Some Apostles of Physiology

This engraving depicts the 'Experimentum Mirabile,' a famous 17th-century observation of animal hypnosis. A chicken is shown lying still on a paved surface, its gaze seemingly fixed upon a dark line extending directly from its beak. The image illustrates the theory that the animal's imagination is captured by the visual stimulus, rendering it motionless.

First described by the Jesuit polymath Athanasius Kircher, this experiment represents an early attempt to study animal behavior and psychology through natural philosophy. It marks a transition from Renaissance magic toward a more mechanistic understanding of the senses and the 'imagination' in living creatures.