694 The temperature of the ocean, in consequence of its great mass and the easy diffusion and mixture of its various parts, may be conceived to be longer in becoming raised or depressed than any particular portion of the land, where contemporary observations may be made.
695 The evaporation that is going on during the heats of summer, and the heavy rains which in many countries fall during the autumn, may produce the effects here described, in confined seas or inlets.
696 The statement is true to a certain extent, as is proved by the well-known experiments of Franklin and others; but the degree of the effect is considerably exaggerated. See the observations of Hardouin, Brotier, and Alexandre; Lemaire, i. 450, 451.
697 In the Mediterranean the warm vapours rising from the water and its shores may melt the snow as it descends; but this is not the case in the parts of the main ocean which approach either to the Arctic or the Antarctic regions.
698 The theory of springs is well understood, as depending upon the water tending to rise to its original level, so as to produce an equilibrium of pressure.
699 When we consider the great extent of the base of Ætna, and that the crater is in the form of an inverted cone, we shall perceive that there is ample space for the existence of springs in the lower part of the mountain, without their coming in contact with the heated lava.
700 Samosata is situated on the Euphrates, in the north of Syria.
701 The Petroleum or Bitumen of the modern chemists; it is a tarry substance, more or less fluid, which has probably been produced by carbonaceous matter, as affected by heat or decomposition, below the surface of the earth. Our author has exaggerated its properties and action upon other bodies.
702 Respecting the transaction here mentioned, I shall refer to the note of Hardouin, Lemaire, i. 452.
703 The substance here mentioned may be considered as not differing essentially from the Maltha of the last chapter, except in being of a more fluid consistence.
704 The Astaceni are supposed to have inhabited a district near the sources of the Indus, probably corresponding to the modern Cabul.
705 We may conceive of a quantity of inflammable vapour on the surface of the naphtha, which might, in some degree, produce the effect here described.
706 Horace, in one of his Epodes, where he refers to the magical arts of Medea, says, that it was a cloak, “palla,” which was sent to Creüsa; v. 65. So far as there is any foundation for the story, we may suppose that some part of her dress had been impregnated with an inflammable substance, which took fire when she approached the blazing altar.
707 When the volcanos are less active the flame is visible in the night only.
708 The observations of modern travellers and geologists have proved, that the number of extinct volcanos is considerably greater than those now in action.
709 Chimæra was a volcano in Lycia, not far from the Xanthus; the circumstance of its summit emitting flame, while its sides were the resort of various savage animals, probably gave rise to the fabulous story of the Centaur of this name, a ferocious monster who was continually vomiting forth flame.
710 The word in the text is “fœnum”; Hardouin suggests that the meaning of the author may have been litter, or the refuse of stables. Lemaire, i. 454.
711 The emission of a gas, which may be kindled by the application of flame, is a phænomenon of no very rare occurrence; but the effects are, no doubt, much exaggerated. See the remarks of Alexandre in Lemaire, i. 454.
712 The country of the Bactrians was a district to the S.E. of the Caspian Sea, and to the north of the sources of the Indus, nearly corresponding to the modern Bucharia.
713 There would appear to be some uncertainty as to the locality of this place: our author derived his statement from the writer of the treatise de Mirab. Auscult.
714 “Caminis.”
715 Probably the crater of a former volcano.
716 This mountain, as well as the Θεῶν ὄχημα mentioned below, has been supposed to be situated on the west of Africa, near Sierra Leone, or Cape Verd; but, as I conceive, without sufficient authority. See Alexandre in Lemaire, i. 455.
717 “Internus.” “In interiore nemore abditus.” Hardouin in Lemaire, i. 455.
718 If this account be not altogether fabulous, the appearance here described may be, perhaps, referred to the combustion of an inflammable gas which does not acquire a very high temperature.
719 We have an account of this place in Strabo, vii. 310. Our author has already referred to it in the 96th chapter of this book, as a pool or lake, containing floating islands; and he again speaks of it in the next chapter.
720 We have an account of this volcano in Ælian, Var. Hist. xiii. 16. It would appear, however, that it had ceased to emit flame previous to the calamitous events of which it was supposed to be the harbinger.
721 This circumstance is mentioned by Dion Cassius, xli. 174. We may conceive that a sudden influx of water might force up an unusually large quantity of the bitumen.
722 We have a full account of this circumstance in Strabo, vi. 277.
723 “Currum deorum Latine licet interpretari.” Hardouin in Lemaire, i. 456.
724 “torrentesque solis ardoribus flammas egerit;” perhaps the author may mean, that the fires of the volcano assist those of the sun in parching the surface of the ground.
725 “Tot rogis terræ?” in reference to the remark in a former chapter, “natura terras cremat.”
726 “Humani ignes,” according to Hardouin, “Hi nostri ignes, quos vitæ usus requirit, ut Tullius ait de Nat. Deor. ii. 67;” Lemaire, i. 457.
727 This is the mode which many savage tribes employ for exciting flame.
728 It is not known whether the Scantia was a river or a lake, or where it was situated; see Alexandre in Lemaire, i. 457.
729 This may have been owing to the emission of an inflammable gas which burns at a comparatively low temperature, as was observed on a former occasion.
730 These are said by Columella, xi. 3, to occur in August; the statement as to the fire occurring on these particular days we may presume is erroneous.
731 Aricia was a town in Campania, near the modern Lake of Nemi: this place, as well as the other places mentioned by our author, were probably of volcanic origin.
732 Sidicinum was a town in Campania, also called Teanum; probably the modern Teano.
733 Egnatia was a town in Calabria, on the coast of the Adriatic: the circumstance mentioned by our author is ridiculed by Horace, in his well-known lines, Sat. i. 5, 97; but it is not improbable that there may be some foundation for it.
734 This circumstance is referred to by Val. Maximus, i. 8, 18. The altar was probably in the neighbourhood of the Lacinian Promontory, at the S.W. extremity of the Bay of Tarentum, the modern Capo delle Colonne.
735 This may be referred to the inflammable vapours mentioned above, unless we regard the whole narrative as fabulous.
736 See Livy, i. 39, and Val. Maximus, i. 6. 2. Although it would be rash to pronounce this occurrence and the following anecdotes respecting Marcius to be absolutely impossible, we must regard them as highly improbable, and resting upon very insufficient evidence.
737 In the 66th chapter of this book.
738 In the estimate of distances I have given the numbers as they occur in the text of Lemaire, although, in many cases, there is considerable doubt as to their accuracy. See the observations of Hardouin and Alexandre in Lemaire, i. 460.
739 Artemidorus was an Ephesian, who wrote on geography; see Hardouin’s Index Auct., Lemaire, i. 167.
740 Isidorus was a native of Nicæa; he appears to have been a writer on various topics in natural history, but not much estimated; see Hardouin’s Index Auct., in Lemaire, i. 194.
741 The modern Cape St. Vincent and Cape Finisterre.
742 This was a city on the Sinus Issicus, the present Gulf of Aiasso, situated, according to Brotier, between the sites of the modern towns of Scanderoon and Rosos. See Lemaire, i. 461.
743 Respecting this and the other distances mentioned in this chapter, I may refer the reader to the remarks of Hardouin in Lemaire, i. 461.
