Editing Augur (section)

===Roman Empire===
The effectiveness of augury could only be judged retrospectively; the divinely ordained condition of peace (''pax deorum'') was an outcome of successful augury. Those whose actions had led to divine wrath (''ira deorum'') could not have possessed a true right of augury (''ius augurum'').<ref>Rosenstein (1990), pp.&nbsp;57–58: the ''post hoc'' search for ''[[Glossary of ancient Roman religion#vitium|vitium]]'' in Republican ritual seems motivated by a need to limit aristocratic responsibility for military disaster, and offer some protection against accusations of incompetence by rivals.</ref> Of all the protagonists in the Civil War, only [[Octavian]] could have possessed it, because he alone had restored the ''pax deorum'' to the Roman people. Lucan, writing during the [[Principate]], described the recent Civil War as "unnatural" &ndash; a mirror to supernatural disturbances in the greater cosmos. His imagery is apt to the traditional principles of augury and its broader interpretation by Stoic apologists of the Imperial cult.<ref>Brent (1999), p.&nbsp;48, citing Lucan, ''[[Pharsalia]],'' 1.522–605: "as if the stars themselves had strayed from their courses".</ref> In the Stoic cosmology the ''pax deorum'' is the expression of natural order in human affairs.<ref>Brent (1999), pp.&nbsp;17–18.</ref>

When his colleague [[Marcus Aemilius Lepidus (triumvir)|Lepidus]] died, Augustus assumed his office as ''pontifex maximus'', took priestly control over the State oracles (including the [[Sibylline books]]), and used his powers as [[Roman censor|censor]] to suppress the circulation of "unapproved" oracles.<ref>Brent (1999), p.&nbsp;59: citing Suetonius, ''Augustus'' 31.1–2. cf. official reactions to "foreign cult" during the Punic crises, above.</ref>

Despite their lack of political influence under the [[Roman Empire]], the augurate, as with its fellow ''quattuor amplissima collegia'', continued to confer prestige on its members.