Northern Europe - The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques And Discoveries Of The English Nation - Volume 1 - Collected By Richard Hakluyt
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For That Which They Heere Affirme Of Mount
Hecla, Although It Hath Some Shew Of Trueth:
Notwithstanding concerning the
other two mountaines, that they should burne with perpetuall fire, it is a
manifest errour.
For there are no such mountaines to be found in Island,
nor yet any thing els (so farre foorth as wee can imagine) which might
minister occasion of so great an errour vnto writers. Howbeit there was
seene (yet very lately) in the yeere 1581 out of a certaine mountaine of
South Island lying neere the Sea, and couered ouer with continuall snow and
frost, a marueilous eruption of smoke and fire, casting vp abundance of
stones and ashes. But this mountaine is farre from the other three, which
the sayd authours doe mention. Howbeit, suppose that these things be true
which they report of firie mountaines: is it possible therefore that they
should seeme strange, or monstrous, whenas they proceed from naturall
causes? What? Doe they any whit preuaile to establish that opinion
concerning the hell of Island, which followeth next after in Munster,
Ziegler, and Frisius? For my part, I thinke it no way tollerable, that men
should abuse these, and the like miracles of nature, to auouch absurdities,
or, that they should with a kinde of impietie woonder at them, as at
matters impossible. As though in these kindes of inflammations, there did
not concurre causes of sufficient force for the same purpose. There is in
the rootes of these mountaines a matter most apt to be set on fire, comming
so neere as it doeth to the nature of brimstone and pitch.
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