In the neighbourhood of Ugubio,[[21]] at the foot of the Apennines (the ancient Iguvium,) were discovered, in A. D. 1444, seven tables, commonly called the Eugubine Tables. They were in good preservation, and contained prayers and rules for religious ceremonies. Some of them were engraved in the Etruscan or Umbrian characters, others in Latin letters. Lepsius[[22]] has determined, from philological considerations, that the date of them must be as early as from A. U. C. 400,[[23]] and that the letters were engraved about two centuries later. A comparison of the two shows, in the Umbrian character, the letter s standing in the place occupied by r in the Latin, and k in the place of g, because the Etruscan alphabet, with which the Umbrian is the same, did not contain the medial letters B, G, D. An analogous substitute is seen in the transition from the old to the more modern Latin. The names Furius and Caius, for example, were originally written Fusius and Gaius. H is also introduced between two vowels, as stahito for stato, in the same way that in Latin aheneus is derived from aes. It also appears that the termination of the masculine singular was o: thus, orto = ortus; whilst that of the plural was or; e. g., subator = subacti; screhitor = scripti. This mode of inflexion illustrates the form amaminor for amamini, which was itself a participle used for amamini estis, an idiom analogous to the Greek τετυμμενοι εισι.
The following extract, with the translation by Donaldson,[[24]] together with a few words which present the greatest resemblance to the Latin, will suffice to give a general notion of the relation which the Umbrian bears to it:—
Teio subokau suboko, Dei Grabovi, okriper Fisiu, totaper Jiovina, erer nomne-per, erar, nomne-per; fos sei, paker sei, okre Fisei, Tote Jiovine, erer nomne, erar nomne: Tab. VI. (Lepsius.) Te invocavi invoco, Jupiter Grabovi, pro monte Fisio, pro urbe Iguvina, pro illius nomine, pro hujus nomine, bonus sis, propitius sis, monti Fisio, urbi Iguvinæ, illius nomine, hujus nomine.
| Alfu | albus | white |
| Asa | ara | altar |
| Aveis | aves | birds |
| Buf | boves | oxen |
| Ferine | farina | meal |
| Nep | nec | nor |
| Nome | nomen | name |
| Parfa | parra | owl |
| Peica | picus | pie |
| Periklum | preculum | prayer (dim.) |
| Poplus | populus | people |
| Puni | panis | bread |
| Rehte | recte | rightly |
| Skrehto | scriptus | written |
| Suboko | sub-voco | invoke |
| Subra | supra | above |
| Taflle | tabula | table |
| Tuplu | duplus | double |
| Tripler | triplus | triple |
| Tota (analogous to) | totus | a city (a whole or collection) |
| Vas | fas | law |
| Vinu | vinum | wine |
| Uve | ovis | sheep |
| Vitlu | vitulus | calf.[[25]] |
THE OSCAN LANGUAGE.
The remains which have come down to us of this language belong, in fact, to a composite idiom made up of the Sabine and Oscan. Although its literature has entirely perished, inscriptions fortunately still survive; but as they must have been engraved long subsequently to the settlement of the Sabellians in Southern Italy, the language in which they are written must necessarily be compounded of those spoken both by the conquerors and the conquered. Although Livy[[26]] makes mention of an Oscan dramatic literature, for he tells us that the “Fabulæ Atellanæ” of the Oscans were introduced when a pestilence raged at Rome,[[27]] together with other theatrical entertainments, he only speaks of the Oscan language in one passage.[[28]] This, however, is an important one, because it proves that Oscan was the vernacular tongue of the Samnites at that period. He relates that Volumnius sent spies into the Samnite camp who understood Oscan: “Gnaros Oscæ linguæ exploratum quid agatur mittit.”
It is clear that the reason why the Oscan language prevailed amongst this people is, that the dominant orders in Samnium were Sabines. But there is evidence of the existence of Oscan in Italy at a still later period. Niebuhr[[29]] asserts that in the Social War[[30]] the Marsi spoke Oscan, although in writing they used the Latin characters. Some denarii still exist struck by the confederate Italian Government established in that war at Corfinium, on which the word Italia is inscribed, whilst others bear the word Viteliu. The latter is the old Oscan orthography, the former the Latin. One class of these coins, therefore, was struck for the use of the Sabine, the other of the Marsian allies. It is said also that Oscan was spoken even after the establishment of the empire.
The principal monument of the Sabello-Oscan is a brass plate which was discovered A. D. 1793. As the word Bansæ occurs in the 23d line of the inscription, it has been supposed to refer to the town of Bantia, which was situated not far from the spot where the tablet was found, and it is therefore called the Bantine Table. In consequence of the perfect state of the central portion, much of this inscription has been interpreted with tolerable certainty and correctness. The affinity may be traced between most of the words and their corresponding Latin; and it is perfectly clear that the variations from the Latin follow certain definite rules, and that the grammatical inflexions were the same as in the oldest Latin. A copy of the Table may be found in the collection of Orellius, and also in Donaldson’s “Varronianus.”[[31]] The following are a few specimens of words in which a resemblance to the Latin will be readily recognised, and also, in some instances, the relation of the Oscan to the other ancient languages of Italy:—
| Licitud | Liceto |
| Multam | Mulctam, |
| Maimas | Maximas, |
| Carneis | Carnes |
| Senateis | Senatus |
| Pis | quis |
| Hipid | habeat |
| Pruhipid | præhibeat |
| Pruhipust | præhibuent |
| Censtur | censor |
| Censazet | censapit |
| Censaum, &c. | censum, &c. |
| Comonei | Communis |
| Perum dolum mallom siom | Per dolum malum suum |
| Iok—Ionc | hoc—hunc |
| Pod | quod |
| Valæmon | Valetudinem |
| Fust | fuerit |
| Poizad | penset (Anglicè, poize.) |
| Fuid | fuit |
| Tarpinius | Tarquinius |
| Ampus | Ancus |
To these other well-known words may be added, which all philologers allow to be originally Oscan, but which have been incorporated with the Latin—such as, for example, Brutus, Cascus, Catus, Fœdus, Idus, Porcus, Trabea; and names of deities, such as Fides, Terminus, Vertumnus, Fors, Flora, Lares, Mamers, Quirinus, &c.