Concerning the fortune of the Romans. 
 AMONG the many warm disputes which have often
				happened between Virtue and Fortune, this concerning the
				Roman empire is none of the least considerable, whether of
				them shall have the honor of founding that empire at first,
				and raising it afterwards to vast power and glory. The
				victory in this cause will be no small commendation of the
				conqueror, and will sufficiently vindicate either of the contending parties from the allegations that are usually made
				against it. For Virtue is accused as unprofitable, though
				beautiful, and Fortune as unstable, though good; the former as laboring in vain, the latter as deceitful in its gifts.
				But who can deny but Virtue has been most profitable, if
				Rome does favor her cause in this contention, since she
				procured so much good to brave and gallant men; or that
				Fortune is most constant, if she be victorious in this contest, since she continued her gifts with the Romans for so
				long a time. 
 Ion the poet has written somewhere in prose, that Fortune and Wisdom, though they be very much different from
					one another, are nevertheless the causes of the very same
					effects. Both of them do advance and adorn men; both
					do raise them to glory, power, and empire. It were needless to multiply instances by a long enumeration of particulars, when even Nature itself, which produces all
					things, is by some reputed Fortune, and by others Wisdom. And therefore the present controversy will conciliate
					
					 
					
					 great honor and veneration to the city of Rome,
					since she is thought worthy of the same enquiry which
					uses to be made concerning the earth and seas, the heavens and the stars,—whether she owes her being to Fortune or to Providence.

In which question, I think it may be truly affirmed
				that, notwithstanding the fierce and lasting wars which
				have been between Virtue and Fortune, they did both amicably conspire to rear up the structure of her vast empire
				and power, and join their united endeavors to finish the
				most beautiful work that ever was of human production.
				It was the opinion of Plato, that the whole world was
				composed of fire and earth, as necessary first principles,
				which being mixed together did render it visible and tangible,—the earth contributing weight and firmness, while
				the fire gave color, form, and motion to the several parts
				of matter; but for the tempering and union of these extremes, he thought it necessary that the water and air,
				being of a middle nature, should mitigate and rebate the
				contrary force by composition. After the same manner
				did God and Time, who laid the foundations of Rome, conjoin and mingle Virtue and Fortune together, that by the
				union of their several powers, they might compose a
				Vesta, truly sacred and beneficent to all men, which should
				be a firm stay, an eternal support, and a steady anchor (as
				Democritus calls it) amidst the fluctuating and uncertain
				affairs of human life. For as naturalists say, that the
				world was not framed at first into that beautiful order and
				structure in which we now behold it, nor would these
				several bodies that compose it unite and mix so that Nature might receive a common form by their union, but that
				all things did fluctuate a long while in confusion and
				crashing,—whilst some bodies were still small and variously moved, and slipped and avoided all seizure and
				connections, and others which were greater and already
				
				 
				
				compacted, being of contrary natures, did frequently justle
				and jar one against another,—and that all was full of destruction and confusion and wreck, until such time as the
				earth, being framed of them both in its due magnitude,
				was established in its proper place, and by its stability
				gave occasion to all the other bodies of the universe either
				to settle upon it or round about it; just so it happened to
				the greatest kingdoms and empires of men, which were
				long tossed with various changes and broken in pieces by
				mutual clashings. And for want of one supreme ruler
				over all, while all aspired to rule, the world was filled with
				unspeakable violence, confusion, and revolution in all
				things, until such time as Rome was raised to its just
				strength and greatness, which, comprehending under her
				power many strange nations and even transmarine dominions, did lay the foundation of firmness and stability to
				the greatest of human affairs; for by this vast compass of
				one and the same empire, government was secured as in
				an unmovable circle, resting upon the centre of peace.
				Whosoever therefore contrived and compassed these great
				designs must not only have been endowed with all virtues,
				but likewise have been assisted by Fortune in many things;
				as will plainly appear from the following discourse.

And now methinks I behold, as from a turret, Virtue
				and Fortune coming to this conference. As to Virtue, her
				gait is modest, her countenance grave, the blushing color
				of her face shows her earnest desire of obtaining victory
				and honor in this contest. Fortune in her hasty pace,
				leaves her far behind, but she is led and accompanied by
				many brave and gallant men,
				
				 A martial host, ghastly with bloody arms, 
 
 
 all wounded in the fore part of their bodies, distilling blood
					mingled with sweat, and they lean upon the bending spoils
					
					 
					
					of their enemies. If you enquire who they are, they
					answer, We are of the Fabricii, Camilli, and Lucii, and
					Cincinnati, and Fabii Maximi, and Claudii Marcelli, and
					the Scipios. I perceive also in the train of Virtue Caius
					Marius angry with Fortune, and Mucius Scaevola holding
					out his burning hand and crying with a loud voice, Will
					ye attribute this to Fortune also? And Marcus Horatius,
					who behaved himself gallantly at the river Tiber, when he
					cut the bridge and swam over, being loaded with Tyrrhenian darts, showing his wounded thigh, thus expostulates
					from out of the deep whirlpit of the river, Was I also
					thus maimed by mere chance? Such is the company of
					Virtue, when she comes to the dispute; a company
						powerful in arms, terrible to their foes.

