OSCAN. Oscan was spoken by the Samnites, including the Frentani, Hirpini, and Campani, and also in Northwestern Apulia, as well as in Lucania, Bruttium, and Messana in Sicily. These Samnites, in the fifth century B.C., usurped not only the territory but the name of the Osci, who had dwelt in Campania. The Oscan inscriptions number about 230. Most of them, however, contain entirely, or almost entirely, proper names, and only four-the Bantine tablet, the Cippus of Abella, the tablet of Agnone, and the Curse of Vibia-are of any considerable length. The first of these, the tabula Bantina, discovered in 1793, is the longest. It is a mutilated bronze plate about fifteen by ten inches, and bears on one side an inscription of thirty-eight lines in Oscan, and on the other a Latin text thirty-two lines long. The tablet deals with legal regulations concerning the city of Bantia in Lucania. The Cippus of Abella, found near Avella in 1745, is a block of hard limestone six feet five inches high, one foot eight inches broad, and eleven inches thick. It contains in fifty-eight short lines of letters about one and one-half inches high an agreement between the towns of Abella and Nola concerning the joint use of a temple of Hercules. The tablet of Agnone, discovered in 1848, is of bronze, with a handle and chain by which it may be hung up, and measures eleven by six inches. It is inscribed on both sides with forty-seven very short lines, which contain the names of the deities to whom statues in a certain sacred grove belonged. The "Curse of Vibia," found at Capua in 1876, consists of thirteen lines, written on a lead plate about eight and three-quarter by three inches. Besides these inscriptions there are a number of short ones of interest, especially certain road-makers' tablets, dedication-stones, and street-signs found at Pompeii, and several brief heraldic inscriptions from Capua. As a specimen of Oscan, the following passage may be taken from the Bantine tablet 5-7:

Oscan: deinatud sipus comenei perum dolom mallom

in a grave at Pentima in 1877. It is written on the side-face of a block of travertine, two feet seven inches long, two feet five inches from front to back, and about eleven and one-quarter inches high, and is the epitaph of a priestess named Vibia. This scantiness of material, for a more exact knowledge of this dialect, is the more to be regretted, since Pælignian may be said to be the dialect intermediate between Oscan and Umbrian, although it stands on the whole more closely to the former than to the latter. As a specimen of Palignian, we may cite from the Herentas, inscription, 5-6:

Pælignian: aetatu firata fertlid praicime Perseponas at fed.

Latin: ætate consumpta (?) fertili regnum-in Persephonæ abiit.

MARRUCINIAN. This dialect, which seems from its very scanty remains to be closely akin to the Palignian, is known from two inscriptions, one from Teate, the centre of the Marrucinian territory, containing merely two proper names, and the other from Rapino, written in twelve short lines on a rusty bronze tablet about six inches This dates from about B.C. 250, and is square. concerned with certain sacrificial rites. Lines 1-5 of the bronze of Rapino may be quoted to give an idea of this dialect:.

Marrucinian: aisos pacris totai Maroucai lixs asignas ferenter aviatas toutai Marowcai. Latin: di propitii civitati Marrucæ lex prosiciæ feruntur auspicatæ civitati Marrucæ.

VESTINIAN. To judge from the thirteen words preserved of Vestinian, spoken along the eastern and northern banks of the Aternus, it was apparently allied to Pælignian and Marrucinian.

MARSIAN. The remnants of the Marsian dialect, spoken around Marruvium, on Lake Fucinus, are contained in a few very brief inscripThe dialect shows, in its monophthongations. tion of original diphthongs, a close resemblance to Umbrian. In other respects, Marsian seems to have been very similar to Pælignian and Marrucinian.

EQUIAN. Of the dialects of the Equi, who centred around Cliternia and Nerea, no inscription has been preserved which is free from suspicion. If pruffated (Latin probavit) is really an Equian form, the dialect would seem to have shown a marked affinity to Oscan (cf. Oscan prúfatted, 'he approved').

SABINE. Of Sabine also the remains are too scanty to give any information regarding the dialect. Only one inscription, which is very brief, has been preserved, and even this is, according to some of the leading authorities, Vestinian rather than Sabine.

VOLSCIAN. The Volsci, whose capital was Velitræ, have left one inscription of four lines, known as the Tabula Veliterna, discovered in 1784, and inscribed on a bronze 1% X 9% inches. If we

isum brateis auti cadeis amnud inim idic siom dat sena(teis) tanginud maimas carneis pertumum.