744 It is scarcely necessary to remark, that the calculations of our author do not indicate the real distance between the extreme points of the habitable parts of the globe, as known to the ancients, but the number of miles which must be passed over by a traveller, in going from place to place; in the first instance, a considerable part of the way by sea, and, in the second, almost entirely by land.
745 It appears to be difficult to ascertain the identity of the place here mentioned; I may refer to the remarks of Hardouin and Brotier in Lemaire, i. 464.
746 The same remarks may be made upon this and the following numbers as upon those in the former paragraph; for further information I shall refer my readers to the notes of Hardouin, Brotier, and Alexandre, in Lemaire, i. 465-468.
747 There is great uncertainty respecting the locality of the Thule of the ancients; there was, in fact, nothing known respecting the locality or identity of any of the places approaching to the Arctic circle; the name appears to have been vaguely applied to some country lying to the north of the habitable parts of Europe. In note 522, p. 109, I have already had occasion to offer some remarks on the locality of Thule. Our author speaks of Thule in two subsequent parts of his work, iv. 30 and vi. 39.
748 It is probable, that these supposed “immense islands,” if they were not entirely imaginary, were the countries of Sweden and Norway, the southern extremities alone of which had been visited by the ancients.
749 Strabo, ii.; Vitruvius, i. 6; Macrobius, in Somn. Scip. ii. 20.
750 Our author has previously referred to Eratosthenes, in the 76th chapter of this book.
751 Our author has referred to Hipparchus, in the 9th chapter of this book.
752 “Aliter, inquit, et cautius multo Dionysodorus est audiendus, qui miraculo solo nititur, quam Hipparchus et Eratosthenes, qui geometricis nituntur principiis.” Hardouin in Lemaire, i. 469. Nothing further is known of Dionysodorus; see Hardouin’s Index Auct. in Lemaire, i. 123.
753 Marcus Terentius Varro. He was born B.C. 116, espoused the cause of Pompey against Cæsar, and served as his lieutenant in Spain. He afterwards became reconciled to Cæsar, and died in the year B.C. 26. He is said to have written 500 volumes, but nearly all his works are lost (destroyed, it is said, by order of Pope Gregory VII.). His only remains are a Treatise on Agriculture, a Treatise on the Latin Tongue, and the fragments of a work called Analogia.
754 C. Sulpicius Gallus was Consul in the year 166 B.C. He wrote a Roman History, and a work on the Eclipses of the Sun and Moon.
755 Titus Vespasianus, the Emperor, to whom Pliny dedicates his work. His poem is mentioned in c. 22 of this Book. See pages 1, 2, and 55 of the present volume.
756 It is most probable that Quintus Ælius Pætus Tubero is here meant. He was son-in-law, and, according to Cicero, nephew of Æmilius Paulus, and Consul in the year B.C. 167. There are two other persons found mentioned of the name of Q. Ælius Tubero.
757 The freedman and amanuensis of Cicero. He was a man of great learning, and was supposed to have invented short-hand. He also wrote a Life of Cicero.
758 Lucius Calpurnius Piso Frugi. He was Consul in the year B.C. 133, and was a stout opponent of the Gracchi. He wrote Annals of the History of Rome from the earliest periods.
759 Livy, the well-known Roman historian.
760 He was the intimate friend of Cicero, and wrote Chronicles or Annals, in three books, a Life of Cicero, and some other historical works. A work still exists, called “Lives of Eminent Commanders,” which is ascribed sometimes to him and sometimes to one Æmilius Probus, a writer of the reign of Theodosius. The latter probably abridged the original work of Nepos.
761 Statius Sebosus. He is mentioned by Cicero as the friend of Catulus. He wrote a work called the “Periplus,” and another on the Wonders of India.
762 A Roman historian and lawyer, who flourished about B.C. 124. He wrote a Book of Annals, in which was contained a valuable account of the Second Punic war. This work was epitomized by Brutus and held in high estimation by the Emperor Adrian.
763 Fabianus Papirius, a Roman rhetorician and naturalist, whose works are highly commended by Pliny and Seneca. He wrote a History of Animals, and a book on Natural Causes.
764 Quintus Valerius Antias. He flourished about B.C. 80, and wrote the Annals of Rome, down to the time of Sylla.
765 Marcus Licinius Crassus Mucianus. He was instrumental in raising the Emperor Vespasian to the throne, and was Consul in the years A.D. 52, 70, and 74. He published three Books of Epistles, and a History in eleven Books, which appears to have treated chiefly of Eastern affairs.
766 Aulus Cæcina. He was sent into exile by Cæsar, joined the Pompeians in Africa, and was taken prisoner by Cæsar, but his life was spared. Cicero wrote several letters to him, and commends his abilities. His work appears to have been on Divination as practised by the Etrurians.
767 He appears to have been a diviner or soothsayer of Etruria, and to have written a work on Etruscan prodigies.
768 He also wrote a work on Etruscan divination, but it does not appear that any thing further is known of him.
769 Sergius Paulus. He is also mentioned in the Index to the 18th Book. Nothing further seems to be known of him.
770 The greatest, with the exception of Aristotle, of the Greek Philosophers, and the disciple of Socrates.
771 A native of Nicæa in Bithynia, who flourished B.C. 160. He is called the “Father” of Astronomy. He wrote a Commentary on the Phænomena of Aratus and Eudoxus, which is still extant. His works, including those on the Lunar Month and the Fixed Stars, have not come down to us. His Catalogue of the Stars is preserved in the Almagest of Ptolemy.
772 Timæus of Locri in Italy, a Pythagorean philosopher, said to have been the instructor of Plato. He wrote a work on Mathematics. A work “On the Soul of the World and of Nature,” which is still extant, has been ascribed to him, but on doubtful grounds.
773 An astronomer and peripatetic philosopher of Alexandria. He was employed by Julius Cæsar to superintend his revision of the Calendar. It is supposed that he wrote a work on the Celestial Revolutions, and a Commentary on the works of Aristotle.
774 A priest, mathematician, and astrologer of Egypt. A Letter on the Astrological Sciences, written by him to King Necepsos, is said to be extant in the Royal Library at Vienna, as also a work called the “Organum Astrologicum,” dedicated to the same king. Juvenal seems to use his name as a common term for an astrologer.
775 He is mentioned by Julius Firmicus as “a most just emperor of Egypt, and a very good astronomer.” A work by him is quoted by Galen in his tenth Book on Simples, but it was most probably of spurious origin.
776 “Pythagoricis” here may either mean the works of the followers of Pythagoras of Samos, or the books which were written by that philosopher. Pliny, in Books 19, 20, and 24, speaks of several writings of Pythagoras, and Diogenes Laertius mentions others; but it is more generally supposed that he wrote nothing, and that everything that passed by his name in ancient times was spurious.
777 A Stoic philosopher of Apamea in Syria. He was the instructor of Cicero, and the friend of Pompey. He wrote works on history, divination, the tides, and the nature of the gods. Some fragments only have survived.
778 Of Miletus, was born B.C. 610, and was the successor of Thales, the founder of the Ionian school of philosophy. He is said to have first taught the obliquity of the ecliptic and the use of the gnomon.
779 A philosopher of Rhodes or Byzantium. Seneca says that he boasted of having studied astronomy among the Chaldeans. He is mentioned by Varro and Columella as having written on rural matters, and is praised by Censorinus.
780 Of Alexandria, the great geometrician, and instructor of Ptolemy I. He was the founder of the mathematical school of Alexandria.
