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Home , Pytheas, Thule

ANTIQUARIE SCOTLANDF SO . 491

II. ANCIENTSE THTJLE ONTH TH F EO W . FOTHEBINGHAMY H . B . , ESQ. F.S.A., SOOT., KIKKWALL, . Ultimr o , a Thule s formeha , a geographicad l proble mboto t h ancien moderd an t n timese accoun e originaTh th . f o t l discovers yi lostwhad have an ,w givets i e n principall authory yb disbelieve o wh s d the truth of the . This account is contradictory in some of its particulars, in fairness to be partly ascribed to the manner in which it has passed down to us; but if its truth be allowed, this problem may be to some extent satisfactorily, thoug certainl e t hnevei b n ca r y resolved. Pythea f Marseilleso s a celebrate, d astronomer, mathematiciand an , navigator, of the time of Alexander the Great, in the fourth century before Christ, is said to have made a voyage from through the Straits of Gibraltar, along the coasts of Spain and Gaul, through the British Channel alond an ,e eas gth t sid Britain—(introrsusf o e , inwards, Pliny, 4, 16, 30, quoted in Kenrick's Phoenicia, p. 221)—to its northern extremity; thence sailin e nort x dayth e arrive gsi h o t s t alana d d to which he gave the name of Thule, situated 46,300 stadia from the . In this country the northern tropic and circle were all one. He reached it at the summer , when there was no night, or a day of twenty-four hours, and where there is also stated to he a rlny of monthsx si nigha d equaf ,an to lwintee lengttime th th f eo t r ha solstice . The inhabitants of this country bordering on the frozen zone, were des- titut f cultivateeo d fruits almosd an , t deprive domestif do c animalsd an , their food consisted of millet, herbs, fruits, and roots, and when there was corn and honey they made drink of them. The corn was threshed and store largn di e granaries, threshing floors being useles accounn o s t raie wand oth f n an f Diodorusun o o t S . s Siculus . capv . . B ,ii. , tellf o s e ancienth t Britons: " They dwel mean i t n cottages, coveree th r dfo most part with reeds or sticks. In reaping their corn they cut off the ears from the stalk, and so house them up in repositories under ground; thence they take and pluck out the grains of as many of the oldest of servy the ma e day s md afteth a the an r , rm fo they have bruisee th d corn make it into bread." 492 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY OF

Tn Thul d othean e r neighbouring places, neither earth, waterr no , air existed separately, but a sort of concretion of all these, resembling marine sponge whicn ,i l earththinge al h th sea e d ,th s ,an were suspended. mad a secone d voyagBaltice th o t e, which agai s bi ny some suppose para f thie o tb gav e so h d t accounn one e d a voyages an ,hi f o t s and travel n worke precedini slost w Th no s. g note e takear s n from Strab d Polybiusan o , quote e portion Strabi th d s f 'o n(a o s work treating of Pytheas is lost), and from Pliny. I see it otherwise remarked that Pytheas sailinn i , g fro norte mth f Britaiho Orcar o n o st Thule, learned the progress of the consecutive lengthening and shorten- ing of the day. The inhabitants pointed out to him the place of the settin e sund assureth an ,f tham go hi dt there were seasons whee nth night was continual. (Pytheas apud Cosm. Indicopl. 11, p. 149.) In a work since lost, entitle de Descriptio "Th e Ocean,th f o n " Pytheas says barbarian,e "Th t happenesi shower setn Fo whers su .u dde th e in those places that the night was extremely short, lasting only two or three hours; and the sun sunk under the horizon, after a short interval reappeared at his rising." (Pytheas apud G-emin. 5, p. 22). accoune Th Thulf o t e ascribe Pytheao dt totalls si y disbelieve Polyy db - bius and , and credited, I think, by Pliny and , and other ancient writers modern I . n time doubtes i Vincentr t si D y db , entirely discredited by Bayle, but supported by Bougainville, D'Anville, Huet, Murra G-oetingenf yo , G-osselinlittla d e ad Malte-Brun d y an , ma I d an , work "Pytheas de ," written by aPolish geographer,M.Lelewel. There are in the account of Pytheas's discovery of Thule things difficult to believe, and contradictions difficult, if not impossible to reconcile; still it appears to me to carry scepticism too far to reject the voyage as a fiction. The mention of the Sacred Cape in , of Calbium in the north-west of , and of the Island of Basilia or Baltia, whence the Bele th td StraitsBaltie naman th a f bees eo cSe ,ha n brought forwaro dt suppor authenticite th t voyagee th f yo Pytheasf so , whil Thule eth s eha foro t e greates t mth i f o rise t t nou l proble antiquityf mo . The first point that arrests the attention of the inquirer is the account given of its.locality. The Thule of Pytheas is said to be 46,300 stadia fro e equatormth borderin e b dayso x frozee t , si th e n 'b gno o zonet d an , sail to the north of Britain. Now directly to the north of Britain and ANTIQUARIES OF . 493

