Motum Prastat Per Terra Cauernas Admissus Aer:

Penetrandi facultatem facit ignis vis inuicta, sine respiraculo esse nescientis, & incredibili conatu violenter erumpentis, atque ita (non secus ac

In cuniculis machinisue seu tormentis bellicis, globi e ferro maximi, magno cum fragore ac strepitu, a sulphure & nitro, e quibus pyrius puluis conficitur, excitato, eijciuntur) lapides & Saxa in ista voragine ignita, ceu quodam camino, collique facta cum immodica arena & cinerum copia, exspuentis & eiaculantis, idque vt plurimum, non sine terramotu: qui si secundum profunditatem terra fiat, succussio a Possidoneo appellatur vel hiatus erit, vel pulsus. Hiatu terra dehiscit: pulsu eleuatur intumescens, & nonunquam, vt inquit Plinius [Sidenote: Lib. 2. cap. 20.], motes magnas egerit: Cuiusmodi terramotus iam mentionem fecimus, maritima Islandia Australis Anno 1581 infestantis quique a Pontano his verbis scitissime describitur.

Ergo incerta ferens raptim vestigia, anhelus Spiritus incursat, nunc huc, nunc percitus illuc, Exploratque abitum insistens, & singula tentat, Si qua forte queat victis erumpere claustris. Interea tremit ingentem factura ruinam Terra, suis quatiens latas cum moenibus vrbes: Dissiliunt auulsa iugis immania saxa, &c.

Hac addere libuit, non quod cuiquam hac ignota esse existimemus; sed ne nos alij ignorare credant, atque ideo ad suas fabulas, quas hinc extruunt, confugere velle.

Caterum video quid etiamnum admirationem non exiguam scriptoribus moueat, in his, quos ignoranter fingunt, tribus Islandia montibus, videlicet cum eorum basin semper ardere dicant, summitates tamen nunquam niue careant. Porro id admirari, est prater authoritatem tantorum virorum, quibus Atna incendium optime notum erat, qua, cum secundum Plinium hybernis temporibus niualis sit, noctibus tamen, eodem teste, semper ardet. Quare etiam secundum illos, ille mons, cum adhac niuium copia obducitur, & tamen ardeat sordidarum animarum quoque erit receptaculum: id quod Hecla propter niues in summo vertice & basin astuantem, adscribere non dubitarunt. [Sidenote: Cardanus.] Vix autem mirum esse potest, quod ignis montis radicibus latens, & nunquam, nisi rarissime erumpens, excelsa montis cacumina, qua niuibus obducuntur, non collique faciat. Nam & in Caira, altissima montis cacumina niuibus semper candentia esse perhibentur: & in Beragua quidem similiter, sed 5000 passuum in coelum elata, qua niuibus nunquam liberentur, cum tamen partibus tantum decem ab aquatore distent. Vtramque hanc prouinciam iuxta Pariam esse sitam accepimus. Quid? quod illa Teneriffa (qua vna, est ex insulis Canarijs, qua & fortunata) pyramis, secundum Munsterum, 8 aut 9 milliarium Germanicorum altitudine in aera assurgens, atque instar Atna iugiter conflagrans, niues, quibus media cingitur, teste Benzone Italo, India occidentalis Historico, non resoluit. Quod ipsum in nostra Hecla quid est, quod magis miremur? Atque hac ita breuiter de incendijs montanis.

Nunc illud quoque castigandum arbitramur, quod hos montes in coelum vsque attolli scribant. Habent enim nullam pra cateris Islandia montibus notabilem altitudinem. Precipue tertius ille Helga a Munstero appellatus, nobis Helgafel. i. Sacer mons, apud monasterium eiusdem nominis, nulla sui parts tempore astiuo nimbus obductus, nec montis excelsi, sed potius collis humilis nomen meretur, nunquam, vt initio huius sectionis dixi, de incendio suspectus. Nec vero perpetua niues Hecla, vel paucis alijs adscribi debebant: Permultos enim habet eiusmodi montes niuosos Islandia, quos omnes vel toto anno, non facile collegerit aut connumerarit, horum pradicator & admirator Cosmographus. Quin etiam id non negligendum, quod mons Hecla non occidentem versus, vt a Munstero & Zieglero annotatum est, sed inter meridiem & orientem positus sit. Nec promontorium est: sed mons fere mediterraneus.

[Sidenote: Annales Islandia.] Incendia perpetua ragi, &c. Quicunque perpetuam flammarum cructationem Hecla adscripserunt, toto coelo errarunt, adeo, vt quoties flammas eructarit, nostrates in annales retulerint, viz. anno Christi 1104. 1157. 1222. 1300. 1341. 1362. & 1389. Neque enim ab illo de montis incendio audire licuit, vsque ad annum 1558. qua vltima fuit in illo monte eruptio. Interea non nego, fieri posse, quin mons inferne latentes intus flammas & incendia alat, qua videlicet statis interuallis, vt hactenus annotatum est, eruperint, aut etiam forte posthac erumpant.

The same in English.

THE SIXTH SECTION

[Sidenote: Monsterus. Frisius.] There be in this Iland mountaines lift vp to the skies, whose tops being white with perpetuall snowe, their roots boile with euerlasting fire. The first is towards the West, called Hecla: the other the mountaine of the crosse: and the third Helga. Item Zieglerus. The rocke or promontone of Hecla boileth with continuall fire. Item: Saxo. There is in this Iland also a mountaine, which resembling the starrie firmament, with perpetuall flashings of fire, continueth alwayes burning, by vncessant belching out of flames.

Munster and Frisius being about to report the woonders of Island doe presently stumble, as it were, vpon the thresholde, to the great inconuenience of them both. 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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