[BenLurkin]

I thought haruspical and protasis-apodosis were pretty darn cool!

[mosesdapoet]

Now we kin baffle dem demo-coms wit dem big words and it won’t be B/S either. Never the less they’ll still deny our brilliance...

[Verginius Rufus]

It's good to be reminded that it was not just the Etruscans and the Romans who had haruspices (experts at inspecting and interpreting the entrails of animals).

For those whose Greek grammar may be rusty, the protasis is the "if-clause" of a conditional sentence and the apodosis is the conclusion. It's easy to see how sentences of this type would be common in texts dealing with exorcism, medicine, or the law.

There are many sentences like this in the Law of Moses--for example, Exodus 22:16-17:

"And if a man entice a maid that is not betrothed, and lie with her, he shall surely endow her to be his wife. If her father utterly refuse to give her unto him, he shall pay money according to the dowry of virgins."