OR, A DICTIONARY O F ARTS, SCIENCES, AND MISCELLANEOUS LITERATURE; BY WHICH THE DIFFERENT SCIENCES AND ARTS TREATISES OR SYSTEMS, COMPREHENDING The HISTORY, THEORY, and PRACTICE, of each, AND FULL EXPLANATIONS GIVEN OF THE VARIOUS DETACHED PARTS OF KNOWLEDGE, WHETHER RELATING TO NATURAL and ARTIFICIAL Objects, or to Matters ECCLESIASTICAL, Including ELUCIDATIONS of the most important Topics relative to RELIGION, MORALS, TOGETHER WITH A DESCRIPTION of all the Countries, Cities, principal Mountains, Seas, Rivers, &c. A General HISTORY, Ancient and Modern, of the different Empires, Kingdoms, and States; AND An Account of the LIVES of the most Eminent Perfons in every Nation, from the earliest ages down to the present times. Compiled from the writings of the beft Authors, in feveral languages; the most approved Dictionaries, as well of general science as of its parti. THE THIRD EDITION, IN EIGHTEEN VOLUMES, GREATLY IMPROVED. ILLUSTRATED WITH FIVE HUNDRED AND FORTY-TWO COPPERPLATES. VOL. VII. INDOCTI DISCANT, ET AMENT MEMINISSE PERITI. EDINBURG H. PRINTED FOR A. BELL AND C. MACFARQUHAR, MDCCXCVII. ENCYCLOPEDIA BRITANNICA. ET M ET N Ethiops ETHIOPS ANTIMONIAL, MARTIAL, and MINERAL. cian, born at Leipfe in 1646. Etmuller See PHARMACY-Index. There are fome medals of Herod I. furnamed the Jofephus gives Herod the appellation of tetrarch in Though Herod the Great left by will to Archelaus all Judea, Samaria, and Idumea, yet Jofephus tells us he was then only called ethnarch. ETHNOPHRONES, in antiquity, a fect of he- ETIQUETTE, a French term, primarily denoting to it. ETMULLER (Michael), a moft eminent phyfi- After having travelled Etna. ETNA, or ÆTNA, a famous burning mountain of Houel's obSicily, and the largest in Europe; of which an account fervations, has been already given under the latter spelling ÆTNA. The following additional particulars relating to the eruptions, fize, fcenery, and products, of this celebrated volcano, are collected from the Voyage Pittorefque of M. Houel, who appears to have furveyed it with than former traveller. any greater accuracy The form of mount Etna is that of a cone, very broad at the bafe, which is more than 40 miles in cir cumference. From the bottom you afcend ten leagues before reaching its fummit on the fouth fide; and on any of the other fides, the way being not fo ftraight, would be confiderably longer. Etna is entirely compofed of fubftances that have been discharged from the volcano in its various explosions. It appears from the quantities of marine bodies de- The general principle, however, M. Houel thinks of Etna. of a mixture of pozzolana with calcareous matters. At Lintini, and in places around it, there are diftin&t beds of pozzolana, fcoriæ, and real lava, as well as others in which all these matters are blended together in a mass of calcareous matter. At Palazzolo, about 24 miles from the city of Syracufe, the fides of the hills having been cut by the ftreams which run down them, in many places to a confiderable depth, display huge maffes of lava, and extenfive beds of pozzolana. In the neighbourhood of Noto there are alfo volcanic productions to be found. At Pachino, where the island of Sicily forms an angle, there are a range of hills extending for feveral miles, which confift all of pozzolana. The province of Val de Noto is more homogeneous in the matters of which its foil confifts, than the two other dales of Sicily. Thefe, in every hill which they contain, exhibit a vaft variety of different matters. So amazing, indeed, is that variety, that they may be confidered as exhibiting a collection of fpecimens of all the different materials which enter into the compofition of the globe. In those two dales few volcanic productions have been yet obferved. But it is not to be inferred for this reafon, that they contain but few. They may be hereafter discovered in great plenty. In the volcano of water at Maccalubbe, between Aragona and Girginti; in the baths of Caftellamare, near Alcamo and Segefte; in the baths of Termini, in the ifles of Lipari; in the hot waters of Ali, between Meffina and Taormina, by the lake in the valley of Caltagirone; in all these places, which comprehend the whole circumference of Sicily, the influence of the volcano of Etna is, in fome measure, felt. Nay, it would even feem, that in thefe places there are so many volcanic craters. All of these are fo difpofed as to fhow that they existed prior not only to the volcanic matters, but to the other fubftances intermixed with them. The waters of the fea have, in former times, rifen much higher than at prefent. But how they retreated, or