781 He was a Greek by birth, and lived in the time of Nero. He is extolled by Tacitus, B. 14, for his superlative wisdom, beyond which nothing is known of him.
782 Of Cnidus, an astronomer and legislator who flourished B.C. 366. He was a friend and disciple of Plato, and said to have been the first who taught in Greece the motions of the planets. His works on astronomy and geometry are lost, but his Phænomena have been preserved by Aratus, who turned his prose into verse.
783 Born at Abdera in Thrace, about B.C. 460. He was one of the founders of the atomic theory, and looked upon peace of mind as the summum bonum of mortals. He wrote works on the nature and organization of the world, on physics, on contagious maladies, on the chameleon, and on other subjects.
784 A Grecian astronomer. A work of his, called “Apotelesmatica,” is said to be preserved in the Imperial Library at Vienna.
785 An astrologer of Rhodes, patronized by Augustus and Tiberius. He wrote a work on Stones, and a History of Egypt. Tacitus, in his Annals, B. vi., speaks highly of his skill in astrology.
786 A geographer of Antioch, and an opponent of the views of Eratosthenes. Cicero declares that he himself was unable to understand a thousandth part of his work.
787 A Peripatetic philosopher and geographer, of Messina in Sicily. He studied under Aristotle and wrote several works, the principal of which was an account of the history, geography, and moral and religious condition of Greece. A few fragments only are extant.
788 Of Syracuse, the most famous mathematician of antiquity, born B.C. 287. A few only of his works have come down to us, published at Oxford in 1792, by Torelli.
789 Born either at Astypalæa or Ægina. He was chief pilot of the fleet of Alexander during the descent of the Indus and the voyage to the Persian Gulf. He wrote a work called the “Alexandropædia,” or Education of Alexander. In his description of what he saw in India, many fables and falsehoods are said to have been interwoven, so much so that the work (which is now lost) is said to have resembled a fable more than a history.
790 Of Cyrene, born B.C. 276. He was invited from Athens by Ptolemy Euergetes, to become keeper of the library at Alexandria. He was a man of most extensive erudition, as an astronomer, geographer, philosopher, historian and grammarian. All of his writings have perished, with the exception of a few fragments on geographical subjects.
791 Of Massilia, now Marseilles, a celebrated navigator who flourished about the time of Alexander the Great. In his voyages he visited Britain and Thule, of which he probably gave some account in his work “On the Ocean.” He has been wrongfully accused of falsehood by Strabo. Another work written by him was his “Periplus,” or ‘Circumnavigation’ from Gades to the Tanais, probably, in this instance, the Elbe.
792 Of Halicarnassus, the father of Grecian history; born B.C. 484. Besides his great work which has come down to us, he is supposed to have written a history of Arabia.
793 Probably the most learned of the Greek philosophers. His works were exceedingly numerous, and those which have survived to us treat of natural history, metaphysics, physical science, ethics, logic, and general literature.
794 A native of Cnidus in Caria, and private physician to Artaxerxes Mnemon, having been made prisoner by him at the battle of Cunaxa. He wrote a History of Persia in 23 books, which, with the exception of a small abridgement by Photius and a few fragments, is now lost. He also wrote a book on India. He was much censured, probably without sufficient reason, for the credulity displayed in his works.
795 Of Ephesus, a geographer, who lived about B.C. 100. He wrote a Periplus, and a work on Geography; a few fragments only of abridgements of these have survived.
796 Of Charax in Parthia, of which country he wrote an account which still exists. He flourished in the reign of Augustus.
797 Of Chios, a celebrated historian, and disciple of the orator Isocrates. His principal works were a History of Greece, and a Life of Philip of Macedon, father of Alexander the Great.
798 Now the Straits of Gibraltar.
799 This is said more especially in reference to the western parts of Asia, the only portion which was perfectly known to the ancients. His meaning is, that Asia as a portion of the globe does not lie so far north as Europe, nor so far south as Africa.
800 Now the Don. It was usually looked upon as the boundary between Europe and Asia. Pliny’s meaning seems to be, that the Tanais divides Asia from Europe, and the Nile, Asia from Africa, the more especially as the part to the west of the Nile was sometimes considered as belonging to Asia. It has been however suggested that he intends to assign these rivers as the extreme eastern boundaries of the internal or Mediterranean sea.
801 At no spot are the Straits less than ten miles in width; although D’Anville makes the width to be little less than five miles. This passage of our author is probably in a corrupt state.
802 This probably stood near the site of the town of Tarifa of the present day.
803 Probably the point called ‘Punta del Sainar’ at the present day.
804 Now called Ximiera, Jebel-el-Mina, or Monte del Hacho.
805 The Rock of Gibraltar.
806 The fable was that they originally formed one mountain, which was torn asunder by Hercules, or as Pliny says, “dug through.”
807 This was the opinion of Herodotus, but it had been so strenuously combated by Polybius and other writers before the time of Pliny, that it is difficult to imagine how he should countenance it.
808 He probably alludes to Leucopetra, now called Capo dell’ Armi. Locri Epizephyrii was a town of Bruttium, situate north of the promontory of Zephyrium, now called Capo di Bruzzano.
809 So called from the Bætis, now the Guadalquivir or Great River.
810 The situation of this town is not known, but it is supposed to have been about five leagues from the present city of Mujacar, or Moxacar. It was situate on the Sinus Urgitanus.
811 So called from the city of Tarraco, on the site of the present Tarragona.
812 Corresponding nearly in extent with the present kingdom of Portugal.
813 Now Gaudiana, a corruption of the Arabic Wadi Ana, “the river Ana.”
814 According to Hardouin this place is the modern town of Montiel, but Pinet and D’Anville make it the same as Alhambra.
815 According to modern writers it conceals itself in this manner for a distance of fifteen miles.
816 From the Balearic Channel to the Gulf of Gascony or Bay of Biscay.
817 Probably the Sierra Nevada is meant by this name; Hardouin considers it the same as the Sierra de los Vertientes.
818 Probably the Sierra Morena.
819 The Monte de Toledo.
820 The Sierra de las Asturias.
821 The present Cadiz. It was originally a Phœnician colony.
822 Now Cordova.
823 Now Ecija.
824 Now Seville.
825 The Roman colonies or colonies “civium Romanorum” are those here meant. The colonists in such case enjoyed all the rights of Roman citizens, the town in which they lived being founded under the supervision of the Roman magistracy.
826 “Municipia.” These were towns in conquered countries which were not founded by the Romans, but whose inhabitants retained their original institutions, at the same time receiving certain of the rights of Roman citizens; most frequently, immunity to a greater or less degree from payment of tribute.
827 “Latium;” also called “Jus Latii” and “Latinitas.” This was the name given to those circumscribed or limited rights as Roman citizens which were at first bestowed upon the conquered states of Italy, before the time of the Social War. Indeed the Latinus held a kind of intermediate state between the Civis Romanus with all his rights, and the peregrinus or foreigner with all his disabilities. These Latin rights were afterwards extended to the people of other countries, but retained their original name.
828 The free towns were those, the inhabitants of which were at liberty to enjoy their ancient institutions and modes of internal government, though at the same time they enjoyed none of the privileges of Roman citizens.
