268 
Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts and Letters . 
THE INSCRIPTION OF ARTAXERXES I. 
This inscription, which is quadrilingual is engraven upon a vase which 
is preserved in the treasury of St. Mark’s at Venice. 
Artaxerxes,* the great king. 
THE INSCRIPTION OF DARIUS II. 
Above the posts of the windows in the palace at Persepolis. 
(This) lofty stone structure (has been) made by (one belonging to) the 
race of Darius the king. 
THE PECULIARITIES OF INSCRIPTIONS OF ARTAXERXES 
MNEMON AND ARTA XERXES OCHUS. 
These inscriptions show that the work of decay had already begun in 
the grammatical structure of the language. Such careless irregularities 
occur in them that I wish to call the attention of the reader to a few 
before I begin the translation: (1) what should be a genitive becomes 
attracted into the nominative on account of proximity; (2) the nomina¬ 
tive is attracted into the case of a preceding noun for the same reason* 
yet allowing the predicate to be in the proper case; (§) the nominative 
is thrust into the accusative as if it were to become a direct object, yet 
the passive construction is retained. In consequence of these irregu¬ 
larities it will be impossible to make a literal translation as I have done 
heretofore, but I shall translate as if the regular constructions were 
employed. 
* The cuneiform text spells the name of the monarch on the vase ardakhcashca. This 
spelling must be due either to foreign pronunciation or to the ignorance of the workman,. 
Elsewhere the cuneiform characters give the regular artakhshatra. 
