1910–1911
Britannica 11th
Encyclopaedia Britannica · 11th edition
AUGURS, in ancient Rome, members of a religious college whose duty it was to observe and interpret the signs (auspices) of approval or disapproval sent by the gods in reference to any proposed undertaking. The augur es were originally called auspices, but, while auspex1 fell into disuse and was replaced by augur, auspiiium was retained as the scientific term for the observation of signs. The early history of the college is obscure. Its institution has been attributed to Romulus or Numa. It probably consisted origin…
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- Vol. 2, pp. 903-903