THE ETRUSCAN QUESTION. 89 



Lat. — Vocucum • ioviu " ponne ' ovi " furfant ■ vitlu " toru • trif ■ fetu • marte • 



horse ' 

 fetu : pupluper : tutas : iiuvinas : tutaper : ikuvina : vatiwa : ferine ; 



fetu : 

 fetu • popkiper • totar " iiovinar • totaper • iiovina " vatua ■ ferine • fetu • 

 puni : fetu : arvia : 

 puni • fetu " arvia ' 



And again a little below in the s >me Tables : 



Etr. — Vukukum : kureties : tref : vitlup : turup : hunte : feitu : pupluper : 



tutas : 

 Lat. — Vocucom • coredier • vitlu • toru " trif " fetu • honde ' fetu • popluper • 

 totar • 

 iiuvinas : tutaper : iiuvina : vatuva : ferine : fetu : arvia : 

 iiovinar ■ totaper ■ iiovinar • vatve ■ ferine • fetu ' arvio " 



It would seem impossible to doubt that in these instances we have 

 a simple transliteration, and that the formulae written in the Etruscan 

 characters are literally reproduced in the Latin characters ; and if 

 so, then they establish the value of the Etruscan letters. This would 

 seem almost self-evident, and no one has for one moment doubted it, 

 till Prof Campbell ]5ropounds his hypotheses. Believing that he 

 has solved all other linguistic problems, of the Horites and Hittites, 

 of the Japanese and Aztecs, of the Cyprioteo and Choctaws, he 

 believes it his duty also to untie the Etruscan knot. He lidicules 

 all these bilingual similarities, and marks out a certainly original 

 mode of dealing with the subject. He has resolved that Etruscan is 

 Basque, and Basque he intends to prove it, and all difficulties must 

 give way before this hypothesis. But in choosing the Basques with 

 which he is to prove the affinity of the Etruscans, we think Prof. 

 Campbell has been very unfortunate. The Basques are a small body 

 of peo])le living on the Spanish and French slopes of the Pyrenees. 

 They number about 700,000, and are the descendants of the old 

 Vascons. They have never played an important part in history, and 

 have contributed nothing to the general development of civilization. 

 They show some affinity with some of the native tribes of North 

 Africa, but perhaps more with the inhabitants of the Ainerican con- 

 tinent. We know that at one time Africa was joined to Europe at 

 the Straits of Gibraltar, and there is every probability that in the 

 Miocene period Europe was connected with America, and the people 

 of America may have crossed over by a great Atlantic bridge, having 

 left however a small i-emnant in Spain. But, whatever the affinity 