its isles there is no land; but on the north-east is , extending to the North Cape in. 71°, with a climate influenced by the warm Gulf- stream, and on the north-west is , lying between 63° and 67°; and farther west the coast of , eternally frost-bound, stretch- ing past 80°. Revertin e 46,30th o gt 0 stadi whicy b a h Thul s distani e t froe mth equator bees ha nt i , supposed that there were stadi f differenao t dimen- e amonsionus e ancientsn si gth . GosseliM . n suppose e largesth f o s t 666f were equal to a degree of the equator; of a second, 700 ; of a third, 833^; and of a fourth, 1111$-. Applying this to Pytheas's account, we should hav eth f Thule—69eo ° 27' about Greenland towardr o , s Norte th h Cap n Norwayi e ; 66° 8' about Iceland 34° Yutlandn i '55 ; ; inapplicablee b soutr o fa t 40° o s hs 'a 41 d an . However, Colonel Leaken i , "e Londoth f volo . .ix n Geographical Journal, Stadium e papea th n "i n ro , came to the conclusion, that in reality there was only one stadium of 600 Greek littlfeed an te more tha e 600tnth h a degreepar f o t , which would have the effect of throwing Thule farther north. e lengte dayth th A o ,f st h o Thul s stateei o havdt s longeseit y da t monthsx si twenty-four o , threr o r hourso e tw hourr o , nightf so , giving f twenty-ono y da month x a si r twenty-twf eo o sy da e oth hoursw No . is to be found only at the pole, of twenty-four hours in latitude 67°, of twenty one or twenty-two hours, 65° and 66°. Setting aside the polar day of six months, I may observe that, at the in Orkney, in Lat. 59", wherwritingm a eI nighe th , quits i thery eda e lighte Th . of eighteen and a half hours is extended, in the north of Zetland, to nineteen hours nighd scarceln an , ca t there saib e y b t thio det a s season, ano inferencn d drawe eb then nca n fro mdifferenca e lengtth n f i heo the day from the nineteen to the twenty-four hours. I have just now, 26th June, near midnight, taken Stevenson' ' Progress f Discoveryo s ' e windototh rooma candler o f w o s whic hav n d i ligh,o ga n an , ef s ho i t been able to read it. Some years ago I used to be engaged angling fo rn returnin o trouts d an , g ovee hillth r se th lat t nighta n ei r o , earliest morning, I have observed a ruddy line of light remaining in the e night th wesd disappearin l an ,al t g only wite livelieth h r splendours of the rising sun. The summer night is the most charming thing in Orkney. 494 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY OF

Thule is also described as being destitute of the cultivated fruits, and almost deprived of the domestic animals; and the food of the inhabitants consiste f milletdo , herbs, fruits rootsd an , . When the cord d yha n an honey they made drink of these, and the corn was thrashed and stored in large granaries, threshing-floors being useless on account of the rain and want of sun. Millet, cornt producthoned no an , e countra y ar f so y touchine th n go , wit he summe nighlittlo th n t r a eo t r solstice e conTh -. cretion of the elements is an exaggerated account of the fogs and other incidents of a northern climate. name Th f Thule,eo whico t epithee hth t Ultima—a wor apparentlf do y same th e signification—is attached, occur 'n i s s . 30:i , — " Tibi serviat Ultim severad ha a s Thule.l ha resemblance t I " d an s derivations assigned to it; among these the Arabic (query Phoenician) , signifying remotenes G-reee th s; k reXos Gothid an , c Tiel, Tiule,r o goaa limitr o l . Norwan I have districye w th e t named Thel Thelemarkr o e n i d an ; Yutland in , Thyle, or Thyland, or Thiuland. , in the west of , has been supposed to have been originally named Thul r ©oiAij eo changa labiae y th Latid b , f ol lo e letternn i titled an ;- deed islane sth calles di d Thule t Foulbu ; a really appear simple b o t s y Fougloe Fowl'e th , s Island—the nam north-eastere e th als f o e th f o n . , an Irish monk, who, in his work, "De Mensura Orbis terras,"1 whico t date bees hth ha en A.D 5 assigned82 . , notice Thule sth f Plineo y and Solinus, cap. vii. § 11, Nos. 2-5, and I quote No. 6. This passage of Dicuil I suppose to be the first notice of Iceland, an dI giv passage eth e fro original:e mth — Thule ultima in qua, asstivo solstitio sole de Cancri sidere faciente transitum, nox nulla; brumali solstitio, perinde nullus dies (Solinus).2 Trigesimus nunc annus est a quo nuniaverunt mihi clerici, qui, a kalendis Februarii usque kalendas Augusti, in ilia insula manserunt quod solun no , msestivn i o solstitio, se n diebudi s circa illud vespern i , - tina hora, occidens sol abscondit se quasi trans parvulum tumulum; ita

