For the monstrosity
belongs to the class of things contrary to Nature, not any and every
kind of Nature, but Nature in her usual operations; nothing can happen
contrary to Nature considered as eternal and necessary, but we speak
of things being contrary to her in those cases where things
generally happen in a certain way but may also happen in another
way. In fact, even in the case of monstrosities, whenever things occur
contrary indeed to the established order but still always in a certain
way and not at random, the result seems to be less of a monstrosity
because even that which is contrary to Nature is in a certain sense
according to Nature, whenever, that is, the formal nature has not
mastered the material nature. Therefore they do not call such things
monstrosities any more than in the other cases where a phenomenon
occurs habitually, as in fruits; for instance, there is a vine which
some call 'capneos'; if this bear black grapes they do not judge it
a monstrosity because it is in the habit of doing this very often. The
reason is that it is in its nature intermediate between white and
black; thus the change is not a violent one nor, so to say, contrary
to Nature; at least, is it not a change into another nature. But in
animals producing many young not only do the same phenomena occur, but
also the numerous embryos hinder one another from becoming perfect and
interfere with the generative motions imparted by the semen.
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