Читать книгу The Natural History of Pliny (Vol. 1-6) - Pliny the Elder - Страница 183

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Opposite to this coast is the island called Britannia, so celebrated in the records of Greece2929 and of our own country. It is situate to the north-west, and, with a large tract of intervening sea, lies opposite to Germany, Gaul, and Spain, by far the greater part of Europe. Its former name was Albion2930; but at a later period, all the islands, of which we shall just now briefly make mention, were included under the name of “Britanniæ.” This island is distant from Gesoriacum, on the coast of the nation of the Morini2931, at the spot where the passage across is the shortest, fifty miles. Pytheas and Isidorus say that its circumference is 4875 miles. It is barely thirty years since any extensive knowledge of it was gained by the successes of the Roman arms, and even as yet they have not penetrated beyond the vicinity of the Caledonian2932 forest. Agrippa believes its length to be 800 miles, and its breadth 300; he also thinks that the breadth of Hibernia is the same, but that its length is less by 200 miles. This last island is situate beyond Britannia, the passage across being the shortest from the territory of the Silures2933, a distance of thirty miles. Of the remaining islands none is said to have a greater circumference than 125 miles. Among these there are the Orcades2934, forty in number, and situate within a short distance of each other, the seven islands called Acmodæ2935, the Hæbudes, thirty in number, and, between Hibernia and Britannia, the islands of Mona2936, Monapia2937, Ricina2938, Vectis2939, Limnus2940, and Andros2941. Below it are the islands called Samnis and Axantos2942, and opposite, scattered in the German Sea, are those known as the Glæsariæ2943, but which the Greeks have more recently called the Electrides, from the circumstance of their producing electrum or amber. The most remote of all that we find mentioned is Thule2944, in which, as we have previously stated2945, 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. Timæus the historian says that an island called Mictis2946 is within six days’ sail of Britannia, in which white lead2947 is found; and that the Britons sail over to it in boats of osier2948, covered with sewed hides. There are writers also who make mention of some other islands, Scandia2949 namely, Dumna, Bergos, and, greater than all, Nerigos, from which persons embark for Thule. At one day’s sail from Thule is the frozen ocean, which by some is called the Cronian Sea.