352 
pliny's nattjbal histoet. 
[Book lY. 
the Greeks have more recently called the Electrides, from 
the circumstance of their producing electrwrn 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. Timseus 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 as to the identity of ancient Thnle have been mimerous 
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 Ortehus, Farnaby, 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 Gosselin, who thinks 
that under this name Mamland, the principal of the Shetland Islands, is 
meant. It is by no means impossible that under the name of Thule 
two or more of these locahties may have been meant, by different authors 
writing at distant periods and under different states of geographical 
knowledge. It is also pretty generally acknowledged, as Parisot re- 
marks, that the Thule mentioned by Ptolemy is identical with Thylemark 
in ]N"orway. ^ 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 Phny 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 f White lead" : not, however, the metallic substance which we un- 
derstand by that name, but tm. 
5 Commonly known as " coracles," and used by the Welch in modern 
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 modern Bergen, and Nerigos the northern 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 under that of Neri- 
/ 
"fi 
