SIBYLS--AUGURS.
_Ques._ Who were the Sibyls?
_Ans._ The Sibyllæ, or Sibyls, were certain females, supposed to be
inspired by Heaven, who flourished at different times and in different
parts of the world. According to the historian Varro, they were ten in
number. The most celebrated was the Cumæan Sibyl, of whom the poets
give the following account. Apollo sought the love of the young
prophetess, and promised to give her whatever she should demand. The
sibyl desired that she might live as many years as she had grains of
sand in her hand; but as she forgot to ask for health and youthful
bloom, this long life proved rather a burden than a benefit. She had
rejected the suit of Apollo, and the god refused, therefore, to
withdraw his gift or mitigate the severity of her lot. This sibyl had
already lived seven hundred years when Æne´as came to Italy, and six
centuries still remained of the time granted by Apollo. She
accompanied Æne´as on his visit to the lower world. According to a
well-known Roman legend, one of the sibyls came to the palace of the
second Tarquin with nine volumes, which she offered to sell at a very
high price. The king declined the offer; the sibyl immediately
disappeared and burned three of the volumes. Returning soon after, she
asked the same price for the remaining six books; and when Tarquin
again refused to buy them, she burned three more, and still persisted
in demanding the same sum of money for those that were left. This
extraordinary conduct astonished the monarch, and with the advice of
the Augurs he bought the books, upon which the sibyl disappeared and
was never seen after. These books were preserved with great care, and
were called the Sibylline Verses. A college of priests was appointed
to take charge of them, and they were consulted with the greatest
solemnity, whenever the state seemed to be in danger. When the Capitol
was burned in the troubles raised by Sylla, the Sibylline Verses are
said by some to have perished in the conflagration. It is believed,
however, on good authority, that they were in existence as late as the
fourth century, when they were destroyed by command of the Emperor
Honorius. Various collections were afterwards made, which are
generally admitted to be forgeries.
Different opinions have prevailed with regard to the prophecies of the
sibyls, some of which, it is said, pointed clearly to the advent of a
Redeemer, the time of his coming, and the submission of Rome to the
new dispensation. It has been thought that these passages were
invented by later Christian writers, but Bishop Horsley, a learned
English divine, thinks it more reasonable to suppose that the
sibylline books contained the records of prophecies which were granted
in primitive times, to nations outside of the patriarchal and Jewish
races. He cites in favor of this opinion, the fact that St. Justin, in
his apology addressed to the Emperor Marcus Antoninus, appeals
confidently to the sibylline prophecies, and at that time, about the
middle of the second century, it was not possible that the Christians
should have added anything to them. There are also passages in the
fourth Eclogue of Virgil which prove that the expectation of a
Saviour, and the belief that the time of his advent was approaching,
existed even among the pagans.
Divination by Omens--The Augurs.
_Ques._ Who were the Augurs?
_Ans._ They were priests whose office it was to observe and interpret
omens. This science was derived from the ancient Etrurians. There were
five principal classes of omens from which the Augurs were supposed to
foretell future events, the good or ill success of an undertaking,
etc. The first were drawn from the phenomena of nature, such as
thunder, lightning, comets, etc. The second kind of omen was obtained
by observing the cries and the flight of birds. In the third class we
may place the appetite of the sacred chickens; when they did not eat,
the omen was so bad that it was considered unlucky to give battle, or
undertake anything of importance. It happened once that a Roman
commander, (Claudius Pulcher,) when about to engage the fleet of the
enemy, was warned by the Augurs that the sacred chickens would not
eat. He replied, with very natural contempt, that if they would not
eat, they might drink, and had them thrown into the sea. It is
believed that the terrible defeat the Romans suffered on that day was
owing, in great part, to the discouragement of the sailors, who
supposed that their commander had forfeited the favor of the gods by
this act of sacrilege.
Omens were drawn from the appearance of the entrails of animals
offered in sacrifice, also from the meeting with quadrupeds in any
unaccustomed place.
The fifth class of omens was taken from different casualties, such as
spilling salt, stumbling on the threshold, sneezing, meeting a hare,
wolf, fox, etc. Some of these last superstitions prevail, more or
less, to the present day.