New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1893-02-13
AN ETRUSCAN BOOK.
The GREAT PUZZLE OF MODERN PHI
IOLOGY NAY NOW BE SOLVED.

IOIOJI MAY 'NcW De S'Jl<N I'D
The current numtcr Of "The Fortnishtly Review
contains a suggestive article by Professor ~ H. saNce
on an elaborate fra sment of Etrlscan literature pos
sIby similar to tie Egyptian 'Iook Of III" Dead.
None familiar with the EtTuscan problem can ai 10 r'"u
the following extract without The deepest interest
That the Eiruscan language should have remained
30 long undecphered seems, Indeed siur u, i t,,e
pathological science Of age. l'ut the laut mas
not lain with pathological science or IL, proie,so,s
The materials have b"ch wanting Tor solution 81 t i
problem. it Is that about tire" thousand III
scrptions have been discovered. but with Few eA-
Apart from the famous "Cippus Perisinus,' monn-
ment discovered at PcrGgia. which contains lorN SIX
memorials of the dead. he Etruscan cpitaph did
indulge In pious wishes or IA description OF the
Neyetheisss the persistent labor OF generations Of
scholars has not been altogether In vain. With the
tions about twenty words and grammatical forms have
been made out with certainty, while couple OF dlee
found at Vulci have given US the names OF te n' HA
i:Imeras. What we thus know Of the Erascan IAN,
Races WIN 9a Known by ES e WeG
whether ancient modern has been isiure Wolm d
av year. have been sought IN vain in other t3ngrs.
80 far as we know at pe.cn the f amfasf %
This OF itself would explain tie naoE T Ul Ftm,s
scholars interpret The Eruscan texts; Inc n" The
can alphabet can be read with much case as inv
alphabet of Rome; the words Of text are usually Xt
divided from another by means OF po's aI n 90
seoogs, VINO comes to lau7-n he strata a,h ne J.,
Examining, so in Etruscan the phoioeist finds a
compared with any other that is known TO him. -,
tSy Dd mGg d IN fS w5ch Sand in
our way. 1t can longer be said That II !, I'M
possible to decipher the Etrnscan langnsse TSrc
Inc materials for doing are insuihclen. inrec
fourths ancient Etruscan book written on iiiem,
has been discovered and dscove,0' m Tnan
mummy. -, ,,. , ,,r,,
years ago by an Austrian traveller ana deposilCd aitGr
his death I'm the Museum of Agiam. When uhroled !,
was found that the linen bands which wrapped
II
were examined I'm 1s61 by brussch iHcna, VINO
Ricbard Eurton. who suspected that they were
Nabathean! 1t was reserved for Professor kTan TO
letters Of the Etrscan alphabet and that the words
they embodied in the Inscriptions of Etruria.
cnnios of ,saI since Then he has bee occupied
in transc1bing the text portions OF which are ni,n
to re"S and hdn in pe be- arnd e % Tc result Of his
work has now been published ny Ihe iml" t,'
academy 81 Of ,b sS Grover l' and Contains ransca
ton Of the text well as photographS Of ,mg n en-
the condition of the linen and the characte. Of me
ink. Part OF the memoir /. devoted 10 tlr r"T
Of Of S S SS~ qcdy@rsS e' as 10 the
than two hundred lines Of 1t remain including , 1ne
Sections or CHAPTERS distinguished from another
by spaces and the single words are sep"i''eu ~
if is clsar that IT cannot he long before the prob
lem of Etruscan decipherment Is solved arge P p
DOrtiOi
especially in the "Cppus Pe%sinus.' and tae irr,
TTepeated shows that The text mus, he of ri,nai.c
nature. Indeed this is indicated not oniy b alvin, une
ties. but also by that of word which i ALREADY
known to signify ghost or s sp aSDc ana pi S
quail inscription the equivalent oil the La'lh hiu
'p' Ne may conclude therefore. that in the newly
found fragment of Etruscan literature we have one OF
augury and divnation and 1t was rom hur RIA ''a
preensions to read the future in the flashes Of the
lightning the entrails of victim, Inc great
twelve books the reputed author of which was the
cuure-god Tages. the offspring Of the pouchcd earth
1t may be that in the book Whose fragments nave
been 50 unexpectedly discovered in The 'yrappnc' Of an
Egyptian mummy We have before rs one OF .icSe lost
At all events 1t would that the inscribed
wrappings folded round the mummy not without s
sha nTrPo'e from 1hs an SnSisnt G T'" the
Of which by the spirit Of the dep art ovs @
world The references in the Elr9scan book Ok, to
the .hinthu" ghost. 90 10 show that the Erus ,
cans also possessed similar work. and that III Egyp,
they followed the Egyptian custom IN buN'h- "i'h
However that may he. the fact that The book was
written on linen has a special interest for students
Of Roman antiquity We learn from Ivy ihat ule
Served in the Temple Of Monca there to lie consulted
IN mo%sns Of danger W6 and fcuYj TfFS intel
like We now know Though the Roman G9C Sa Of
which the Roman books were but copies. has been pre-
served to by the friendly soil Of Egypt, ,r,nnad
The mummy around which the linen was WrapPeu
that OF woman. and the rhdlng OF lhe l'or
and shoulders proves Il 10 belong 10 the Grcck, OF
Roman period. Eruscan sill read ana spoken
I'm the reign Of the Emperor ClaudluS. tn"rc II no
difficulty in unders anding how an EtIu>can BOOK couin
have found its way to Egypt at a time wh"i EuuIla
and Egypt alike formed part Of single empire
The dccpherment Of the Etruscan language maN
appear al irst sight 10 have but little bearing OF '
general knowledge OF mankind. To recover the IehcS
OF lost language. to interpret the ilaIh'hlN %
a supersiitiouS ritual. seem little more tha1 the
satisfaction Of philologlsts curiosity. s9ch, now
ever, Is not the case. EiruIia played an important
part In moding the early dcstinies OF Rome
and in forming the character Of the Roman race
Etruscnn kings ruled at Rome. and It's rc1elon
was permeatcd by Etruscan beliefs The develop
ment Of the Roman character largely due TO the
religious influences which were derived from n"
Etruscan ritual. Tn" ward ceremonies OF religion
entered so completely into the conduct Of political
affairs that we should hardly be going TOO far II we
affirmed that without Etllria. Roman history womb
have been very different from that which II actually
was II was from Etruria that the augur and the
haruspeX came. and the augur and haru>prN were
hardly less powerful than the consul or the general
I'm war. -, . -. ACTON. r,r.c,, idoos In
Huenced the culture OF ancient Rome. and through
Rome the culture Of our days II we are ever
IN know II must be through the discovery and de-
cIpherment of the lost literature OF TIE EtruScan
Then only shall we be able t. say what
exactly were the Etruscan clements In Roman religion
and civilization who were the dclticS that Rome
borrowed from Etrura what the rites and cere-
monies OF Roman religion which had an Etruscan
origin and what portions OF the Latin language were
taken from Etruscan source