[ 62 ] 
fuperftrucfture, therefore, ere&ed by thofc two learned 
that fuppofition mufl necefTarily fall to the 
III. 
The Etrufcan infcription, on the reverfe of my de- 
narius, in the exergue, feems to allude to a paffage 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 
paffage. As this point is extremely curious, I fhall 
beg leave to tranfcribe the whole paffage, which has 
been handed down to us (5) in the following terms: 
“ Numerium Suffucium Praenefti norum monumenta 
44 declarant, honeftum hominem ac nobilem, fomniis 
44 crebris, ad extremum etiam minacibus, cum jubere- 
“ tur certo in loco, filicem caedere, perterritum vifis, 
44 irridentibus fuis civibus, id agere coepiffe : itaque 
44 perfradto faxo Sortes erupiffe, in robore inscvlptis 
44 PRISCARUM UTERARUM NOTIS. Is eft hodie 
44 locus feptus religiofe propter Jovis pueri, qui laCtens 
4t cum Junone, Fortunas in gremio fedens, mammam 
44 adpetens, &c.” 64 In fome of the antient monu* 
44 ments of Pragnefte, mention is made of one Nu- 
“ menus Suffucius. This man, who was one of the 
“ moft confiderabie and moft venerable, perfons in 
44 his city, both for his probity and noble extraction, 
i4 was adrnonifhed, in different dreams, and at laft 
44 with terrible menaces, to go to a certain place in 
44 Prasnefte, and there cut a flint. Being terrified 
(5) Cic. Ds Divlnat . Lib, .II, c. 41, 
^ with 
men on 
ground. 
