. A history of Rome . Fig. 3. Head of Roman coin) (From §19] THE SACRED COLLEGES 15. 19. The Sacred Colleges. The four chief sacred colleges orsocieties were the Keepers of the Sibylline Books, the College ofAugurs, the College of Pontiffs, and the College of the Heralds. The Sibylline Books were volumes written in Greek, the originof which was lost in fable. They were kept in a stone chest in avault beneath the Capitoline temple, and special custodians wereappointed to take charge of them and interpret them. The bookswere consulted only in times of extreme danger (sect. 58). The duty
. A history of Rome . Fig. 3. Head of Roman coin) (From §19] THE SACRED COLLEGES 15. 19. The Sacred Colleges. The four chief sacred colleges orsocieties were the Keepers of the Sibylline Books, the College ofAugurs, the College of Pontiffs, and the College of the Heralds. The Sibylline Books were volumes written in Greek, the originof which was lost in fable. They were kept in a stone chest in avault beneath the Capitoline temple, and special custodians wereappointed to take charge of them and interpret them. The bookswere consulted only in times of extreme danger (sect. 58). The duty of themembers of the Col-lege of Augurs was tointerpret the omens,or auspices, — whichwere casual sights orappearances, particu-larly the flight of birds,— by which meansit was believed thatJupiter made knownhis will. Great skillwas required in the taking of the aus-pices, as it was called. No business of importance, public or pri-vate, was entered upon without the auspices being first consulted toascertain whether they were favorable. The College of Pontiffs was so called probably b
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