110 RAMBLES OF A NATURALIST. 



of which produces a profound impression, in thinking 

 of the terrible scenes of which it has been, and may 

 again be the theatre, and in reflecting upon the 

 terrific phenomena of which it is the permanent seat, 

 the human mind is unable to limit itself to tranquil 

 and calm observation. Hence endeavours have at 

 all times been made to explain what is passing 

 within this formidable mountain, and for many ages, 

 from the want of better knowledge, recourse was 

 had to supernatural explanations. Thus, according 

 to the ancients, Encelades, struck by a thunderbolt, 

 groans beneath the mountain which is crushing him ; 

 its devouring flames are the breath which issues 

 from his chest, while the earthquakes which have 

 shaken the whole of Sicily, are due to the convul- 

 sive struggles of the giant. To the Christians of 

 the middle ages, Etna became one of the mouths of 

 hell, and even at the present day, many a moun- 

 taineer hears the hopeless cries of the damned 

 blending with the howls of demons within the in- 

 nermost recesses of the mountain. Modern science 

 has in its turn attempted to solve the problem, and 

 supported by experimental inquiry and observation, 

 it now seems very nearly to have attained to its 

 final solution. 



Considering the enormous quantities of lava, 

 cinders, and scoriae, which are ejected in every 

 eruption of Mount Etna, men were originally led 

 to regard its entire mass as derived solely from the 

 successive accumulation of these materials. This 

 theory which may be traced as far back as the 

 Greek philosophers, long held undivided sway, and 



