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peared, which Siegfried thought might have been sa. The character 

 before pater resembles an s, but it is more probable, as we shall see, 

 that it is an accidental scratch which has no value at all. 



On the interpretation of the whole of the inscription there will 

 probably remain some differences of opinion, but it cannot be doubtful 

 that the deceased scholar has succeeded in correctly determining the 

 value of the letters. This is proved by that irrefragable intrinsic evi- 

 dence which is, after all, the true touchstone of right interpretation and 

 decipherment, namely, that his reading makes sense of what before 

 seemed only Latin words interspersed with unmeaning syllables. Por 

 we have now one continuous string of Latin sentences : Pater nam esto, 

 magi ars secuta te, Justina quem peperit Sarra." That is, A father 

 thou shalt be, the art of the Druid has followed thee, whom Justina 

 Sarra has born." Eor the first part of the formula we gain thereby a 

 clue what its meaning in general must be. Por it is clear that the son 

 of Jastina Sarra is here provided with a spell which is to make him a 

 father, that is, to give him offspring. Consequently, the Gaulish part 

 — assuming it to be that language, which of course has to be proved by 

 proffering an intelligible interpretation drawn from Celtic sources, and 

 not violating the laws of comparative philology — the Gaulish part must 

 contain a spell either against male impotency or female barrenness. 



Before I proceed further to state the reasons which led Siegfried to 

 prefer the second alternative, I must say a few words about the Latin 

 his, recurring amongst the Gaulish words. The first sentence is to be 

 repeated twice ; the two following ones are to be spoken his, his, i. e., 

 four times. It is highly probable that this is to be done in such a man- 

 ner as to form a kind of canon, so that the words should appear in the 

 diverse arrangements which they are capable of, in the last repetition 

 those words coming at the end which in the first were at the be- 

 ginning. Dr. Siegfried has drawn up two schemes of the manner in 

 which this canon would run ; but they do not well agree with each 

 other, and one of them seems even to be slightly at variance with the 

 direction of the inscription. I have not been able to reconcile these dis- 

 crepancies, and I therefore insert only one of the two : — 



Dontaurion anala 

 Dontaurion deanala 

 Dontaurios datala 

 Ges [sa] vim danimavim 



Dontaurion deanala 

 Dontaurios datala 

 Ges [sa] vim danimavim 

 Dontaurion anala 



Dontaurios datala 

 Ges [sa] vim danimavim 

 Dontaurion anala 

 Dontaurion deanala 



Ges [sa] vim danimavim 

 Dontaurion anala 

 Dontaurion deanala 

 Dontaurios datala 



The main question of the sense of the formula is no way affected by 

 this uncertainty of the arrangement of the canon. 



In trying to interpret a Gaulish inscription, it should be steadily 

 borne in mind that we have to apply the laws of comparative philology. 

 All Welsh or Irish words, which we make use of, should be first re- 