829 “Fœderati civitates;” the inhabitants of which were called ‘fœderati’ or ‘socii.’ They were in alliance with the Romans, but in some cases paid them tribute in the same manner as the ‘stipendiaria’ next mentioned. In some instances they also enjoyed the Latin rights.
830 From the numerous creeks or æstuaries with which the coast is here indented. Commentators are at a loss for the site of the town of Onoba (or Ossonoba according to some readings). D’Anville considers it to be the same with the present town of Moguer; other commentators have suggested Gibraleon, and the vicinity of Palos.
831 The Odiel and the Tinto; the Urium being supposed to be the same with the Tinto of the present day.
832 Some readings have “Hareni montes,” and others “Arenæ montes,” the “mountains of sand.” There is no doubt that the sandy heights or downs on this coast are here meant, which are called at the present day “Dunes” by the French, and by the natives “Arenas gordas.”
833 Probably the line of sea-shore between Roia and the city of Cadiz, skirting the Bay of Cadiz. Hardouin however thinks that the coast between the Guadalquivir and the Guadalete is meant, now occupied in part by the town of San Lucar de Barameda.
835 The present Cape Trafalgar.
836 Hardouin says that the present Vejer is the place meant, while others have suggested Puerto de Santa Maria, or Cantillana. Others again identify it with Bejer de la Frontera, though that place probably lies too far inland. The Roman ruins near Porto Barbato were probably its site.
837 Hardouin and other commentators suggest that the site of the present Tarifa is here meant; it is more probable however that D’Anville is right in suggesting the now deserted town of Bolonia.
838 Probably the present Tarifa.
839 The exact site of Carteia is unknown; but it is generally supposed to have stood upon the bay which opens out of the straits on the west of the Rock of Gibraltar, now called the Bay of Algesiras or Gibraltar; and upon the hill at the head of the bay of El Rocadillo, about half-way between Algesiras and Gibraltar.
840 We learn also from Strabo, that Tartessus was the same place as Carteia; it is not improbable that the former was pretty nearly the Phœnician name of the place, and the latter a Roman corruption of it, and that in it originated the ‘Tarshish’ of Scripture, an appellation apparently given to the whole of the southern part of the Spanish peninsula. Probably the Greeks preserved the appellation of the place more in conformity with the original Phœnician name.
841 By the “inland sea” Pliny means the Mediterranean, in contradistinction to the Atlantic Ocean without the Straits of Cadiz.
842 The ruins of this place, probably, are still to be seen on the east bank of the river Guadiaro, here alluded to.
843 With its river flowing by it. This place is probably the present Marbella, situate on the Rio Verde.
844 Probably the present Castillo de Torremolinos, or else Castillo de Fuengirola.
845 The present city of Malaga. Hardouin thinks that the river Guadalquivirejo is here meant, but as that is some miles distant from the city, it is more probable that Guadalmedina, which is much nearer to it, is the stream alluded to.
846 Not improbably Velez Malaga, upon a river of the same name. Hardouin thinks that the place is the modern Torrox on the Fiu Frio, and D’Anville the present city of Almunecar, on the Rio Verde.
847 Most probably the present Almunecar, but it is uncertain. D’Anville says the present Torre de Banas; others have suggested the town of Motril.
848 Now Salobrena.
849 Either the present Adra or Abdera: it is uncertain which.
850 Probably the present Mujacar. D’Anville suggests Almeria.
851 Also called Bastitani, a mixed race, partly Iberian and partly Phœnician.
852 The Greek Λύσσα, “frantic rage” or “madness.” The etymologies here suggested are puerile in the extreme.
853 Plutarch, quoting from the Twelfth Book of the Iberica of Sosthenes, tells us that, “After Bacchus had conquered Iberia [the present Spain], he left Pan to act as his deputy, and he changed its name and called the country Pania, after himself, which afterwards became corrupted into Spania.”
854 He alludes to the expedition of Hercules into Spain, of which Diodorus Siculus makes mention; also his courtship of the nymph Pyrene, the daughter of Bebryx, who was buried by him on the Pyrenæan mountains, which thence derived their name.
855 It is unknown where this town was situate; Hardouin and D’Anville think it was on the site of the present village of San Thome, once an episcopal see, now removed to Jaen. The people of Mentisa, mentioned in c. 4, were probably inhabitants of a different place. D’Anville in his map has two Mentisas, one ‘Oretana,’ the other ‘Bastitana.’
856 According to D’Anville, the place now called Toia.
857 Now the Segura.
858 ‘Nova’ or ‘New’ Carthage, so called from having been originally founded by a colony of Carthaginians B.C. 242. It was situate a little to the west of the Saturni Promontorium, or Promontory of Palos. It was taken by Scipio Africanus the elder B.C. 210.
859 The present Lorca.
860 This place is even now called by the inhabitants Sepulcro de Scipion. Cneius Cornelius Scipio Calvus, after the defeat of his brother P. Cornelius Scipio, in the year B.C. 211, by the forces of Asdrubal and Mago, fled to a tower at this spot, which was set fire to by the troops of Asdrubal, and he perished in the flames.
861 So called from the town of Ossigi afterwards mentioned.
862 It is unknown where this place stood; Medina Sidonia has been suggested.
863 Probably the present Fuentes del Rey, between Andujar and Jaen, according to Pinet.
864 D’Anville suggests that this is the present Arjona; but more probably it was the village of Arjonilla, two leagues south of Andujar. Gruter has an inscription found here, “MUNIC. ALBENSE URGANON.”
865 There were five cities of this name in Spain. Hardouin thinks that this is the modern Alcala la Real, between Granada and Cordova.
866 Most probably the modern Sierra de Elvira, though some writers have suggested the city of Granada.
867 Probably near the modern Montilla. Hardouin takes it to be the present Granada.
868 Poinsinet thinks that this is the present Ecija, but other writers take it to be Alhama, between Granada and Malaga.
869 Perhaps the present Archidona. Some writers have suggested the modern Faventia and Velez.
870 Probably near the present Puente de Don Gonzalo, on the banks of the Rio Genil.
871 Probably near Aguilar on the river Cabra; or else the present Teba, between Osuna and Antequera.
872 Agla the Less.
873 Probably the present Cabra. The sites of the two preceding towns are not known.
874 “The Encampment in the Vineyards.” Probably this was the same as the Castra Postumiana mentioned by Hirtius in his Book on the Spanish War as being four miles from Attegua. It appears to be the present Castro, or Castro el Rio, situate on the banks of the river Guadajoz.
875 In some readings “Episibrium.” Probably the present Espeja.
876 Its present site is unknown.
877 According to D’Anville, the present Puente de Pinos, six leagues north of Granada. Others take it to be Illora, south of Alcala la Real.
878 The present Huesca, according to Hardouin; more probably, however, Huector, on the banks of the river Genil.
879 Perhaps Escusar, five leagues from Granada. But according to some it is the same as Truelo or Eruelo.
880 Called Ucubis by Hirtius. Morales suggests that it is Sierra la Ronda, but Pinet says Stoponda.
881 The sites of this and the preceding place are unknown.
882 In relation to the ‘conventus juridicus,’ we may here observe that under the Roman sway, in order to facilitate the administration of justice, a province was divided into a number of districts or circuits, each of which was so called, as also ‘forum’ or ‘jurisdictio’. At certain times of the year fixed by the proconsul or chief magistrate, the people assembled in the chief town of the district (whence the name ‘conventus’), upon which judges were selected to try the causes of litigant parties.
