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 scoriee 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. 
