100 NEWER PLIOCENE PERIOD. [Ch. VIII. 



within the last two thousand years. Of the eighty most con- 

 spicuous minor cones which adorn its flanks, only one of the 

 largest, Monti Rossi, has been produced within the times of 

 authentic history. Even this hill, thrown up in the year 

 1669, although 450 feet in height, only ranks as a cone of 

 second magnitude. Monte Minardo, near Bronte, rises, even 

 now, to the height of 750 feet, although its base has been 

 elevated by more modern lavas and ejections. The dimen- 

 sions of these larger cones appear to bear testimony to pa- 

 roxysms of volcanic activity, after which we may conclude, 

 from analogy, that the fires of Etna remained dormant for many 

 years since nearly a century of rest has sometimes followed a 

 violent eruption in the historical era. It must also be remem- 

 bered, that of the small number of eruptions which occur in 

 a century, one only is estimated to issue from the summit of 

 Etna for every two that proceed from the sides. Nor do all 

 the lateral eruptions give rise to such cones as would be 

 enumerated amongst the smallest of the eighty hills above 

 enumerated ; some produce merely insignificant monticules, 

 soon destined to be buried, as we before explained. 



How many years then must we not suppose to have been 

 expended in the formation of the eighty cones? It is difficult 

 to imagine that a fourth part of them have originated during 

 the last thirty centuries. But if we conjecture the whole of 

 them to have been formed in twelve thousand years, how in- 

 considerable an era would this portion of time constitute in 

 the history of the volcano ! If we could strip off from Etna 

 all the lateral monticules now visible, together with the lavas 

 and scoriae that have been poured out from them, and from 

 the highest crater, during the period of their growth, the dimi- 

 nution of the entire mass would be extremely slight ! Etna 

 might lose, perhaps, several miles in diameter at its base, and 

 some hundreds of feet in elevation, but it would still be the 

 loftiest of Sicilian mountains, studded with other cones, which 

 would be recalled, as it were, into existence by the removal of 

 the rocks under which they are now buried. 