Latin: iurato sciens in-comitio sine dolo malo se ea comitia magis re(i publicæ causa quam cuiuspiam commodi aut incommodi causa et id se de sena(tus) sententia maximæ partis perimere.

PÆLIGNIAN. Turning from Oscan to the Sabellian dialects, the material is far more scanty. The Palignian dialect of this group contains about thirty inscriptions, of which the only one of any length is the Herentas-inscription. This text, which is six lines in length, was unearthed

be said, as stated above, that the Volscian stood the nearest of all the Sabellian dialects to the Umbrian. The scantiness of our sources, however, forbids any hard and fast conclusion. As a specimen of Volscian, the third line of the tablet of Velletri may be quoted:

Volscian: sepis toticu couehriu sepu ferom pihom estu. Latin: siquis publico conventu secutus erit (?) ferre pium

esto.

PRENESTINIAN. The dialect of Præneste, one of the cities of Latium, is represented by a few in

scriptions which approximate very closely to Old Latin. Some scholars even regard the Prænestine texts as Latin. These texts consist for the most part of lists of names of deities inscribed on brass mirrors and cylindrical caskets found in Prænestine tombs. The most interesting relic of this dialect is the famous Prænestine fibula, a gold brooch of about the sixth century B.C., which gives, therefore, one of the earliest of all Italic inscriptions. This fibula is inscribed in Greek letters, as follows:

Prænestinian: μανιος μεδ Flephaκεδ νυμασιοι.

Latin: Manius me facit Numasio.

FALISCAN. Like Prænestinian, Faliscan, whien was spoken around Falisca, near the modern Cività Castellana, is regarded by some authorities as a Latin dialect. It is certain that it resembles Latin very closely, but the consistent representation in Old Faliscan of medial IndoGermanic bh by f, instead of b, as in Latin, standing in this regard with the Osco-Umbrian, seems sufficient ground for calling it non-Latin. It is, however, Latinian in its inflection, and in the younger Faliscan the dialect is practically identical with Old Latin, if indeed these texts are not Latin rather than Faliscan. The thirty seven inscriptions are very brief, and consist for

the most part of proper names, excepting the younger Faliscan texts, which, although longer, are of no linguistic importance. The following inscription on the patera found near Cività Castellana in 1887 is a good example of this dialect:

Faliscan: foied uino pipafo cra carefo.
Latin: hodie vinum bibam cras carebo.

UMBRIAN. The remains of Umbrian are of far greater extent than those of any other nonLatin Italic dialect. Practically all the texts in this dialect are contained in the Iguvine tablets, discovered in 1444 at Gubbio, on the site of the ancient town of Iguvium, or, as it was called in the Middle Ages, Eugubium. The Iguvine tablets seem to have been originally nine, although but seven are still preserved. The tablets are of bronze, inscribed, with the exception of the third and fourth, on both sides. They vary in size, the first two being about 22 X 15 inches, the third and fourth about 16 X 12 inches, the fifth about 18 X14 inches, and the last two about 33 X 22 inches. The entire number of lines is 449. The first four and about two-thirds of the fifth are written in the national Umbrian alphabet, while the last three of the fifth tablet, as well as the sixth and seventh, are written in Latin characters. It seems tolerably certain, both on epigraphical and linguistic evidence, that the portion in the Roman alphabet is much later than that in the epichoric script. The date of the inscriptions, however, apart from this relative one of the several parts with each other, is extremely doubtful. Possibly one will not be far astray in dating them between the third and first centuries B.C. The difference between the Old Umbrian, which is written in the national script, and the New Umbrian, which was inscribed in Latin letters, was probably more apparent than real. Since the Umbrian alphabet lacked signs for o, g, d, b, they used instead u, k, t, p. On the other hand, the Latin script could represent the sound of the Umbrianr only by rs. New Umbrian showed, however, a marked deviation from Old Umbrian in the change of final s, retained unchanged in the earlier form of the dia