883 Probably near the town at the present day called Espelui. Strabo, in Book iii., tells us that Laconian institutions and customs were prevalent in some parts of Spain.
884 This place was ravaged by fire and levelled with the ground by the troops of Scipio, in consequence of the vigorous defence they had made, and the losses they had caused to the Roman army. It probably stood about four miles from the present city of Baeza.
885 The sites of this place and the next are unknown.
886 Most probably the present town of Porcuna. Ubeda or Ubedos has also been suggested.
887 The present town of Montoro.
888 Now Alcoorrucen, near Perabad.
889 Ansart suggests that the reading is not Sacili of the Martiales, but Onoba of the Martiales, to distinguish it from Onoba Æstuaria, previously mentioned. It is not improbable that the place was so called from the Martian or Martial legion having originally colonized it. The site of Onoba is unknown.
890 Cordova was so called from the great number of patricians, who were among the original colonists, when it was founded by Marcellus. To the present day it is noted for the pride of its nobles. The Great Captain Gonzalo de Cordova used to say, that “other towns might be better to live in, but there was none better to be born in.” It was the birth-place of Lucan and the two Senecas.
891 The site of these two places is unknown at the present day.
892 Now called by the similar name of Genil or Xenil.
893 Perhaps the present Alcolea.
894 Perhaps the Cantillana of the present day: there is, however, the greatest uncertainty as to the sites of these places.
895 According to Hardouin, the modern city of Penaflor: D’Anville places it about two leagues thence, and near the city of Lora.
896 Now Sevilla la Vieja, or Old Seville; called by the lower classes Santi-pone.
897 Now Seville. This colony was founded by Julius Cæsar, and also bore the name of Julia Romula.
898 Or north side of the river.
899 Probably on the site of the present Alcala del Rio.
900 ‘The [good] genius of Julius,’ probably meaning Cæsar. Nothing seems to be known of its site.
901 Caura may be the present Coria, a town three leagues from Seville.
902 Probably the Rio Guadalete.
903 Either the present Sebrija, or in the vicinity of the city of San Lucar.
904 Probably the present Bonania.
905 Probably between Trebujena and the city of Xeres. It was the usual place of meeting for the people of the territory of Gades; and its importance may be judged from its appellation ‘Regia’ or ‘royal,’ and its numerous coins. Its ruins are still to be seen on a hill there.
906 It is not improbable that this was the present city of Xeres. Some geographers however take it to be that of Medina Sidonia, and look upon Xeres as the site of the ancient Asta.
907 Now Ecija. It stood on the plain of the Bætis, some distance south of the river, on its tributary the Singulis or Xenil.
908 The site of this place is unknown. It probably obtained its name from being a colony of one of the legions, the 7th, 10th, 13th or 14th; which were called ‘geminæ’ or ‘gemellæ,’ from being composed of the men of two legions originally.
909 “The Valour of Julius.” Sanson places it not far from Miragenil.
910 “The Fame of Julius.” Perhaps the present Olivera, or else Teba, six leagues to the south of Estepa.
911 The present city of Ossuna. “Genua Urbanorum” would seem to mean “the knees of the citizens.” Though all the MSS. agree in this reading, it probably is an error for “gemina Urbanorum,” and it may have been a colony of one of the legions called ‘geminæ’ or ‘gemellæ,’ as previously mentioned. The other part of its appellation may possibly have originated in the fact of its first inhabitants being all natives of the city of Rome.
912 The use of the word fuit, ‘was,’ implies that the place had been destroyed. Cneius Pompeius, the eldest son of Pompey the Great, was defeated at Munda, in the year B.C. 45, and the town destroyed. Pompey escaped from the battle, but was taken a short time after and put to death. The site of the ancient town is very generally supposed to be the modern village of Monda, S.W. of Malaga, and about three leagues from the sea. It is more probable however that it was in the vicinity of Cordova, and there are ruins of ancient walls and towers between Martos, Alcandete, Espejo and Baena, which are supposed to denote its site.
913 Now Alameda; eight leagues from the other Astiji or Ecija.
914 Now Estepa, six leagues from Ecija.
915 Perhaps Mancloua, between the towns of Ecija and Carmona; the sites of all the other places here mentioned appear to be quite unknown.
916 Sanson supposes the Alostigi to have inhabited the territory near Almagia, between Malaga and Antiqueira.
917 The Celtici are supposed to have inhabited the country between the Guadiana and Guadalquivir, the eastern parts of Alentejo and the west of Estremadura, as far as the city of Badajoz.
918 Probably part of Estremadura, and the vicinity of Badajoz in an easterly direction.
919 The exact meaning of this passage is somewhat obscure, but he probably means to say that the Celtici have an identity of sacred rites, language, and names of towns with the Celtiberians; though it had become the usage in Bætica more generally to distinguish the towns by their Roman names.
920 “The Fame of Julius.” Its site is not known.
921 “The Concord of Julius.” Probably the same as the modern Valera la Vega, near Frejenal.
922 Probably meaning “Restored by Julius.” Nothing is known of its site.
923 According to an authority quoted by Hardouin, this may possibly be Medina de las Torres.
924 Probably Constantina in Andalusia, to the north of Penaflor.
925 The tribe or nation of the Tereses are supposed to have dwelt in the vicinity of the modern San Nicolo del Puerto.
926 Calentum was their town; probably the present Cazalla near Alaniz. This place will be found mentioned by Pliny in B. xxxv. c. 14.
927 The ruins two leagues north of Ronda la Vieja are supposed to be those of this place. There are the remains of an aqueduct and theatre, and numerous coins are found here.
928 Probably the present Ronda la Vieja.
929 Identified by inscriptions with the present Aroche. The sites of several of the following places are unknown.
930 The Azuaga of modern times; but, according to Hardouin, Argallen.
931 According to Hardouin this was on the site of the modern Fuente de la Ovejuna, fourteen leagues from Cordova.
932 This has been identified by inscriptions with the modern Villa de Capilla.
933 According to Hardouin, the modern Almaden de la Plata.
934 Probably the same as the modern Monte Major.
935 The ruins of this place are probably those seen at Carixa, near Bornos, in the vicinity of Seville.
936 According to Hardouin, the same as the modern Las Cabezas, not far from Lebrija.
937 The sites of these two towns are unknown. Bæsippo, Barbesula and Callet have been already mentioned.
938 The ruins of Saguntia are to be seen between Arcos and Xeres della Frontera, on the river Guadalete; they bear their ancient name under the form of Cigonza. Mela, B. iii. c. 1, says that Oleastro was a grove near the Bay of Cadiz. Brana was probably the same place that is mentioned by Ptolemy under the name of Urbona.
939 We may here mention for the more correct information of the reader that the Roman mile consisted of 1000 paces, each pace being five English feet. Hence its length was 1618 English yards (taking the Roman foot at 11·6496 English inches), or 142 yards less than the English statute mile.
940 Nova Carthago, or New Carthage.
941 Now Cazlona, on the confines of New Castile and the kingdom of Granada. It was a place of great importance, and the chief town of the Oretani. Himilce, the rich wife of Hannibal, was a native of this place.