i Edition Letronne, Paris ,. 181438 . p , 3quoteds Solinuga , 5 . . No , ANTIQTJABIES OF SCOTLAND. 495

ut, nihil tenebraru minimmn i o spatio ipso fiat; sed quicquid homo ope- rari voluerit, vel pediculo camisie sd a abstrahere, tanqua mprassentin i a soli s n altitudini potest i s , et ; e inontium ejus fuissent, forsitan nun- quam sol absconderetur ab illis. In medio illius minimi temporis, medium noctis fit in medio orbis terras; et sic puto, e contrario in hiemali solstitio n paucii t e , s diebus circa illud, aurara n minimmi o spatin oi Thule apparere, quando in medio meridies fit orbis terra?. Idcirco men- tientes, falluntur i circuqu , m earn concretura fore mare scripseruntt e , qui a vernali eequinoctio usque ad autumnale continuum diem sine nocte, atqu autumnalib ea , versa vice, usqu vernald ea e sequinoctium, assiduam quidem noctem, dum illi navigantes in naturali tempore magni frigoris earn intrabant c manentea , n ipsai s , dies noctesque semper, praster sol- stitii tempus, alternatim habebant d navigationse , e unius die ilix d e ia a boream, congelatum mare invenerunt.1 The Thule of Dicuil is undoubtedly Iceland, as in the immediately succeeding Section III., the Faroe Isles are those mentioned. Dicuil tells of Iceland, not of his personal knowledge, but as related to him by religious men, clerici ; and we know that the Norwegians, who first visited Iceland about A.D. 860, found traces in the cantons of Papeya? and Papyli ease th calleNorwegiane n t n th side ,o me y df b o , s paps papasr eo , the Irish priests, whom philologists find also in Orkney and Shetland, and in the north of Scotland. This is the first mention of Iceland, and the date is much the same as that of the charter (whether true or feigned), e creatiooth f f Hamburo n g int n archhishopricka o - LouiDe y b , e th s bonaire, having jurisdiction over the churches of the north of Europe, and Icelan Greenlandd dan datf o , e 833.2 Ther severae ear l thing thin si s accoun f Dicuil'o t s which correspond with Pytheas's relation. The long light is one; but it appears to me that no inference can be drawn further than that the Thule of Pytheas was in a northern latitude, and, at the summer solstice, when he found Thule, there actually is no darkness from Orkney to the . I cannot understan a countrd o exist y t wher voyageea r would requir havo t e e sun'e place th th f seo m settinghi pointe o t t , dou whic h must either pro-

1 A.D. 795, No. 6. 2 Adam of Bremen, Hist. p. 181-2; Lambecii Origg. Hamburg. Quoted Lotronne on Dicuil, cap. vii. § 3, p. 141. 496 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY OF

