# CHAPTER 14 — The Romans Interpreted the Auspices According to Necessity, and They Prudently Made a Show of Observing Religion Even When They Were Forced Not to Observe It; and If Anyone Dared to Disparage It, They Punished Him

As was discussed above, the auguries were not only in large part the foundation of the ancient religion of the pagans, but they were also the cause of the well-being of the Roman republic. For this reason, the Romans had greater concern for them than for any other institution, and they employed them in their consular elections, in beginning their undertakings, in leading forth their armies, in fighting their battles, and in every important activity, either civil or military; nor would they ever have gone on an expedition without first having persuaded their soldiers that the gods had promised them a victory. Among other auspices, they had in their armies a certain order of soothsayers they called pullarii * and whenever the Romans decided to engage the enemy in battle, they wanted the pullarii to take the auspices; when the chickens pecked, the Romans fought with a good augury; when they did not peck, the Romans abstained from any encounter. None the less, when reason showed the Romans that something had to be done, they undertook it, notwithstanding the fact that the auspices were unfavourable, but they gave them a different meaning with such suitable words and methods that they did not appear to be doing so with any disrespect to religion.

Such methods were employed by the consul Papirius * in a very important military encounter with the Samnites, which left the Samnites in all respects weak and in distress. When Papirius was encamped facing the Samnites, believing that victory in the battle was assured and desiring, therefore, to engage the enemy, he ordered the pullarii to take their auspices, but since the chickens refused to peck and the leader of the pullarii saw the great readiness of the army for combat, as well as the commander’s belief, shared with his men, that they would be victorious, he reported to the consul that the auspices were favourable in order not to deprive the army of an occasion for a good operation. While Papirius was ordering his squadrons to draw themselves into formation, some pullarii told certain soldiers that the chickens had not pecked, who reported the conversation to Spurius Papirius, nephew of the consul, and when he told the consul, Papirius immediately replied that he expected him to carry out his duties properly: that as for him and his army, the auspices were favourable, and if the pullarius had told any lies they would be detrimental to him alone. So that the result would correspond to his prediction, he ordered his legates to place the pullarii in the front lines of the battle. Hence, it happened that as they advanced against the enemy, one of the Roman soldiers shot an arrow and accidentally killed the leader of the pullarii; when the consul learned of this, he declared that everything was going according to plan and with the favour of the gods, because, with the death of this liar, the army had been excused for any blame and any wrath the gods might have directed against it. Thus, with the knowledge of exactly how to accommodate his plans to the auspices, he made the decision to enter into battle without the army realizing that he had in any way disregarded the institutions of their religion.

Appius Pulcher in the First Punic War did just the opposite in Sicily: since he wanted to engage the Carthaginian army he had the pullarii take the auspices, and when they reported to him that the chickens were not pecking, he declared: ‘Let’s see if they will drink!’ and had them thrown into the ocean. * For whatever cause, after engaging in combat he lost the battle, and for this he was condemned in Rome, while Papirius was honoured, not so much because the latter had won and the former had lost but rather because one man had acted prudently against the auspices while the other had done so recklessly. Nor did this means of taking the auspices serve any purpose other than sending the soldiers confidently into battle, for from such confidence victory almost always results. This stratagem was used not only by the Romans but by foreigners, and I think it appropriate to provide an example of it in the next chapter.