Let's go back, shall we, to one of the most famous brother/brother over something purely academic, but which kindled way more heat than any of my arguments with my brothers. We brothers may have argued about which TV show to watch, but Romulus and Remus argued about which of the 7 hills in the area where Rome was to eventually end up, they would settle first (of course, Rome eventually covered way more than those 7 hills). Romulus favored the Palatine, but Remus liked the Aventine. It was decided that each of them should spend the night on the hill of their choice, and let the gods decide by which of the two received the most favorable 'signs'. At daybreak, Remus saw 6 vultures, which was a very good sign. But just as Romulus was being told about this, 12 vultures flew over his head. Even though this was a more propitious sign, Remus became a 'sore loser'. They began fighting, and I assume the god's choice was confirmed, because Romulus was able to kill Remus.

This same method of watching the birds for a sign from the gods was to be carried on for centuries after. It was very often the birds which were watched, because Romans believed they were the god's messengers. The Roman word for bird was avis, and specere meant “to look at”. Combining the two, they came up with the word, avispex, for the title of the man who was able to read these messages through the birds. This title was eventually corrupted to auspex. The English words, auspicious and inauspicious, were both coined by Shakespeare. He used the Latin roots to come up with “auspicious” in Romeo's lines:

Here, here, will I remain.....

From this world-wearied flesh.

“Auspicious” made its debut in his work, The Tempest.

Sometime later, but still in Roman times, they changed the title of this position from “auspex” to “augur”, using avis (as before), but combining it with the Latin word for “to talk” or “to chatter”, garrio, to come up with the word augur.

This job required great training (and probably excellent eyesight). These men had to pay attention to 'how many birds were seen', 'what kind of birds they were', 'the songs they sang', 'what foods they chose', 'where in the sky they were seen', 'the direction they were flying', and even 'examining their entrails'. After this, other words were born. An augurium was the conclusion an augur came to and it led to our word, “augury”. They also invented the verb, inauguro, which meant 'to consult the birds before undertaking an enterprise'. This then became “to consecrate (an official) by the ceremony of consulting the birds. The same definition holds for 'inaugurate', except that the ceremony of consulting the birds has been replaced by the formal inauguration ceremony of inducting somebody into office.

So THAT'S how Bush beat Gore. I knew it didn't have anything to do with the voting. The augurs (Supreme Court) just saw the birds (or elephants) dropping something unmentionable all over Gore's head and jacket. But I think that's all for the birds. Odd, me thinks, that a ceremony which every kid in the country can only dream of going through, has its roots in (essentially) mythology.

For those who may be interested, there is a tool which sounds like 'augur', but is spelled “auger”. It's kinda like a drill, but can come in some sizes large enough to make holes in the ice or ground (as well as wood or metal). It doesn't come from the same roots, but instead comes from a Middle English word, nauger, which in turn comes from the Old English, nafogar. The 'f' in that word isn't exactly an 'f', but that's the closest thing my keyboard has to it. The bottom of the letter has the same curve as the top, but it faces backwards, and there are no short cross-lines. So it looks kinda like a skinny 's', which extends from the top line to below the bottom line. Maybe some of you Celts can define and pronounce it for me.