The Middle Ages 51 



work, De Animalibus, thirty-three insects are described. ^^ Concern- 

 ing the firefly, Albertus wrote: '° 



The cicendula is a worm, one of the noctilucas. It has two hard wing 

 covers like a beetle but is small like a fly, and when it flies it shines more 

 with wings extended. When breathed upon it becomes brighter like a 

 spark born by the wind. Shining by day, however, the color is extin- 

 guished and it becomes white. It is found more in Italy than in other 

 places. 



Here we have the barest description of the insect. He also devoted 

 considerable space to " liquor lucidus," a mysterious glowing liquid, 

 prepared from fireflies, which will be considered in Chapter III. 



Albertus (in De Sensii et Sensato, a commentary on Aristotle) 

 discoursed on the light of various luminous things as follows: ^^ 



For their light cannot be said to be of a coelestiall body, because a 

 coelestiall nature comes not into composition of bodies generative and 

 corruptible: But the determination of this question and the like, is 

 fetched from what we determined in our second de Anima; where we 

 shew, that the nature of perspiculity [transparency] is not proper to any 

 Element, but it is common to many, and is participated by them per 

 prills et posterius, which is the more pure, the farther it is from dark- 

 nesse; and this is so, by how much it is more like to the nature of 

 superiour bodies; and the proper act of this is light, which hath to do 

 in that nature. Now this falls out in it, as often as the parts of it are 

 very noble and clear: and therefore, all such things do shine. Now this 

 composition sometimes is in the whole body; sometimes not in the whole, 

 but in some externall parts: the cause whereof is, that when such a 

 nature is from the Elements that are light; it proceeds more from the 

 internall parts to the external, because such things will swim. And so it 

 is found in the heads, and fins, and bones of some Fish, and in the shells 

 of some eggs, because such parts are lesse rosted, and heat hath wrought 

 in them much nature of perspicuous bodied condensed: Sometimes this 

 heat acts in the externall parts of some things, when it exhales from them, 

 and that which is subtile brings with it much perspicuity; so the parts of 

 Okes [oak wood] corrupted do shine. But all those things that have but a 

 weak light, are hid when a clearer light appears. 



^® In a critical study of the relation of the animal histories of Albertus Magnus and 

 Thomas of Cantimpre, Pauline Aiken (Speculum 22: 205-225, 1947) has concluded 

 that Thomas was the source of 400 of the 476 specific creatures described by Albertus. 



"''A translation of Book 26, Sec. 9 of De animalibus libri XXVI ed. by Herman 

 Stadler nach der Coiner Urschrift, Miinster, 1916. 



^^ Quoted from J. Jonstonus, A history of the wonderful things of nature, 248-250, 

 London, 1657, an English translation of Thaumatographia naturalis, Amstelodamae, 

 1632. Jonston also mentioned that Adrianus Junius, " when he was in the country of 

 Bononia, drew the liquor of them [fireflies] upon Papers that shined like stars: what 

 is writ with that in the day, may be read in the night." 