ceerl from t.hfi obscurity cause fogv d dcloudsb e sun'an s th r so , constant appearance ahove the horizon. The difficult identifyino t s a y g Thule with Icelan , tha dvoyage is th t e from the north of Britain to Iceland at its date was as remarkable and as great as that of Columhus when he discovered the New World. Py- theas had sailed along the east coast of Britain, and Iceland lies about 600 north-wese mileth o st Britaif o t differena n ni t directio hemid nan - sphere. firsa This t svoyagwa f discoveryeo d leavinan ; e coasgth f o t Britain he entered the unknown Northern Ocean, having in its remote extremity a pavement of , some knowledge of which, with the fogs incidental in northern , may have given birth to the exaggerated accoun a natur f o t e compose a jumble elementsf th y o d f ma o e I . notice that Pytheas, in his voyage from Calbium and the north-west of G-aul, throug e presenhth t English Channel e south-easth o t , t parf o t Ken Englandd an t , sailed from wes easto t t ; and, after coastin ease gth t side of Britain to its northern extremity, were he to have sailed to Ice- . land, his course must have been changed from east to west, as well as to northe th Icelans a , mucs di h farther west than either France, Britainr ,o voyaga d an ;e fro north-wese mth f Franco t o Icelanet d would be shortewese f th Britai o ty b r n throug t George'S h s Channee th o t l extreme north-west questioe th d an ,n still remains—His return voyage, how was it made ?1 It seems difficult to admit that the voyage could have been made by Pytheas in six days, as even at the present day this would be reckoned a favourable or ordinary one. Iceland, however, produces no grain, and fish form greaa s e foodt th par f .o t beeo Ther n honer so e ar e y there, founs wa an dt i duninhabite e nintth hn di century after e Christh y b t Papas, the Irish priests, and Norwegian settlers. I have spoken of a voyage to Iceland at that time being remarkable. It appears to me as bold as any one in antiquity.

1 Voyage to Iceland. Two enterprising merchants of Kirkwall went in a com- mercial speculation from Kirkwal Keikiavio t l n Icelani k n 1858 i dn thei I . r passage they ignorantly got into a current which set to the south-east, and they had, in consequence, a voyage of fourteen daya. They tell me six days would be an ordinary voyage. In their return they were seven days. The t wityme h calms and fogs. ANTIQUARIE7 49 SCOTLANDF SO .

Two coasting voyages around Afric e spokear a . Eannonof e Carth , - thaginian, sailed from the Straits of Gibraltar a considerable distance southe th o t , alon e Atlantigth c coas f Africao t t soma , e distance from whic e Canarhth r Fortunatyo e Islands were discovered peopled an , y db Carthaginianse th . Himilco sailed from , coastin Atlantie gth c shore f Hispanio s d Gaul d proceedean a an ,e Tith n o t dIsland f o s e southerScillyth d an ,n part f Albioo s d lernean n . Nearchus sailed dow Indue nth s alon barree gth n coas f e PersiPersiao tth o t a n Gulf. These were all coasting voyages, but the voyage from Britain to Iceland was leavin lane sailind gth dan x hundregsi d unknown milea f o s a nse islanWestere n a th o t n di n Hemisphere, which include e Americath s n Continent. Thule has been also said to be in Norway, where Thele is, which extend Naizee e th th e entranct t sa a th , fro Baltice ° ° th m 58 71 o et o t , North Cape Pythead an ; s might have gon eOrkneye therth y d b e an s Shetland isles, which would dimmis distance hth opef eo n sea. Malte-Brun e celebrateth , d geographer, places Thul n Tutlandi e n i , Denmark, the country of his birth. " The description of the nature of the country," he says, " presents the most striking truth. The sandy down f Tutlando s s hillockit , se impetuou movinth e wil f th o lt a g s winds s marsheit , s covere crusa y f sandb do t whicn i , e imprudenth h t travelle swallowes ri d up n finei a particulae ;fog f th ,o s r kind, which infest this country; these are the phenomena which made Pytheas say thai iu i/he neighbourhoo f Thuieo d e e seaearth th th ,e air ,d th , ,an seem to be jumbled in one sole element. The night reduced often to tw threr oo e hour lony b s g twilights e cultivatioTh . e f milleno th n i t north, and wheat in the south, the abundance of honey, the use of , custoe th f dryinmo g cor vasn ni t barns l thial ; s pictur f Thuleo e drawn by Pytheas agrees remarkably with the west coast of Tutland."' The great objection, however, to identifying Tutland with Thule is its position e nortsoute th t th lieI f ho ho .e s t par ar f Britaine o t w d an , told Pytheas sailed six days to the north of Britain when he discovered e betteth f thit o r ge sThule objectiono T . r StevensonM , s hi n i , '' Historical Sketch of the Progress of Discovery," pp. 53-58, suggests

