Page:The Natural History of Pliny.djvu/386

 352 plikt's natural HISTOBT. [Book IV. the G-reeks liave more recently called tlie Electrides, from the circumstance of their producing electrum 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, Dunma, Bergos, and, greater 1 The opinions as to the identity of ancient Thule have been numerous in the extreme. We may here mention six : — 1. The common, and ap- parently the best foimded 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 caUed Thy or Thy land. 5. The opinion of Eudbeck 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 tliis name Mainland, 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 geograpliical knowledge. It is also pretty generally acknowledged, as Parisot re- marks, that the Thule mentioned by Ptolemy is identical with Thylemark in Norway. ^ 2 g. 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 Vectis, the name of the Isle of Wight. It is not improbable however that the island of Mictis had only an imagmary existence. ■* " Wliite lead" : not, however, the metalhc substance which we un- derstand by that name, but tin. 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 vmder the name of Bergos the Scottish island of Barra is meant, and under that of Neri-