lect, to r, as Old Umbrian tutas, 'of the city,' but New Umbrian totar. There are a few other distinctions which are of minor importance, such as the more closed pronunciation of è in New than in Old Umbrian (as New Umbrian habitu, 'let him have,' but Old Umbrian ha betu; New Umbrian verir, vereir, ‘at the gates,' but Old Umbrian veres). The Iguvine tablets are ritual istic in subject. The texts I.a (which is reproduced on the accompanying plate) to I.b, and VI.a to VI.b 47 deal with the purification of a high place near Iguvium, while the remainder of I., VI., and all of VII.a treat of the purification of the city itself. The last two tablets, however, The second tablet is concerned with a lustral sacrifice for the priestly college of the Atiedii, with an optional sacrifice to an infernal deity, and with the rites to be performed at the semiannual gathering of decuries from ten towns or detail the rites for sacrifice to Jupiter, Pomonus, The third and fourth tablets give in Vesuna, and certain other deities, while the fifth is devoted to resolutions of and enactments concerning the same college of Atiedii, who figure so difference between Old and New Umbrian, the prominently in these inscriptions. To show the following passage, taken from I.a 11-13 and VI. b 1-2 may be cited:

are much more detailed than the Old Umbrian.

clans.

Old Umbrian: preveres tesenakes tre buffetu Marte Krapuvi fetu ukripe Fisiu tutaper Ikuvina arvia ustentu vatuva ferine fetu puni fetu kutef pesnim u.

New Umbrian: pre verir tesenocir buftrif fetu Marte Grabouei ocriper Fisiu totaper Iiouina arvio fetu vatuo ferine fetu poni fetu tases persnimu.

Latin: pro portis Tessinacis tres boves facito Marti Grabovio monte-pro Fisio civitate-pro Iguvina arvalia facito vaticina ferculo facito posca facito tacitus precamino.

BIBLIOGRAPHY. The most convenient and com

plete edition of the remains of the Italic dialects is Conway, The Italic Dialects (Cambridge, 1897); more valuable linguistically and grammatically, although less complete in its collection of texts, is Von Planta, Grammatik der oskisch-umbrischen Dialekte (Strassburg, 189297). Both these works contain abundant bibliographical material on the older literature on the subject.

ITALIENS, ê'tå'lyǎn', BOULEVARD DES. The most frequented and fashionable of the bouleyards of Paris, named from the old Théâtre des Italiens.

ITALIENS, LES. See THÉÂTRE DES ITALIENS. ITALONE, e'tå-lō'nâ. A head-hunting Malay people in Nueva Vizcaya Province, Luzon. See PHILIPPIne Islands.

ITALY. The central of the three great peninsulas of Southern Europe. It stretches out in a southeast direction, and is bounded on the north by Switzerland and Austria-Hungary; on the east by Austria-Hungary, the Adriatic, and the Ionian Sea; and on the southwest and west by the Mediterranean and France. It is separated from the Balkan Peninsula by the Strait of Otranto, 47 miles in width, and is nearly walled off from the great body of the Continent by the lofty ranges of the Alps. With its continuation, the island of Sicily, it nearly reaches across the Mediterranean, and is thus exceptionally favored with convenient commercial routes in all directions. Its position also especially adapts Italy for a large sea trade, because it is a part of the shortest route from West and Cen

tral Europe to Oriental countries. Though Italy is separated from the northern lands by the Alps, they are no longer a barrier to Italy's commerce, for several lines of railroad cross the mountains. Extending from northwest to southeast about 700 miles, and with an average breadth, except in the extreme north, of 100 miles, the mainland has an area of 91,000 square miles; to this Sicily, Sardinia, Elba, and smaller islands add 19,684 squares miles, making the total area of the Kingdom 110,684 square miles. The mainland is about twice as large as Pennsylvania or New York, and extends from the parallel of 38° north latitude to that of 46° 40', and between the meridians of 6° 30′ and 180 30' east longitude.

TOPOGRAPHY. The coast, over 4000 miles in length (inclusive of the islands), is easily accessible from every part of the country. No settlement is remote from salt water, four-fifths of the Kingdom being within 62 miles of the sea. In the north of the Adriatic the coast is low and sandy, bordered by shallow waters, and, except at Venice, not easily accessible to large shipping. Farther south, near Rimini, spurs from the Apennines reach the shore, which becomes high and rocky. The south and west coasts are generally high, rocky, and picturesque, with many bold promontories. The middle of the west coast, however, has three stretches of low and marshy land, known as the Maremma, the Campagna, and the Pontine marshes. The west coast is varied by bays, gulfs, and other openings, and is therefore most favorable for commerce. In the northwest is the Gulf of Genoa, on which the wealthy city of Genoa stands. About the middle is the deep embayment with the fortress port of Gaeta. Next is the Bay of Naples, celebrated for its beauty. Beyond this is the Gulf of Salerno, at the head of which stands the port of Salerno. The southeastern end of the Peninsula is deeply indented by the Gulf of Taranto, which cuts off the so-called heel of Italy (ancient Calabria) from the 'toe' (modern Calabria). The population is dense on all coasts where fever does not prevail, about 17 per cent. of the inhabitants of Italy living

within three miles of the sea.

