352 PLINY* S NATUEAL HISTOET. [Book IT. 



the Greeks have more recently called the Electrides, from 

 the circumstance of their producing electrvm or amber. 

 The most remote of all that we find mentioned is Thule^ in 

 which, as we have previously stated^, there is no night at the 

 summer solstice, when the sun is passing through the sign 

 of Cancer, while on the other hand at the winter solstice 

 there is no day. Some writers are of opinion that this state 

 of things lasts for six whole months together. Timaeus the 

 historian says that an island called Mictis^ is within six days' 

 sail of Britannia, in which white lead^ is found ; and that the 

 Britons sail over to it in boats of osier*, covered with sewed 

 hides. There are writers also who make mention of some 

 other islands, Scandia^ namely, Dumna, Bergos, and, greater 



1 The opinions aa to the identity of ancient Thiile have been numerous 

 in the extreme. We may here mention six : — 1. The common, and ap- 

 parently the best founded opinion, that Thule is the island of Iceland. 

 2. That it is either the Ferroe group, or one of those islands. 3. The 

 notion of Ortelius, Famaby, and Schoenning, that it is identical with 

 Thylemark in Norway. 4. The opinion of Malte Brun, that the conti- 

 nental portion of Denmark is meant thereby, a part of which is to the 

 present day called Thy or Thyland. 5. The opinion of Rudbeck and of 

 Calstron, borrowed originally from Procopius, that this is a general 

 name for the whole of Scandinavia. 6. That of Gossehn, who thinks 

 that under this name Mainland, the principal of the Shetland Islands, is 

 meant. It is by no means impossible that imder the name of Thule 

 two or more of these locahties may have been meant, by diflferent authors 

 writing at distant periods and under different states of geographical 

 knowledge. It is also pretty generally acknowledged, as Parisot re- 

 marks, that the Thvile mentioned by Ptolemy is identical with Thylemark 

 in Norway. ^ B. ii. c. 77. 



3 Brotier thinks that under this name a part of Cornwall is meant, and 

 that it was erroneously supposed to be an island. Parisot is of opinion 

 that the copyists, or more probably PUny himself, has made an error in 

 transcribing Mictis for Yectis, the name of the Isle of Wight. It is not 

 improbable however that the island of Mictis had only an imaginary 

 existence, 



4 " White lead" : not, however, the metallic substance which we un- 

 derstand by that name, but tin. 



5 Commonly known as " coracles," and used by the Welch in modem 

 times. See B. vii. c. 57 of this work, and the Note. 



^ Brotier, with many other writers, takes these names to refer to va- 

 rious parts of the coast of Norway. Scandia he considers to be the same 

 as Scania, Bergos the modem Bergen, and Nerigos the northem part of 

 Norway. On the other hand, Gossehn is of opinion that under the name 

 of Bergos the Scottish island of Barra is meant, and imder that of Neri- 



