Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 3.djvu/85

Rh sounds. In matters of ordinary life on which divine counsel was prayed for, it was usual to have recourse to this form of divination. For public affairs it was, by the time of Cicero, superseded by the fictitious observation of lightning. (3.) Feeding of birds (auspicia ex tripudiis), which consisted in observing whether a bird, usually a fowl, on grain being thrown before it, let fall a particle from its mouth (tripudium solistimum). If it did so, the will of the gods was in favour of the enterprise in question. The simplicity of this ceremony recommended it for very general use, particularly in the army when on service. The fowls were kept in cages by a servant, styled pullarius. In imperial times are mentioned the decuriales pullarii. (4.) Signs from animals (pedestria auspicia, or ex quadru- pedibus), i.e., observation of the course of, or sounds uttered by, quadrupeds and serpents within a fixed space, corresponding to the observations of the flight of birds, but much less frequently employed. It had gone out of use by the time of Cicero. (5.) Warnings (signa, ex dins), con sisting of all unusual phenomena, but chiefly such as boded ill. Being accidental in their occurrence, they belonged to the auguria oblativa, and their interpretation was not. a matter for the augurs, unless occurring in the course of some public transaction, in which case they formed a divine veto against it. Otherwise, reference was made for an interpretation to the Pontifices in olden times, afterwards frequently to the Sibylline books, or the Etruscan haruspices, when the incident was not already provided for by a rule, as, for example, that it was unlucky for a person leaving his house to meet a raven, that the sudden death of a person from epilepsy at a public meeting was a sign to break up the assembly, not to mention other instances of adverse omens. A Roman, however, did not necessarily regard a warning as binding unless it was clearly appre hended. Not only could an accidental oversight render it useless, but to some extent measures could be taken to prevent any warning being noticed. At sacrifices, for instance, the flute was played ne quid aliud exaudiatur (Pliny, Nat. Hist., xxviii. 2, 11). Among the other means of discovering the will of the gods were casting lots, oracles of Apollo (in the hands of the college sacris faciundis), but chiefly the examination of the entrails of animals slain for sacrifice. Anything abnormal found there was brought under the notice of the augurs as warnings, but usually the Etruscan haruspices were employed for this. The persons entitled to ask for an expression of the divine will on a public affair were the magistrates. To the highest offices, including all persons of consular and praetorian rank, belonged the right of taking auspicia maxima; to the inferior offices of aedile and quaestor, the auspicia minora; the differences between these, however, must have been small. The subjects for which auspicia publica were always taken were the elec tion of magistrates, their entering on office, the holding of a public assembly to pass decrees, the setting out of an army for war. They could only be taken in Rome itself ; and in case of a commander having to renew his auspicia, he must either return to Rome or select a spot in the foreign country to represent the hearth of that city. The time for observing auspices was, as a rule, between midnight and dawn of the day for which the transaction was fixed about which they were desired. But whether it was so ordered in the ritual, or whether this was to leave the whole day free, is not known. In military affairs this course was not always possible, as in the case of taking auspices before crossing a river. The founding of colonies, the beginning of a battle, before calling together an army, before sittings of the senate, at decisions of peace or war, were occasions, not always but frequently, for taking auspices. The place where the ceremony was performed was not fixed but varied, so as to have a close relation to the object to which it referred. A spot being selected, the official charged to make the observation (spectio) pitched his tent there some days before. A matter postponed through adverse signs from the gods could on the following or some future day be again brought forward for the auspices (rcpetere auspicia). If an error (vitium) occurred in the auspices, the augurs could, of their own accord or at the request of the senate, inform themselves of the circumstances, and decree upon it. A consul could refuse to accept their decree while he remained in office, but on retiring he could be prosecuted. Auspicia oblativa referred mostly to the comitia, A magistrate was not bound to take notice of signs reported merely by a private person, but he could not overlook such a report from a brother magistrate. For example, if a quaestor on his entry to office observed light ning and announced it to the consul, the latter must delay the public assembly for the day. (A. s. M.)

 AUGUST, originally Sextilis, as being the sixth in the pre-, received its present name from the. The preceding, Quintilis, had been called after the great , and the  thought to propitiate the  by conferring a similar honour upon him. August was selected, not as being the natal of, but because in it his greatest good fortune had happened to him. In that month he had been admitted to the ate, had thrice celebrated a, had received the allegiance of the s stationed on the , had concluded the , and had subdued. As contained thirty-one s, and August only thirty, it was thought necessary to add another  to the latter, in order that  might not be in any respect inferior to.

 AUGUSTA, the capital of the State of Maine, and seat of justice, is situated on the Kennebec River (in Kennebec county), 43 miles from its mouth, in lat. 44° 19′ N., long. 69° 50′ W. The city lies mainly on the right bank of the Kennebec River, which is here crossed by a bridge 520 feet long. The business portion of the city was destroyed by fire in 1865, but has since been rebuilt. Its principal public buildings are the State house, State insane asylum, and United States arsenal. It has several banks, daily and weekly newspapers, and numerous churches. The population of Augusta, by the census of 1870, was 7808.

 AUGUSTA, a city of Georgia, in the United States of America, the capital of the county of Richmond. It is situated in a beautiful plain, on the Savannah River, 231 miles from its mouth, and has extensive railway communication. Like other American cities it is spacious and regular in its plan, Greene Street, for example, being 168 feet in width, with a row of trees extending along each side. The principal buildings are the city hall, a masonic hall, an oddfellows hall, the Richmond academy, the Georgia medical college, the opera-house, and an orphan asylum. Besides these, the city possesses an arsenal, water-works, a number of banks, newspaper offices, extensive cotton factories and flour mills, several foundries, two tobacco factories, &c. Water-power is abundantly supplied from the river by the Augusta canal, which was constructed in 1845. Augusta was an important place during the revolutionary war, and continued to flourish amazingly till the opening of the Georgia railway. A temporary decline then took place, owing to the change in the methods of traffic; but a new current of prosperity speedily set in, which still continues. Population in 1870, 15,386.

  AUGUSTAN HISTORY is the title bestowed upon a collection of the biographies of the Roman emperors, from Hadrian to Carinus, written under Diocletian and 