The Kingdom of Italy falls geographically into two parts, differing from each other in surface features and climate, and, as a consequence, in productions. One part to the north is continental; the other to the south consists of a peninsula and various islands. The northern portion contains the great plain of Lombardy, the Valley of the Po, bordered on the west and north by the Alps. The Alpine region in the extreme northwest of the Kingdom is known as Piedmont. The Peninsula is almost completely filled by the Apennines, which stretch through Central and Southern Italy and are continued through Sicily. The Alps, beginning at the Gulf of Genoa, extend first to the west, then to the north, and finally to the east, towering in lofty summits covered with snow-fields. Their slopes are deeply scored by valleys, and they present a very abrupt face toward the plain of the Po. The rainfall on them is, as a result, rapidly transferred to the plain, making protective works along the river-banks necessary in order to restrain the periodical floods.

The Northern Apennines, which touch the Ligurian Alps, curve round the Gulf of Genoa and

extend to the source of the Tiber. They do not rise above 7220 feet. The Central Apennines, beginning at the source of the Tiber, soon divide into several chains, forming the rugged mountain district of the Abruzzi, on the eastern verge of which is the Gran Sasso (9580 feet), the highest peak of the Apennines. The Southern Apennines stretch to the southeast from the Abruzzi to the coast of the Gulf of Taranto, where they assume a southerly direction, with summits rising to a height of more than 7000 feet. The rugged and unfertile Apennines form the watershed of the Peninsula; they are bordered, especially on the western side, by lower and more productive mountain districts that are grouped under the name of the sub-Apennine region. A number of passes through the Apennines are utilized by the highways across the Peninsula. The Italian Peninsula contains the only active volcano on the Continent of Europe, Vesuvius. The mountain regions of Italy, with, their ruins, cloisters, storied castles, towered cities, the quietude of their rural scenes, and their aspects picturesque or grond, are among the great charms that draw tourists to Italy. The beauty of the country is enhanced by the singular clearness of the air, which causes the lines of tower and church and castle to stand out with clear-cut perfection, and makes mountains that are miles away appear to be almost within touch.

The Italian islands are also mountainous. Sicily, nearly filled with the continuation of the Apennines, has the loftiest volcano in Europe (Mount Etna, about 10,800 feet). It has not, however, figured so prominently in the history of volcanoes as Vesuvius, near Naples. The mountains of fertile but unhealthful and neglected Sardinia rise only a little over 5000 feet in height. The Lipari Islands are wholly volcanic in character.

It is

Only about one-third of the surface is made up of plains, most of it being the great Plain of Lombardy, or the Plain of the Po. This plain, about 37,000 square miles in area, is encircled by a steep mountain wall in the form of an arch. The largest and richest farming area, and the greatest industrial development of Italy, belong to this low, almost flat plain. It is watered by the rivers of the Po system, which are fed by many Alpine and Apennine streams, with which the cereal and other crops are irrigated. The plain was at one time a bay of the Adriatic Sea, and was formed of the alluvial deposits of streams from the Alps and Apennines. steadily encroaching on the sea, because the Po for centuries has been extending its delta into the Adriatic. During six centuries the Po Delta has increased 198 square miles in area. surveys show that the increase is actively maintained at the present day. According to the calculations of Professor Marinelli, it will take over one hundred centuries at the present rate of increase for the Po to fill up the whole of the Northern Adriatic above latitude 40° 45′ N. The former port of Adria, which gave its name to the Adriatic, now stands about 15 miles inland. The Lombard Plain has a more dense population, and far more active manufacturing and business interests than the Peninsula. Among the small plains of the Peninsula are those of Tuscany and Apulia, the fertile plain to the north of Naples (the Campania of the ancients), that bordering

Recent