[ 62 I 



fuperflm&ure, therefore, ere&ed by thofe two learned 

 men on that fuppofiiion rauft neceffarily fall to the 

 ground. 



III. 



The Etrufcan Infcription, on the reverie of my de- 

 narius, in the exergue, feems to allude to a pafTage in 

 Tully, relative to the origin of thofe deities denomi- 

 nated sortes by the Romans, and to be illuftrated 

 by, as well as to throw fome light upon, that famous 

 panage. As this point is extremely curious, I mall 

 beg leave to tranfcribe the whole paflage, which has 

 been handed down to us (5) in the following terms:, 

 '* Numerium Suffucium Praeneftinorum monumenta 

 *' declarant, honeftum hominem ac nobilem, fomniis 

 ** crebris, ad extremum etiam minacibus, cum jubere- 

 * l tur certo in loco, filicem eaedere, perterritum vin\. 

 ** irridentibus fuis civibus, id agere coepifle : itaque 

 ** perfracto faxo Sortes eruphTe, in robore inscvlpti&> 



" PRISCAKUM LJTERARUM NOTIS. Is^ eft hodie 



" locus feptus religiofe propter Jovis pueri,. qui ladlens 

 '* cum Junone, Fortunae in gremio fedens, mammam» 

 «*■ adpetens,. &c." " In fonie of the antient monu- 

 44 ments of Praenefte,. mention is made of one Nu~. 

 ** merius Suffucjus. This man, who was one of the 

 " moft confiderable and moft venerable- perfons in 

 <•' his city, both for his probity and'noble extraction, 

 M was admonifhed, in different dreams, and at laft. 

 " with terrible menaces, to go to a certain place in 

 «* Prsenefle, and there cut a flint. Being terrified; 



(5) Cic. Dt Divtnafk Lib, II* c, 43* 



<* witli 



