is repeated several times, until the thickness of the ice can resist the impact
of weapons and arrows. Having done this, this race advances on the Tartars with
great force, for then the arrows hurled at them return whence they came, and
likewise, they cannot in any way be harmed by other weapons.
On that account those Cynocephali, attacking
the Tartars unharmed [p. 23], wound many of them by biting. Likewise Marco Polo
claimed that this race, which has canine muzzles, wanders about the Angaman
island, and rounds up and devours any visitors. In fact we think that these are
vanities and that the truth has been corrupted by many a foolishness. There are
in fact certain dog-headed tribes of very cunning monkeys who approach human
intelligence, and which have been dealt with at greater length in the history
of quadrupeds with fingers. We do not deny that there have been and can be men
with canine muzzles, but it seems that they should be recorded among the
monsters. It will not be offensive to show the picture of the supposed Cynocephali for the benefit of the
reader.
By many [people], Satyrs, Tritons, Nymphs,
Nereids and Sirens are deservedly placed together on the list of wild people;
besides it will be worth the effort to deal with them all in this place one by
one.
[p. 24] Concerning the Satyrs, so called from the noun sathe, meaning the male member, because
they are always inclined to lust, we will first place before you the opinion of
antiquity. Pliny reports in many places that there is a region in the Eastern
mountains of India which is called Cartadulorus where Satyrs, namely horned,
hairy and most pernicious men, live, with a human appearance, goat feet, having
no human morals, and frolicking in hiding places in the woods. They cannot be
caught on account of their speed, unless by chance they are sick or old. Pomponius
Mela adds that those men are half wild, who have nothing human about them besides
the appearance, and elsewhere [he] claimed that beyond the Atlas mountain of
Mauritania lights are very often seen by night, and the clashing of cymbals and
the song of pipes are heard, and nothing is found by day. It is held for
certain that these are Fauns and Satyrs.