whether they are to continue ftationary at their prefent height, we know not. For more than 2000 years, during which Sicily has been inhabited, and has had cities and harbours, the fea has not been obferved either to recede or encroach in any confiderable degree. When the fea fubfided from mount Etna, the mountain must have been covered over with fuch matters as the fea ufually depofits; confequently with calcareous matters. A part of thofe matters would be indurated by the action of the atmosphere, while the reft would be carried down by the rain-waters, and again conveyed into the ocean. The torrents of rainwater which pour down the fides of mount Etna have furrowed its fides, by cutting out for themselves channels; and they have removed from its fummit, and are ftill removing to a farther distance, all the extraneous bodies upon it. In many places, they flow at prefent over a channel of lava, having cut through all the matters which lay above it: ftill, however, there remain in many places both calcareous matter and other marine productions, which show that this volcano has been once covered by the waters of the ocean. But thefe are daily wafting away; not only the rains, but men likewife, who carry them off as materials for line and for building, confpire to deface them. No fewer than 77 cities, towns, and villages, are scattered over the fides of Etna. They are moft numerous on the fouth fide, where the temperature of the air is milder than on the north. Reckoning thofe cities, towns, and villages, one with another, to contain each 1200 or 1500 fouls, the whole number of the inhabitants of mount Etna will then be 92,400, or115,500. But it is certainly much more confiderable. Etna the north The the moun❤ 3 ftate of de On plate CLXXXIV. is exhibited a view of the Fig. 1. north-eaft fide of the mountain, taken at fea. The 2 lower part prefents to the eye very extenfive plains en- Account of tirely covered with lava of different thicknefs, on which eat file of vegetation has not yet made any progrefs. nearer the shore the more barren is the ground; while tain.. the fertility of the foil increases as we advance farther inwards. The mountain is every where full of valt excavations; which our author confiders as a proof, that inftead of increafing in bulk, it is actually in a ftate of decay and diminution. The vaft torrents of Suppofed lava, which overfpread the fides of it from time to to be in a time, he confiders as infufficient to repair the wafte cay. occafioned by rains, rivulets, and torrents flowing down from the fummit. Unless the eruptions, therefore, become more frequent than they have been for fome time paft, he fuppofes that, by degrees, the height of the mountain muit be reduced to that of the furrounding beds of lava. He had not an opportunity of meafuring the altitude of Etna himfelf; but he obferves that it had been done by the celebrated M. de Sauffure, who found the elevation to be 10,036 feet. This Sauffure's was done on the 5th of June 1773, at 20 minutes af- account of ter feven in the morning. The height of the barome. the height ter on the most elevated part at the brink of the crater was 18 inches 11 lines; which, by the neceffary corrections, is reduced to 18 inches 10 lines. At the fame time the mercury at Catania, placed only one foot above the level of the fea, flood at 28 inches z lines; which must be reduced to 28 inches 1 lines, on account of the neceffary corrections for the thermo meter. 4 of Etna. ous matter. From Giana our author had an opportunity of con- Mountains. templating the vaft number of calcareous mounts of calcare fcattered over that part of Etna; which (he fays)' "are nothing more than fragments, the flender re mains of thofe enormous maffes which have been depofited all around the base of mount Etna; and are a very curious monument of the revolutions which this mountain has undergone." They are of a true calca. reous nature; and the inhabitants are accustomed to fupply themfelves with limeftone from them. They alfo use the ftones of which thefe mounts are compofed for the purposes of building; as the lava is fo hard that it cannot be cut without the greateit difficulty, and they have no other ftone in these parts. Leaving this place, our author travelled over feveral extenfive plains of lava, covered on each fide of the way with ftunted trees, but without any cultivation; the lava being of that kind which is very unfavourable to the growth of vegetables. Arriving at St Le-onardo, he obferved the courfe of the eruption of water in 1755, and which is mentioned under the former article ErNA. |