Note 1007 — Chapter IX · THE LANDS
Reading edition
The passage describing the ascent of Etna is given in full by C. V. Langlois, La connaissance, 1911, pp. 57–58. We heartily agree with Langlois’ view that this passage could only have been written by one who had personally visited the Sicilian volcano: “Aucun doute ne peut subsister sur ce point après avoir lu sa description, certainement directe et d’après nature.” On the other hand, Fant, L’image du monde, 1886, p. 33, calls the assertions in the narrative “tout-à-fait fantastiques.” See note in Langlois, op. cit., p. 58.