942 This was the ‘porticus Octaviæ,’ which, having been commenced by his sister Octavia, the wife of Marcellus and Antony, was completed by Augustus. It lay between the Circus Flaminius and the Theatre of Marcellus, occupying the site of the former portico, which had been built by Q. Cæcilius Metellus, and enclosing the two temples of Juno and of Jupiter Stator. It contained a public library, in which the Senate often met, and it was in this probably that the map or plan, mentioned by Pliny, was deposited. It also contained a great number of statues, paintings, and other works of art, which, with the library, were destroyed by fire in the reign of Titus.
943 Nova Carthago or New Carthage, now Carthagena.
944 Now Zaragoza or Saragossa, on the right bank of the river Ebro. Its original name was Salduba, but it was changed in honour of Augustus, who colonized it after the Cantabrian war, B.C. 25.
945 This was the most remote place of any consideration in Celtiberia, on the west. Its ruins are still to be seen on the summit of a hill surrounded with rocks, forming a natural wall between Corunna del Conde and Pennalda de Castro.
946 This was Asturica Augusta, the chief city of the nation of the Astures, and situate on one of the tributaries of the Astura, now Esta. On its site is situate the present Astorga: its ruins are very extensive.
947 Now Lugo.
948 Or Bracara Augusta, now Braga. Among the ruins of the ancient city there are the remains of an aqueduct and amphitheatre.
949 Probably the present town of Vera near Muxacra.
950 The “Promontory of Saturn,” now Cabo de Palos.
951 D’Anville takes this place to be the port of Vacur; if so, the distance from Cape Palos is exactly 170 miles.
952 Now Segura.
953 The modern town of Elche was probably built from the ruins of this place.
954 Now called the Gulf of Alicant.
955 With the Arabian El prefixed, this has formed the name of the famous port of Alicant.
956 Now Denia, a thriving town.
957 Now called the Xucar.
958 Now called Albufera.
959 The present city of Valencia.
960 Or Turia, now the Guadalaviar.
961 Or Saguntus, famed for the fidelity of its inhabitants to the Roman cause: after a siege of nine months, rather than submit to the Carthaginians under Hannibal, they set fire to their town and perished in the flames, B.C. 219. It was rebuilt eight years afterwards and made a Roman colony. The ruins of the ancient town, which was said to have been originally founded by Greeks from Zacynthus, are still to be seen, and the ancient walls (muri veteres) give name to the present Murviedro, which is built on its site.
962 Now the Murviedro, which flows past the city of that name and the town of Segorbe.
963 Dertosa, the present Tortosa, is supposed to have been inhabited by them.
964 Now the Ebro.
965 Hardouin places this on the site of the modern Fuente de Ivero. The Ebro takes its rise in the Val de Vieso.
966 According to D’Anville, the present Logrono. At present the Ebro only becomes navigable at Tudela, 216 miles from the sea. Other writers, however, take Varia to be the present Valtierra, near Tudela.
967 Or the Subur, now the Francoli. It flows into the sea at the port of Tarraco, now Tarragona.
968 The more ancient commentators think that Carthago Vetus, or the colony of Old Carthage (now Carta la Vieja), is here alluded to, but more probably it is Carthago Nova that is meant.
969 On the Subi, previously mentioned; now called Villa Nova.
970 Now the Llobregat.
971 Their territory was situate around the present Gulf of Ampurias.
972 Their chief cities were Gerunda, the present Gerona, and Ausa or Vicus Ausæ, now Vic d’Osona.
973 In the country beyond Gerona.
974 Living in the upper valley of the river Sicoris or Segre, which still retains, from them, the name of Cerdague.
975 The people of the modern Navarre and Guipuzcoa.
976 In the later writers Barcelo, now Barcelona. It was said to have been originally founded by Hercules, and afterwards rebuilt by Hamilcar Barcas, who gave it the name of his family. Its name as a Roman colony was Colonia Faventia Julia Augusta Pia Barcino. The modern city stands somewhat to the east of the ancient one.
977 The modern Badalona, two leagues from Barcelona.
978 On the sea-shore,—the present Pineda.
979 Now the Tordera.
980 The modern city of Blanos stands on its site.
981 Probably the present Ter or Tet.
982 The modern Ampurias. We learn from Strabo that a wall divided the town of the Greeks from that of the old inhabitants. It was the usual landing-place for travellers from Gaul. It was originally colonized by the Phocæans from Massilia or Marseilles.
983 Hardouin says that the Ticher or Tichis is the same with the modern Ter, but in such case Pliny would have mentioned it before coming to Emporiæ. Its present name however does not appear to be accurately known.
984 A promontory extending from the Pyrenæan chain, on which a temple of Venus was situate. It is now called Cabo de Cruz. The distance mentioned by Pliny is probably too great.
985 The people of the present Tortosa.
986 Probably not the same people as the Edetani, in whose district Saguntum and Valencia were situate.
987 The people of Gerunda or Gerona.
988 They are nowhere else mentioned. Ukert supposes that their city stood in the district between the Sicoris and Nucaria.
989 Their city was Tiara Julia.
990 The people of Aquæ Calidæ or the ‘Hot Springs,’ called at the present day Caldes, four leagues from the city of Barcelona.
991 Ptolemy places Bæcula between Ausa and Gerunda.
992 The people of the present Belchite.
993 The people of the present Xelsa, on the Ebro.
994 The inhabitants of Calagurris, now Calahorra, a city of the Vascones, on the banks of the Ebro. They remained faithful to Sertorius to the last, and after slaughtering their wives and children and eating their flesh, their city was taken and destroyed; which event put an end to the Sertorian war. It was called “Nassica,” in contradistinction to Calagurris Fibularia, which is afterwards mentioned by Pliny. The latter is mentioned by Cæsar as forming one community with Osca (now Huesca), and was probably the present Loarre, though some writers take the first-named Calagurris to be that place, and the latter one to be the present Calahorra.
995 The people of Ilerda, the present Lerida, on the Sicoris or Segre. It is memorable for its siege by Cæsar, when the Pompeian forces under Afranius and Petreius had retired thither. It was a most flourishing city, though in the times of the later Roman emperors it had fallen into decay.
996 The people of the present Huesca.
997 The inhabitants of Turiazo, the present Tarazona, five leagues south of Tudela.
998 The people of Cascantum, the present town of Cascante in Navarre.
999 The people of Ergavica. Its ruins, at the confluence of the Guadiela and Tagus, are still to be seen, and are called Santaver. By some writers this place is considered to be the same as the modern Fraga, on the river Cinca, five leagues from Lerida.
1000 The people of Graccuris. Its former name of Ilurcis was changed in honour of Sempronius Gracchus, who placed new settlers there after the conquest of Celtiberia. It is supposed to be the same as the modern Agreda, four leagues from Tarazona.
1001 The people of Leonica, probably the modern Alcaniz, on the river Guadalope, in Arragon.
1002 The people of Tarraga, the present Tarrega, nine leagues east of Lerida, in Catalonia.
1003 The people of Arcobriga, now Los Arcos, in Navarre, five leagues south of Estella.
1004 Perhaps the same as the Andosini, a people mentioned by Polybius, B. iii. c. 35, as situate between the Iberus and the Pyrenees. There is a small town of Navarre called Androilla.
1005 The people probably of the site now occupied by Huarte Araquil, six leagues to the west of Pampeluna.
1006 Probably the same as the Bursaones of Livy, the Bursavolenses of Hirtius, and the Bursadenses of Ptolemy. Their exact locality is unknown.
