institution
the haruspices
also: haruspicum, haruspices, the haruspices
The Etruscan-derived diviners who interpreted entrails, lightning, and portents and gave responses; their discipline (drawn from the libri haruspicini, fulgurales, and rituales) is defended throughout De Divinatione Book 1.
Reading notes
- On Divination §1.3 the haruspices
Diviners of Etruscan origin who read the will of the gods from the entrails of sacrificed animals, from lightning, and from prodigies. Rome imported their discipline from Etruria and consulted them officially at times of alarm.
- On Divination §1.16 the cleft in the entrails
The haruspex read the future from the markings of a victim's organs, especially a fissure or unusual lobe in the liver. An ill-omened cleft could postpone a public undertaking.
- On Divination §1.72 the Etruscan books on entrails, on lightning, and on ritual
The disciplina Etrusca was codified in three sets of books: the libri haruspicini (entrails), fulgurales (lightning), and rituales (ritual and the founding of cities). They were the written basis of haruspicy.