Oppert, however, did good service in unravelling the mysteries of the verb, though his passion for systematising and ‘restoration’ has carried him too far; and his verb, declined through all its moods and tenses, presents a very different appearance from the skeleton which, according to Weisbach, is all that can be strictly collected from the texts themselves. For example, we are presented with the six persons of a complete past tense, where Weisbach can only find authority for three; and we get a complete imperfect, although only one termination is really known, viz. that of the first person singular. With no less confidence we find two verbs—a reciprocative (‘je me sus’), and an ‘intensive’ (‘savoir bien’)—of which Weisbach can see no trace; and the same remark may be applied to his desiderative (‘je veux savoir’) and his factitive (‘je fais savoir’).[689] Both writers agree as to the personal pronouns; but in the possessive Weisbach can only find the third person singular and the first person plural, while Oppert supplies us with the series complete.[690] Weisbach calls attention to the dialectical differences in the Naksh-i-Rustam inscriptions, and to the evidence of decay visible in the language of Artaxerxes at Susa. For the reasons already mentioned there is considerable diversity observable in the transliterations made by the two writers, but so far as we have observed they are in substantial agreement with regard to the meaning of the text, as may be seen by a comparison of their rendering of the unilingual inscription.[691] Occasionally, however, Weisbach finds himself unable to follow the more imaginative flights of his predecessor. He will have nothing to do with the ‘restoration’ of the concluding paragraph of the Suez inscription of Darius.[692] He is equally unable to accept the interesting completion of the detached inscription at Behistun, marked L by Norris. Norris reads: ‘I made another tablet in the Arian language, such as did not exist before, and I made a large ... and a large ... and ... and....’ This not very promising attempt is perfected by Oppert as follows: ‘I have made also elsewhere a book in Arian language, that formerly did not exist, and I have made the text of the Divine Law (Avesta) and a commentary of the Divine Law and the prayer and the translation.’ He observes truly that ‘the passage is of first-rate importance,’ and he adds encouragingly: ‘The explanation which I give is sure.’ It is therefore somewhat disconcerting to find that the latest writer cannot get much beyond the crudity of Norris. Weisbach reads: ‘Machte ich Inschriften in anderer Weise (?) (nämlich) auf Arisch, was vormals nicht war, und das grosse ... und das grosse ... und das ... und das ... machte ich.’ Alas for the Divine Law and the commentary and the prayers![693]