1007 Mention has been made of Calagurris Fibularensis or Fibulicensis under Calagurris Nassica: see p. 168.
1008 The people of Complutum, the modern Alcala de Henares, on the river Henares, six leagues to the east of Madrid. It is not quite certain whether it stood on the exact site of Alcala, or on the hill of Zulema, on the other side of the Henares.
1009 The town of Cares, adjoining the more modern one of Puente la Reyna, probably marks their site.
1010 Probably so called from the river Cinga, the modern Cinca: or they may have given their name thereto.
1011 The people probably of the present Mediana on the Ebro, six leagues below Zaragoza.
1012 Their town was Larnum, situate on a river of the same name. It was probably the present Torderas, situate on the river of that name.
1013 Of this people nothing appears to be known. In the old editions the next people mentioned are the “Ispalenses,” but since the time of Hardouin, they have been generally omitted, as wrongly introduced, and as utterly unknown. Spanish coins have however been more recently discovered with the name ‘Sblaie’ or ‘Splaie,’ inscribed in Celtiberian characters, and numismatists are of opinion that they indicate the name of the town of this people, which in Latin would be Ispala. This at all events is the opinion of M. de Sauley.
1014 The people of the present town of Lumbier in Navarre, called by its inhabitants Irumberri.
1015 The people of the present city of Pampeluna.
1016 Carthago Nova, or New Carthage.
1017 The colony of Acci was called Colonia Julia Gemella Accitana. The town of Acci or Accis was on the site of the present Guadix el Viejo, between Granada and Baza. It was colonized by the third and sixth legions under Julius or Augustus, from which it obtained the name of ‘Gemella,’ the origin of which name is previously mentioned, p. 161.
1018 The ruins of this place are supposed to be those seen at Lebazuza or Lezuza, not far from the city of Cuença.
1019 The “jus Italicum” or “Italiæ,” “Italian rights” or “privileges,” differed from the “jus Latinum.” It was granted to provincial towns which were especially favoured by the magistracy of Rome, and consisted of exemption from taxes, a municipal constitution, after the manner of the Italian towns, and many other rights and exemptions.
1020 According to Hardouin, the people of the town formerly called Saliotis, now Cazorla. They are called “Cæsari venales,” from the circumstance of their territory having been purchased by Cæsar.—Castulo or Cazlona has been previously mentioned.
1021 The people of Sætabis, now Xativa in Valencia. This town was famous for its manufacture of fine table-napkins, to which reference is made by Pliny at the beginning of his Introduction addressed to Titus, in his quotation from the lament of Catullus on the loss of his table-napkins which his friends had filched from him. See p. 1 of the present volume.
1022 According to some writers, the present Cuença was the ancient Valeria; but perhaps it was situate at the present village of Valera la Vieja, or Old Valeria, eight leagues south of Cuença.
1023 The people of Alaba, not far from the present town of Ergavica.
1024 They were so called from their town of Basti, now Baza, on the river Guadalentin in Granada.
1025 Their town was probably the present Consuegra, twelve leagues from the city of Toledo.
1026 So called from the promontory Dianium or Artemisium, named from a temple of Diana there situate, and having in its vicinity a town of the same name. The present town of Denia still retains nearly the original name. Its lake, now called Albufera de Valencia, has been previously mentioned, p. 166.
1027 The modern Yniesta marks the site of their town.
1028 The people probably of Eliocroca, now Lorca, on the high road, from Carthago Nova to Castulo.
1029 There were two places of the name of Mentesa, one in the district of the Oritani, and the other in that of the Bastitani or Bastuli.
1030 Ptolemy, B. ii., mentions a city of this nation, called ‘Oretum Germanorum.’ It has been supposed that it was the present Calatrava, five leagues from Ciudad Real.
1031 Supposed to be in the vicinity of the present Calatajud.
1032 The present Toledo.
1033 Their town is supposed to have stood on the site of the present Murcia.
1034 Now Coruña del Conde.
1035 The people of the present Alava on the Ebro.—A small town there still bears the name of Alvana.
1036 This nation is not mentioned elsewhere. Possibly they are the Murbogi, mentioned by Ptolemy.
1037 Their town Segisamon was either the present Veyzama in Guipuzcoa, or, more probably, Sasamon, eight leagues north-west of Burgos.
1038 The people of Carissa, on the site of the present Carixa near Seville.
1039 Strabo assigns the Numantini to the Arevacæ, and not the Pelendones. The ruins of the city of Numantia were still to be seen at Puente Garray near the city of Soria, in Hardouin’s time, the 17th century.
1040 D’Anville places their city, Intercatia, at the place called Villa nueva de Azuague, forty miles from the present Astorga; others again make it to have been sixty miles from that place.
1041 Their town was on the site of the modern city of Palencia, on the river Carion.
1042 The people of Cauca, the present Coca, situate between Segovia and Valladolid, on the river Eresma.
1043 This was the chief city of the Cantabri. It has been already mentioned, but we may add that it stood near the sources of the Ebro, on the eminence of Retortillo, south of Reynosa. Five stones still mark the boundaries which divided the territory from that of the Fourth Legio.
1044 Supposed to be the present Briviesca; the site of Tritium does not appear to be known, but it has been suggested that it was near Najara, in the vicinity of Logrono.
1045 It does not appear to be certain whether the Areva was the present Ucero, or the Arlanzon, which flows near Valladolid.
1046 The modern Siguenza.
1047 Now El Burgo d’Osma, in the province of Soria.
1048 This must not be mistaken for the modern Segovia, between Madrid and Valladolid: it was a small town in the vicinity of Numantia.
1049 Probably the present Lerma, on the river Arlanza.
1050 The people of Asturica Augusta, now Astorga, in the province of Leon. The ruins of this fine city are said still to give a perfect idea of a fortified Roman town.
1051 Their chief city stood on the site of the present Cigarrosa, or San Estevan de Val de Orres. Its ruins are still to be seen, and a Roman bridge, the people preserving a tradition that an old town once stood there called Guigurra.
1052 The people of Lance or Lancia, probably the present Lollanco or Mansilla; though Oviedo has been suggested. This however may be the Ovetum mentioned by Pliny in B. xxxiv. c. 17.
1053 Mentioned by Pliny in B. xix. c. 2, as famous for their flax. Their locality near the coast does not appear to be exactly known. The Pæsici previously mentioned were situate on the peninsula of Cabo de Penas.
1054 Now the city of Lugo in Gallicia.
1055 The people of Bracara Augusta, now Braga. Among the ruins of the ancient city are the remains of an aqueduct and an amphitheatre. This people probably derived their name from their fashion of wearing braccæ, “breeches” or “trowsers,” like their neighbours of Gallia Braccata. The exact localities of the various other tribes here mentioned do not appear to be exactly known.
1056 Our author is mistaken here, even making allowance for the shortness of the Roman mile (1618 yards), as the length is only 470 miles. Coastwise it is 620.
