126 Rev. Epwarp Hincxs on Persepolitan Writing. 
2. Westergaard thinks that, when a simple consonant is placed before a 
syllable, of which it is the initial sound, it is meant as a sign that the consonant 
is to be pronounced hard; /.ka, is, according to him, ka only, while ka might 
be ka or ga. This appears to me utterly unfounded. In the name of the father 
of Darius, the same character occurs as begins the name of Darius himself. It 
is not éa in the latter case, and ¢.¢a, in the latter, but in both ¢a ; on the other 
hand, 2.na, is frequently used for na, where there is no distinction of hard and 
soft sounds admissible. I regard this use of a consonant, which is, in point of 
fact, unnecessary, as analogous to the completion of the Egyptian syllabic signs. 
There was this material difference, however ;—the Egyptians generally, though 
not always, completed their syllabic signs by the addition of a vowel, whereas in 
IL. they were completed by prefixing a consonant. 
3. Westergaard thinks that all the vowels were not expressed in IT.,and that 
a short a@ was sometimes to be supplied, as in I. I think, on the contrary, that 
every vowel was expressed at least once, and often more than once ; for, whether 
by way of lengthening the vowel, or to suggest deficient letters in case of a defect 
in the stone, it was customary to write vowels fwice over, at the end of the con- 
sonant preceding them, and before the consonant following them. This could 
not be done in every instance, but it seems to have been effected, and we meet 
with instances of it very commonly, as will appear in the specimens. In such 
cases it would be an error to pronounce the vowel twice; per.ersa is simply 
persd, an.na.ap is anap ; for the same duplication of a letter was applied to the 
consonants as to the vowels. 
The remaining differences between Westergaard’s mode of reading and mine 
regard matters of detail. Inow give aspecimen of a passage transcribed in both 
manners. I should observe that the initial signs, 1 and 56, are prefixed to proper 
names, and other important words. It will be observed that he has given values 
to some signs which I have left unvalued, and vice versa. From the reference to 
the figures it will at once be seen where we agree and where we differ. The pas- 
sage I choose is the commencement of the inscription on the tomb of Darius, 
and I distinguish the representatives of each character by points (.). 
3. 4. (27, 23, 73. 23. 13 3, 76. 13. 57. 51 1]. 31 1, 28, 39. 42 51, 64. Sk 
a -n(a). p ra.sha.ra. r a.u.r(a).z.da_ k.ka Q.ru.— ta.) Sh nite 
e_— 
an. na .ap er. Sa .er.70 an.u.ra.sh.ta; k.ka 1p aire 2 ta.as.ta; 
