HARPASTUM. [Pila.]

HARUSPICES, or ARUSPICES (iepo<r-
#c<Jirot), soothsayers or diviners, who inter-
preted the will of the gods. They originally
came to Rome from Etruria, whence harus-
pices were often sent for by the Romans on
important occasions. The art of the harus-
pices resembled in many respects that of the
augurs; but they never acquired that po-
litical importance which the latter possessed,
and were regarded rather as means for
ascertaining the will of the gods than as pos-
sessing any religious authority. They did
not in fact form any part of the ecclesiastical
polity of the Roman state during the republic ;
they are never called sacerdotes, they did
not form a collegium, and had no magister
at their head. The art of the haruspices,
which was called Jiaruapicinaf consisted in
explaining and interpreting the will of the
gods from the appearance of the entrails
{exta) of animals offered in sacrifice, whence
they are sometimes called eztispicest and their
art extispicium; and also ft-om lightning,
earthquakes, and all extraordinary pheno-
mena in nature, to which the general name
of portenta was given. Their art is said to
have been invented by the Etruscan Tages,
and was contained in certain books called
l^ri haruspieinit fulgurales, and tonitrualea.
This art was considered by the Romans so
important at one time, that the senate de-
creed that a certain number of young Etrus-
cans, belonging to the principal families in
the state, should always be instructed in it.
In later times, however, their art fell into
disrepute among well-educated Romans ; and
Cicero relates a saying of Cato, that he won-
dered that one haruspex did not laugh when
he saw another. The name of haruspex is
sometimes applied to any kind of soothsayer
or prophet.