1058 He is also in error here; for, taken in a straight line, this distance is but 210 miles.
1059 The distance is about 560 miles.
1060 It may be worth while here to take some notice of the mineral productions of Spain in modern times, from which we shall be able to form a more accurate judgement as to the correctness of the statement here made by Pliny. Grains of gold are still to be found in the rivers Tagus and Douro; but there is not found sufficient of the precious metal to pay for the search. Silver is found in the mines of the Guadal canal. Copper and lead are to be found in abundance. There is a mine of plumbago four leagues from Ronda; and tin is found in Gallicia. In every province there are iron mines, those in Biscay being the most remarkable. Lodestone is found in Seville, cobalt on the Pyrenees, quicksilver and cinnabar at Almaden, arsenic in Asturias, and coal in Asturias and Arragon. There are salt-mines at Mingrilla and Cardona; alum is found in Arragon, antimony at Alcaraz. On the Sierra Morena, and in Gallicia, there is saltpetre in numerous localities; amber in Asturias and Valencia, and sulphur in Murcia, Arragon, and Seville. Pipe-clay of a peculiar quality is found in the vicinity of Andujar. Gypsum and marble are found in great abundance, and stone for budding purposes, of the best quality. Amethysts, white cornelians, rubies, agates, garnets, and rock crystals, with other precious stones, are also found in abundance and of the finest quality.
1061 Transparent stone. Further mention is made of it by Pliny in B. xxxv. c. 45.
1062 Or Mediterranean.
1063 From the chief city Narbo Martius, and later Narbona, now Narbonne, situate on the river Atax, now Aude. It was made a Roman colony by the Consul Q. Martius B.C. 118, and from him received its surname. It was the residence of the Roman governor of the province and a place of great commercial importance. There are scarcely any remains of the ancient city, but some vestiges of the canal, by which it was connected with the sea at twelve miles’ distance.
1064 From the linen breeches which the inhabitants wore, a fashion which was not adopted by the Romans till the time of the Emperors. Severus wore them, but the use of them was restricted by Honorius.
1065 Still called the ‘Var.’ It divides France from Nice, a province of Sardinia.
1066 Now the Cevennes. They lie as much to the west as the north of Gallia Narbonensis.
1067 The range of the Jura, north of the Lake of Geneva.
1068 Inhabiting the former Comté de Roussillon, or Département des Pyrénées Orientales. They were said to have been originally a Bebrycian or Thracian colony.
1069 Probably the inhabitants of the present Conserans, on the west of the Département de l’Arriége.
1070 Probably the Tech, and the Verdouble, which falls into the Gly.
1071 Probably the present Elne, on the Tech.
1072 The present Castel Roussillon.
1073 The Aude of the present day.
1074 The bodies of water now called Etangs de Bages et de Sigean.
1075 Now the Herault.
1076 Now called the Lez, near the city of Montpellier.
1077 Now called Etangs de Leucate, de Sigean, de Gruissan, de Vendres, de Thau, de Maguelonne, de Perols, de Mauguio, du Repausset; Marais d’Escamandre, de Lermitane et de la Souteyrane, and numerous others.
1078 Now the town of Agde. Strabo also informs us that this place was founded by the Massilians.
1079 This people seems to have inhabited the eastern parts of the departments of l’Arriége and the Haute Garonne, that of Aude, the south of that of Tarn, and of that of Herault, except the arrondissement of Montpellier.
1080 Dalechamp takes this to be Foz les Martigues; but the locality is doubtful. Most probably this is the same place that is mentioned by Strabo as Rhoë, in conjunction with the town of Agathe or Agde, and the Rodanusia of Stephen of Byzantium, who places it in the district of Massilia or Marseilles.
1081 Now the Rhone.
1082 Now the Lake of Geneva.
1083 The modern Saone.
1084 Now the rivers Isère and Durance.
1085 Most probably from Libici, a town in the south of Gaul, of which there are coins in existence, but nothing else seems to be known. At the present day there are four mouths of the Rhone, the most westerly of which is called the “Dead” Rhone; the next the “Lesser” Rhone; the third the “Old” Rhone; and the fourth simply the Rhone. D’Anville considers the “Lesser” Rhone to have been the “Spanish” mouth of the ancients. In consequence of the overflowings of this river there is great confusion upon this subject.
1086 This mouth of the Rhone was much used by the Massilians for the purposes of commerce with the interior of Gaul, and the carriage of the supplies of tin which they obtained thence.
1087 The manner in which Pliny here expresses himself shows that he doubts the fact of such a place having even existed; it is mentioned by none of the preceding geographers, and of those who followed him Stephen of Byzantium is the only one who notices it. An inscription was found however in the reign of Charles V. of France, in which it was stated that Ataulphus, king of the Visigoths, selected Heraclea as his place of residence. On the faith of this inscription, Spon and Ducange have placed Heraclea at the modern Saint-Gilles, and other writers at Saint-Remy, where the inscription was found. Unfortunately, however, Messrs. Devic and Vaissette, in their “History of Languedoc,” have proved that this inscription is of spurious origin.
1088 The “Fossæ Marianæ” are also mentioned by Ptolemy and Solinus; though they differ in the situation which they have respectively assigned them. They were formed by Marius when advancing to dispute the passage of the Rhone with the Cimbri, who had quitted Spain for the purpose of passing the Pyrenees and invading Italy, in the year B.C. 102. There is considerable difficulty in determining their position, but they are supposed to have commenced at the place now called the Camp of Marius, and to have terminated at the eastern mouth of the Rhone near the present Arles.
1089 Pliny is the first who mentions the name of this lake, though previous writers had indicated its existence. Strabo informs us that above the mouth of the Rhone there is a large lake that communicates with the sea, and abounds in fish and oysters. Brotier and D’Anville identify it with the present lake of Martigues or of Berre.
1090 D’Anville takes this place to be the present town of Martigues; Brotier thinks that it was situate on the spot now called Le Cap d’Œil, near the town of Saint-Chamas; and Bouche, the historian of the Province, places it at Marignane, on the east side of the lake already mentioned.
1091 “Campi Lapidei,” called by the natives at the present day “La Crau;” probably from the same Celtic root as our word “Crags;” though Bochart derives it from the Hebrew. Æschylus and Hyginus speak of this combat of Hercules, and Mela relates that being engaged in a mortal struggle with Albion and Geryon, the sons of Neptune, he invoked the aid of Jupiter, on which a shower of stones fell from the heavens and destroyed his antagonists. Those on this plain are said to be the remains of the stony shower. It is supposed by the scientific that many of these stones are aërolites, and that tradition has ingeniously adapted this story to their real origin. The vicinity of Tunbridge Wells presents a somewhat similar appearance.
1092 The people probably of the site of the present isle of Camargue.
1093 They probably inhabited the district south of the Durance, between it and the Rhone.
1094 They inhabited the country in which the present Avignon, Orange, Cavaillon, and perhaps Carpentras are situate.
1095 They are thought by Hardouin to have dwelt in the vicinity of the present town of Talard in the department of the Hautes Alpes.
1096 They inhabited the eastern part of the departments of the Drôme and the Vaucluse.
1097 Their territory comprehended the southern part of the department of the Ain, the department of the Isère, the canton of Geneva, and part of Savoy.
1098 It was said to have been colonized from Phocæa, a town of Ionia in Asia Minor. Lucan in his Third Book more than once falls into the error of supposing that it was colonized from Phocis in Greece.
1099 We learn from Justin, B. xliii., that this privilege, as well as others, and a seat at the public shows, were granted to the Massilians by the Roman Senate, in return for their sympathy and assistance after the city had been taken and plundered by the Gauls.