But as to Fortune, her gait is hasty, her looks bold,
				her hope arrogant; and leaving Virtue far behind her, she
				enters the lists, not, as she is described, with light wings,
				balancing herself in the air, or lightly tripping with her
				tiptoes upon the convexity of the globe, as if she were
				presently to vanish away out of sight. No, she does not
				appear here in any such doubtful and uncertain posture;
				but as the Spartans say that Venus, when she passed over
				the Eurotas, put off her gewgaws and female ornaments,
				and armed herself with spear and shield for the sake of
				Lycurgus; so Fortune, having deserted the Persians and
				Assyrians, did swiftly fly over Macedonia, and quickly
				threw off her favorite Alexander the Great, and after that,
				having passed through the countries of Egypt and Syria,
				and oftentimes by turns supported the Carthaginians, she
				did at last fly over Tiber to the Palatine Mount, and there
				she put off her wings, her Mercurial shoes, and left her
				slippery and deceitful globe. Thus she entered Rome, as
				one that was to be resident there, and thus she comes to
				the bar in this controversy. She is no more uncertain, as
				Pindar describes her; she does not henceforth guide a
				
				 
				
				double helm, but continues constant to the Romans, and
				therefore may be called the sister of Eunomia and Persuasion, and the daughter of Providence, as Alcman describes
				her pedigree. This is certain in the opinion of all men.
				that she holds in her hand the Horn of Plenty, not that
				which is filled with verdant fruits, but that which pours
				forth abundance of all things which the earth or the sea,
				the rivers or the metals, or the harbors afford. Several
				illustrious and famous men are seen to accompany her,
				Numa Pompilius from the Sabines, and Priscus from Tarquinii, whom, being foreigners and strangers, Fortune
				seated on the throne of Romulus. Aemilius Paulus also,
				bringing back his army from Perseus and the Macedonians,
				and triumphing in an unbloody and entire victory, does
				greatly magnify and extol Fortune. The same does Caecilius Metellus, that brave old gentleman surnamed Macedonicus, whose corpse was carried forth to its funeral by
				his four sons, Quintus Balearicus, Lucius Diadematus,
				Marcus Metellus, and Caius Caprarius, and his two sons-in-law,—who were all six honorable men, and of consular dignity,—and also by his two grandsons, who were
				famous for the good offices they did to the commonwealth,
				both abroad by their heroical actions and at home by the
				administration of justice. Aemilius Scaurus, from a mean
				estate and a meaner family, was raised by Fortune to that
				height of dignity that he was chosen Prince of the Senate.
				It was Fortune that took Cornelius Sylla out of the bosom
				of Nicopolis the whore, and exalted him above the Cimbrian triumphs of Marius and the dignity of his seven
				consulships, giving him at once the powers of a monarch
				and a dictator; upon which account he adopted himself
				and all his memorable actions to Fortune, crying out with
				Oedipus in Sophocles, I think myself the son of Fortune. In the Roman tongue he was called Felix, the
				
				 
				
				happy; but he writ himself to the Greeks Lucius Cornelius Sylla Venustus, i. e. Beloved of Venus,—which is
				also the inscription on all his trophies, both those at Chaeronea with us, and those in honor of his victories over
				Mithridates; and that not without reason, since it is not
				the Night, as Menander thought, but Fortune, that enjoys
				the greatest part of Venus.

And thus, having made a seasonable beginning in
				defence of Fortune, we may now call in, for witnesses in
				this cause, the Romans themselves, who attributed more
				to Fortune than to Virtue. For the temple of Virtue was
				but lately built by Scipio Numantinus, a long time after
				the building of the city. And after that, Marcellus dedicated a temple to Virtue and Honor; and Aemilius Scaurus, who lived in the time of the Cimbrian war, founded
				another to the Mind, when now, by the subtilties of sophisters and encomiastics of orators, these things began to be
				mightily extolled. And to this very day there is no temple
				built to Wisdom, nor to Temperance, Patience, Magnanimity, or Continence. On the contrary, the temples dedicated to Fortune are splendid and ancient, almost as old as
				the first foundations of Rome itself. The first that built
				her a temple was Ancus Marcius, born of the sister of
				Numa, being the third king from Romulus; and he seems
				to have made Fortune surname to Fortitude, to which she
				contributes very much for obtaining victory. The Romans
				built the temple of Feminine Fortune before the time of
				Camillus, when by the help of the women they turned
				back Marcius Coriolanus, leading up the Volsci against the
				city of Rome; for the women being sent ambassadors to
				him, together with his mother and wife, prevailed with the
				man to spare the city at that time and to draw off the
				army of the barbarians. It is said that this statue of Fortune, when it was consecrated, uttered these words: It was
				piously done, O ye city matrons, to dedicate me by the law
				
				 
				
				of your state. But (which is more remarkable) Furius
				Camillus, having quenched the flame of the Gallic war,
				and rescued Rome from the balance and scales in which
				her price was weighed to them in gold, did not upon this
				occasion found a temple to Prudence and Fortitude, but to
				Fame and Presage; which he built hard by the New Way,
				in that very place where (it is said) Marcus Caedicius walking in the night-time heard a prophetical voice, commanding him shortly to expect a war from the Gauls. And the
				Fortune whose temple is near the river they call Fortis
				(that is, stout, or valiant, or manly ), as having the power
				of conquering all things. And her temple is built in
				those very gardens which were left by Caesar as a legacy
				to the people, because they thought that he also was raised
				to the height of power by the favor of Fortune.

