lted conception of the antiquity of this
mountain, when we consider that its base is about ninety miles in
circumference; so that it would require ninety flows of lava, each a
mile in breadth at their termination, to raise the present foot of the
volcano as much as the average height of one lava-current.

There are no records within the historical era which lead to the opinion
that the altitude of Etna has materially varied within the last two
thousand years. Of the eighty most conspicuous 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 dimensions of these larger cones appear to bear testimony
to _paroxysms_ 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 remembered, 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
reckoned amongst the smallest of the eighty hills above enumerated; some
of them produce merely insignificant monticules, which are soon
afterwards buried by showers of ashes.

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 inconsiderable 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 diminution 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