1 Malte-Brun, Precis Geograph., t. i. p. 102, 2d ed. VOL. III. PART III. 2 L 498 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY OF that Pytheas e coaslef th f tBritai o t t thana t par f Norfolo t k whert ei formd hend e an gul th sn s i f calle e Washdth , .Followin same gth e idea, Pytheas may have coasted Britain farther north to Kinnaird's Head, near Peterhead, where the coast bends still more. Thence, sailing nearly due east woule h , d have falle north-ease Tutlandn th o ne o t th d n an o ,t coast of Norway. It must not be forgotten, however, that he is stated to have sailed to the north of Britain. Abou 0 year50 t s after Pytheas a Eoma, n fleet e northsaileth o t d- ward of Britain. Agricola, the governor of Britain, in his sixth cam- paig Scotlandn i n e yeath rn i A.D,, afte e famou84 . th r s e battlth f o e Grampians against the British tribes in the neighbourhood of the Firt f Forths victorho hi n o ,y sen Eomae th t n fleetsupposeds i t i , , from e Firtth f Fortho h e easnortth ty hb coas t with instruction mako st e the circuit of Britain. In this voyage the Eomans discovered and subdued Orkney and beheld Thule, till that time hidden by the snows and winter, and surrounded by a sluggish sea heavy to rowers. " Marc pigrum et grave remigantibus." (Tacit. Vit. Agricolae, 10.) This land, supposee Thul e Eomanth th f Pythease o eb y b do t s s undoubtedli , y Shetland. The distance between the nearest points of Orkney and Shetland, North Eonaldshay e north-easth n i , f Orkneyo t Fitfud an , l e Headsoutth f Shetlando hn i , abous i , t fifty Faie milesth r d Islan , e lies half way between the two clusters of islands. The Eomans coming fro south-ease mth t could have see Faie nth mainlane r th Isle d an ,f do Shetlan Fould dan a more distant. Whe atmosphere nth cleas ei r there is to be seen from North Eonaldshay the mainland of Shetland at Sum- ' burg r Fitfuho l islane Headsth Foulf d do an , a farthe north-weste th o t r . Shetland would therefore appea o havt r e bee e Thulth n f Pytheaso e , according to Tacitus and Pliny, and at a later period, also, according to . sixte liveo th hn d wh i , century after Christ, gav name eth e of Thule to the Scandinavian peninsula, and the word Thule seems to have become synonymous with the remotest land. modern I greao n tw time t e Frencth s h geographers, D'Anvilld an e Gosselin, have agreed in finding the Thule of Pytheas in the Shetland Islands difficultA . y herx dayssi e e nort e 'arise th saith f o ho t n l i s Britain and the position of Shetland. To obviate this difficulty, both ANTIQUARIES OF SCOTLAND. 499 geographers mention that Pytheas, in sailing from Grades or Cadiz to the Sacred Cape, or Cape St Vincent, following the bends of the coast, occupied five e distancedaysTh a .straigh n i , t line s i state, y b d D'Anville at 42 leagues; but following the bends of the coast 47 leagues, or 141 geographical of 60 to the degree. This would make the day's sail 28£ geographical miles. Gosselin estimate same sth e distance, following the sinuosities of the coast, at 56 leagues, or 168 geographical miles, which would mak e day'th e s sail 33f milese samTh e. ratf eo sailin norte th f Britaio hgdayo x t si r s nfo woul 20r do 1extenf 0 17 o dt geographical miles. I shall now note the positions of some places in Scotland in connec- tion with this question :— Kinnaird's Head, 57° 41' N. lat., 1° 58' W. long., Greenwich ; Duncansby Head 38. ° lat. . 33long.N ° '58 ,2 , W ' ; Dunnet Head 40. ° lat N ' . long. 58 ,21° ,3 W ' ; Orkney 26° lie3 'sd betweean " 59d 4322 ° ° "an n'58 2 24. latd N ' .an . long.W ; Shetlan 44° d1 'lie d 44° 50s0 . ° latan ' N d betwee'60 . an d 5° an ' n59 . longW . Kinnaird's south-ease Heath s di t Morae pointh f o ty Firth, where eth coast trend e e westdistancdu Th s . e from Kinnaird's Hea o Fort d t G-eorge, in the county of Nairn, due west, is 70 geographical miles; and from Fort George to Duncansby Head, the most north-easterly point of Caithness and Scotland, is about the same distance in a straight-line course north-by-east; and the distance fromKinnaird'sHead in a straight- line course north-wes o Duncansbt t y Head s i also, abou 0 miles7 t . Takin firthe g th f Beaulyo s , Cromarty Dornochd e othean , th - d de r an , flections of the coast, a voyager coasting would have a much longer route. The distance from Duncansby Head along the coast of Orkney to the south of Shetland is about 110 geographical miles in a direct line north-east course. Shetland extends south to north about a degree, or 60 geographical miles. The distance from Kinnaird's Head, direct to the south of Shetland, course due north, will be 120 geographical miles, and to its northern extremity 180 miles. Keeping in view the difference between the direct distance and the addition that would be made by a 500 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY OP

