ETRURIA CAPTA. 177 



of on good and etsi to esteem, meaning to love or judge good ; and 

 ra, to, almost the only Basque word beginning with r. Zeruko- 

 itchekira means holding to heaven or that which is celestial, zerti-ko- 

 itcheki. The Latin Caesius, the primitive form of caeruleus, sky-blue, 

 is a translation of the Etruscan word. Thus the Eomans 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 Yaria, 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 modeni 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 Iroquois of this continent. I 

 do not know why onetsa ra 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 " Call • Cavlias)*^ 



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 potagere," which would include everything called 

 caulis by the Latins. The remaining part of the word is probably 



■is The bilinguals present many difficulties. In some cases 1 doubt their being bilinguals at 

 all, as the Etruscans used characters hai-dly differing from the Latin. The Latin 

 LART • CAII • CAVLIAS might be read as Etruscan: 

 zaratuku chirata zerebesau rano 

 tlie 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 knjws the extent of 

 the Basque vocabulary and the peculiarities of its grammar. 



