ETRURIA CAPTA. WOT 
of on good and etsi to esteem, meaning to love or judge good; and 
ra, to, almost the only Basque word beginning with ry. Zeruko- 
itchekira means holding to heaven or that which is celestial, zeru-ko- 
itcheki. The Latin Caesius, the primitive form of caeruleus, sky-blue, 
is a translation of the Etruscan word. Thus the Romans treated 
their subjects as we do our Indians, by translating their names into 
their own language. Iroquois names commencing with Oronhia, 
Karonhia, meaning the blue of the sky, are of the same origin as 
that of the Etruscan chief whom the Romans called Caesius. I am 
not on such sure ground in regard to his mother Agertu. Her name 
should mean Varia, but I know of no Basque word like Agertu that 
corresponds. It means to appear, manifest. It is the name of a 
woman, because sortze, the modern form of karasa or kartsa, means 
born of, and in the inscriptions always accompanies a feminine name 
or that of a city. This counting descent in the female line is known 
to have characterized the Etruscans among Italian nations, as it did 
the Lycians in Asia Minor, and the [roquois of this continent. I 
do not know why onetsa va takes the place of onetsi ra. Another 
bilingual is among the chief causes of the obscurity that has reigned 
in Etruscan studies. 
1. L: CAE: CAVLIAM 
(Latin—Lart * Caii * Cavlias)*9 
Translit.—so chi ra ne ze ra bi sa u ra no 
Basque—so ezarri ne Zerbazuha rano 
Translat.—look places which Zerbazuha towards 
Freely—which regards towards Zerbazuha 
Here I think the sculptor has been carried away by a desire to 
assimilate the two inscriptions. There is no trace of Lartius or 
Caius in the Etruscan. But Caulias means the stalky or cabbage- 
stalky, a somewhat unenviable name. Now zerba is translated by 
Van Eys “herbe potagére,” which would include everything called 
caulis by the Latins. The remaining part of the word is probably 
49 The bilinguals present many difficulties. In some cases I doubt their being bilinguals at 
all, as the Etruscans used characters hardly differing from the Latin. The Latin 
LART * CAII + CAVLIAS might be read as Etruscan: 
zaratuku chirata zerebesau rano 
the written place attending is Zerbezio towards 
It may be objected that this only shows how any combination of letters may be read as 
Basque. Such an objection, however, could not come from anyone who knows the extent of 
the Basque vocabulary and the peculiarities of its grammar. 