unknown ia n n sea, with "pigrum mar t grave e remigantibus," the strong , calms, and fogs, I do not think a space of six days can be improperly assigne voyaga o dt e froe nortmth f Britaiho para o nt t most likely the extreme north of Shetland, and altogether, " I am led to believe that Shetlan Thule th Pytheas.df s i e o " Orkne s certainlwa y y visited t Shetlanbu , d separatea d y b fro t mi channe f fiftlo y miles, wit Faie hth r Isle half-way between theme th s ,i Thule, the ultima, the farthest. The Fair Isle always, and the main- lan Shetlanf do t Fitfuda l Hea Fould cleaa dan seee n ai b r ndayo t e ,ar from the north of Orkney. f I Norwa MarseilliaThule e y e assumeth th werb f e eo o b t e o t dn navigators, it might have been approached from Kinnaird's Head by a direct course north-east, about 250 geographical miles. A little farther distant from Duncansby Head and from Shetland, the opposite coast of Norway lying in longitude 5° east, the distance is reduced to 200 geographical miles. The west coast of Tutland is in 8° east longitude. As to Iceland, the course would appear to be from Cape Orcas, or Dunnet Head, throug Pentlane hth dwese Firtf th Orkney o ty hb , leavine gth land entirely. This I cannot believe in a voyage of discovery, quitting the fiel presenf do t discover enterind y an unknow n a n go n ocean without any previous information. It does appear to me, likewise, that six days would scarcely allow sufficien voyagte timth r Norwaeo fo et Orkney yb y and Shetland. Pythea saids si , eithe n thii r s voyag seconda n i r ehavo o t , e gono et the Baltic, where he came to a bay called Mentonomon, on whose shores live peoplda e called G-uttonesa day' t a s d journean , y from whics hwa an island called Ahalus, Basilia r Baltiao , , whenc Baltie th e Whitr co e Sea, also the straits of the two Belts ; and on the shores of this island was found. This bay is now identified with the Frische and Curish Haaf on the Prussian coast. If there is only one voyage, I would hazar .as d a probabl e opinion, that, instea returninf do g back from south-ease norte th th o ht t poin f Britaino t thencd ,an e crossine th o gt Continent goind an , g wese nortth ty hb sid f EuropBaltico e th o t e, Pytheas would cross the G-erman Ocean from Shetland to Norway, and s returonhi n visit Norwa Yutland yan Baltice wels th d a s a l . On reviewing the whole subject a choice of difficulties presents itself. ANTIQUARIE1 50 SCOTLANDF SO . originae Th l Thul f Pytheaeo bees sha n believe variouy db s authore b o st Iceland; the mainland of Shetland, or the Island of Foula; Thele, or Thelemark Norwan i , Thyd an r Thyland o y,; r Thiullano , Yutlandn di , in Denmark. Thul s discoverewa ee summe th t a d r solstice, 21st June, after six days' sailin e nortth f Britaino ght o 46,30e b d sai o an ,dt 0 stadia from the equator. Were the length of the stadium known, we might be enable suresarrive o dt th t ea t conclusio t thibu s n; very case shows most clearly e stadiur fro , th e sizfa tha mf th o o e s t m being distinctly ascer- tained, geographers have estimated different numbers of stadia in a degree, seemingly to suit preconceived opinions, so that a conclusion cannot be deduced from the measurement of Pytheas. As little can be inferred summee fro time houre th th mf th daye t o f ligh A sth o r .n i t solstice there is actually no darkness during the twenty-four hours from OrkneNorte th o ht y Pole d whean ; n astronomers assig o Orknet n ya longest day of eighteen and a half hours, and to the north of Shetland an increase to nineteen hours, this length of day is ascertained from mathematical calculation, and might have been so done by Pytheas a geographe s readila y b e presenf sixs th o a y . f y o r da t timee Th . months d equaan , l lengt e f Pole nigho hn th onl e t ca ascer,b a y t - taine y calculationb d t thiA s. same time, Nearchus saileo wh , d with the Grecian fleet of Alexander the Great from the river Indus to the Persian Gulf, relates, that when in a part of his voyage he stood out to sea a considerable way to the south, the sun was vertical ami cast no shadow—really a fiction, since he never was within less dis- e tancequator th s remarke a f ee geographeo t th tha° bu ;y 25 nb d r Cooley,1 likrelatione eth f Pytheasso t servei , shospeculatioo t w s who n may sometimes outstrip experienc e discoverth n i e f truthyo , since ew find that the most striking celestial phenomena of the arctic and equa- torial regions were justly describe Greciay b d n navigators long before they had ever seen them. That Pytheas ever related the extravagance that barbarians pointed out to him the place where the sun set, I doubt very much; and feel surprised that a disbeliever in Pytheas, the great critic Bayle, should remark this might very well be, and am inclined Histor Maritimf yo Inland ean d Discovery Wy B . .Desboroug h Cooley. Vol.i. 1 p. 61. 502 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY OF

