Minor Latin poets; with introductions and English translations

AETNAproper to its use. At one time the hot liquid ofsulphur burns continuously ; at another a Huidpresents itself thickened with copious alum ; oilybitumen is at hand and everything that by closeencounter provokes flames to violence. Of suchsubstance is Aetna composed. And to show that '^ thisfuel is scattered deep Mithin the mountain, we findsprings of tainted water rippling at its very base.''Some of this fuel lies obvious to the sight ; in itssolid part it is hard—a stone ; but it contains an oilyjuice in which burns fire. Moreover, in divers placesall over the mountain there are rocks of no specificname which liquefy. To them has been given a trueand steadfast guardianship of flame. But the paramountsource of that volcanic fire is the lava-stone.It above all claims Aetna for its own. If perchanceyou held it in your hand and tested it by its firmness,you would not think it could burn or discharge fire,but no sooner do you question it with iron than itreplies, and sparks attest its pain beneath the blow.Throw it into the midst of a strong fire, and let itwrest away its proud temper : so strip it of itsstrength. It Avill fuse quicker than iron, for itsnature is subject to change and afraid of hurt underpressure from fire. But once it has absorbed theflames, there is no safer home for what is absorbedpreserving its edge, it hardens with steadfast fidelitywhat it confines. Such is its endurance after beingcause of volcanic conflagration, the lava-stone externally doesnot look inflammable ; if struck, however, with an iron bar, itgives off sparks, and in a powerful furnace is more quicklyfusible than iron. Its great characteristic is its stubbornretention of fire : this marks it off from other substances which,once burnt out, cannot be rekindled.397