rth and a portion of
the North-eastern coast, and would appear to be a prolongation of the
Apennines. An inferior group passes through the centre of the island,
diverging towards the South, as it approaches the East coast. Between
the two ranges, and completely separated from them by the valleys of
the Alcantara and the Simeto, stands the mighty mass of Mount Etna,
which rises in solitary grandeur from the eastern sea-board of the
island. Volcanoes, by the very mode of their formation, are frequently
completely isolated; and, if they are of any magnitude, they thus
acquire an imposing contour and a majesty, which larger mountains,
forming parts of a chain, do not possess. This specially applies to
Etna. "Coelebs degit," says Cardinal Bembo, "et nullius montis dignata
conjugium, caste intra suos terminos continetur." It is not alone the
conspicuous appearance of the mountain which has made it the most famous
volcano either of ancient or modern times:--the number and violence of
its eruptions, the extent of its lava streams, its association with
antiquity, and its history prolonged over more than 2400 years, have all
tended to make it celebrated.

The geographical position of Etna was first accurately determined by
Captain Smyth in 1814. He estimated the latitude of the highest point of
the bifid peak of the great crater at 37 deg. 43' 31" N.; and the longitude
at 15 deg. East of Greenwich. Elie de Beaumont repeated the observations in
1834 with nearly the same result; and these determinations have been
very generally adopted. In the new Italian map recently constructed by
the Stato Maggiore, the latitude of the centre of the crater is stated
to be 37 deg. 44' 55" N., and the longitude 44' 55" E. of the meridian of
Naples, which passes through the Observatory of Capo di Monte.

According to Bochart the name of Etna is derived from the Phoenician
_athana_--a furnace; others derive it from ~aitho~--to burn.
Professor Benfey of Gottingen, a great authority on the subject,
considers that the word was created by one of the early Indo-Germanic
races. He identifies the root _ait_ with the Greek ~aith~ and the
Latin _aed_--to burn, as in _aes_-tu. The Greek name ~Aitna~ was
known to Hesiod. The more modern name, _Mongibello_, by which the
mountain is still commonly known to the Sicilians, is a combination of
the Arabic _Gibel_, and the Italian _Monte_. During the Saracenic
occupation of Sicily, Etna was called _Gibel Uttamat_--t