to assign it to the two writers who have transmitted it down, Cosmos Indicopleuste d Geminusan s , rather tha o Pytheas t losnhi tr o s works. Thul s discoverewa e d after sailin e nortx dayth si g f Britain o o hst . f PytheaI s occupieswa d five day n followini s e coasth g t from Grades e Sacretth o d Cape x mano daya navigatiosi ,to r sye fo woul b t nno d amon e islandth g s clustero formintw e f Orkneo sth g d Shetlandan y , with their strong tides, and other difficulties attending a navigation through northern islands seen for the first time hy mariners from the tideless Mediterranean e cleareth d ran , atmospher southe th f eo . The chaotic representation of the country I can only account for as exaggerated speculation, based on the tides and currents, shoals, sand- banks, skerries and holms, the thick mists, rains, and snow (the nix et hiems applied by Tacitus afterwards to the same regions), refraction among islands d othean , r incidents connected wit northerha n clustef o r islands. The food in Thule is very much what Diodorus Sioulus gives for Britain, and agrees with that stated by Malte Brun for his Thule in Tutland. Icelann I - dgreae fisth s ht i form i food d san , als Shetlann oi d a grea ts extremeli part t I . y doubtfu f eithei l r Orkne r Shetlano y d were inhabited at this early period ; but still their position to the north of Britain, and the distance of Iceland on the one hand, with the ex- panse of unknown sea and change of direction in sailing to it; and on othee th r also distanca , opef eo n sea Norwayo t , Thiulano t d an , Tutn di - land, the nature and peculiarities of which have been shown to approach to the Thulian chaos; their position seems, therefore, a leading point to which everything els s subordinati e n thiei s voyag f firseo t discovery; and the most reasonable inference to be drawn is, that these islands at norte th Britaif ho n wer limite discoveriee th eth f so s mad Pytheasy eb , and tha e gavh t o Shetlant e e namth d f Thuleo e e farthesth , t land. Five hundred years afterwards, as has been already stated, the Eoman fleet, unde e orderth r f Agricolao s , makin a gcircui f Britaino t , dis- covered, or re-discovered Orkney ; and Thule also was seen by them, in the mids snof wintero td lanwe an Th d .whic h they believe Thulee b o dt , was therefore undoubtedly Shetland. Afterwards NorwaScane th d - yan dinavian peninsula had this name assigned to it, which became synony- ANTIQUARIE3 50 SCOTLANDF SO . mous with wha ts mosit appear e tb certaio t s n meaning—the farthest land. In conclusion, I may mention a very remarkable speculation belonging to the age of Pytheas. The philosopher was a great geogra- pher; and reasoning on the earth being a globe, he observed that the coast of Spain could not be far distant from India, and suggested the voyage across the Atlantic, made by Columbus eighteen centuries after. This appears to me one of the boldest and happiest speculations of all itself timeso d f an sufficien, geniuf o n sstamo ma t tthi a s spa great man, distinguished by a pre-eminence in so many branches of philosophy and science.