THE ETRUSCAN QUESTION. 85 



confidence. Proceeding on this hypothetical principle it is quite 

 possible, by a mere resemblance in the words, to show with great 

 plausibility the affinity of a language, and consequently of a nation, 

 with any other language or nation. We have not hitherto attached 

 any importance to Professor Campbell's researches. Any attention we 

 may have given to comparative ))hilology has been because of its 

 historical importance, and, if Professor Campbell derived any satis- 

 faction from his Hittite or Aztec researches, we were not disposed to 

 detract from that pleasure, for neither the Hittites nor the Aztecs 

 have contributed much to the general development of civilization, 

 and historically considered are unimportant nations. The Hittites 

 had relations with Egyj)t during the Hyksos period, and during the 

 reign of Rameses IT., but they did not affect to any extent the pro- 

 gress of civilization. But Professor Campbell was ti-eading very 

 diflferent gi-ound when he entered the field of Etruscan research. 

 The Etruscans were a very important people. They at one time 

 occupied the greater part of the Italian peninsula, and largely 

 influenced Roman civilization. They had extensive comm-»rcial 

 relations with the inland countries of Europe, and with the Baltic. 

 They have been regarded as foreigners on Italian soil, and there has 

 been a very strong desire to i-ead their numerous insci-iptions, aiid to 

 trace their affinity with other nations. It is more than half a century 

 since Niebuhr said that he would willingly give half of what he 

 p ssessed, if he could possibly obtain a clue to the deciphering of the 

 Etruscan language, but he had come to look on this as uttei'ly hope- 

 less. Undoubtedly since Niel>uhr's d ly some advance has been made 

 in our knowledge of the Etruscan language- In 1828 appeared the 

 first edition of Ottfried Miiller's " Die Etrusker," and in the second 

 volume of this very learned work the author established the value 

 and power of both the Eti-uscan and the XJmbrian letters. Five 

 years after, in 1833, appeared Lepsius' work, " De Tabulis Eugu- 

 binis," in which he substantiated the results arrived at by Mtiller. 

 The subsequent researches of Aufrecht and Kirch h off, of Grotefend 

 and Lassen, of Moramsen and Deecke, of Corssen and Pauli, of Curtius 

 and Bngge, with those of English, French, Italian, and Swedish 

 scholars, have all tended to support the results arrived at by Mtiller 

 and Lepsius, till in the last edition of Miiller's work, edited by 

 Deecke, we have a very valuable supplement, in which there is very 

 clearly and satisfactoi'ily represented, not only the value of the Etrus- 