And so Caesar himself testified, otherwise I should
				be ashamed to say such a thing of so great a person. For
				when he loosed from Brundisium, and embarked in pursuit of Pompey, on the fourth day of January, though it
				was then the latter end of winter, he passed over the sea
				in safety by the good conduct of Fortune, which was
				stronger than the rigor of the season. And when he
				found Pompey powerful by sea and land, with all his
				forces lying together, and himself with his small party
				altogether unable to give him battle, while the army of
				Antonius and Sabinus lagged behind, he ventured to set
				forth again in a little bark, unknown either to the master
				of the vessel or the pilot, who took him for some servant.
				But when he saw the pilot began to change his purpose
				of putting out to sea, because of the violence of the waves,
				
				 
				
				which hindered the sailing out at the mouth of the river,
				he presently plucked off the disguise from his head and
				showed himself, encouraging the pilot in these words: Put
				on, brave fellow, and fear nothing, but commit the sails to
				Fortune, and expose all boldly to the winds; for thou carriest Caesar and Caesar’s fortune. So resolute was Caesar
				upon this assurance, that Fortune did favor him in his
				voyages and journeys, his armies and battles; and that it
				was her province to give calmness to the sea and warmth
				to a winter season, to give swiftness to the slowest, and
				vigor to the most sluggish creatures; and (which is more
				incredible than all this) he believed that Fortune put Pompey to flight, and gave Ptolemy the opportunity of murdering his guest, so that Pompey should fall and Caesar
				be innocent.

What shall I say of his son, the first that had the
				honor to be surnamed Augustus, who was emperor four
				and fifty years? Did not he pray the Gods for his grandson, when he sent him forth to battle, to grant him the
				courage of Scipio, and the wisdom of Pompey, but his
				own Fortune, as counting her the chief artificer of his
				wonderful self? It was she that imposed him upon Cicero,
				Lepidus, Pansa, Hirtius, and Mark Antony, and by their
				victories and famous exploits, by their navies, battles, and
				armies, raised him to the greatest height of power and
				honor, degrading them by whose means he was thus advanced. For it was for him that Cicero governed the
				state, Lepidus conducted the armies, and Pansa gained the
				victories. It was for him that Hirtius fell, and Mark Antony committed licentious outrages. Nay, even Cleopatra
				herself is to be reckoned as part of his good fortune; for
				on her, as on a dangerous rock, Antony was shipwrecked,
				although he was so mighty a commander, that Augustus
				alone might wear the title of Caesar. It is reported of
				Antony and Augustus, when they lived familiarly together
				
				 
				
				in daily conversation, that Antony was always beaten by
				Caesar at ball or dice, and in quail or cock fighting.
				Whereupon a certain friend, who pretended to the art of
				divination, did freely admonish Antony, and say: What
					have you to do, my friend, with this young man? Why
					don’t you avoid his company? You excel him in glory
					and largeness of empire, you exceed him in age and experience, having signalized your valor in the wars. But your
					Genius is afraid of his; your Fortune, which is great by
					itself, does fawn upon his, and will undoubtedly pass over
					to him, unless you remove yourself to a great distance.

By these testimonies of men the cause of Fortune is
				supported; after which I proceed now to other arguments
				taken from the things themselves, beginning from the first
				foundations of the city of Rome. And first of all, it cannot be denied that, by the birth and preservation of Romulus, by his education and growth, the foundations of
				Rome were first laid by Fortune; but then withal it must
				be acknowledged that Virtue finished the building. As to
				their origin and birth who first founded and built the city,
				it looked like a wonderful good Fortune. For it is said
				that their mother conceived by a God; and as Hercules is
				said to have been sown in a long night, the natural day
				being preternaturally prolonged by the sun’s standing still;
				so it is reported concerning the begetting of Romulus, that
				the sun was eclipsed at the time, being in conjunction with
				the moon, as the immortal God Mars was with the mortal
				Sylvia. The same is said to have happened about the time
				of his death. For on the seventh of July, called Nonae
				Capratinae, which is a feast observed to this day with great
				solemnity, while the sun was under an eclipse, he suddenly
				vanished out of the sight of men. After their nativity,
				when the tyrant would have murdered the new-born babes,
				by the conduct of Fortune, who was concerned for the
				preservation of their lives, Romulus and Remus fell into
				
				 
				
				the hands of a servant no ways barbarous and cruel, but
				pitiful and tender-hearted, who laid them on the pleasant
				green bank of a river, in a place shaded with lowly shrubs,
				near to that wild fig-tree, to which the name of Ruminalis
				was afterwards given. There it was that a she-wolf, having lost her young whelps, by chance lighted on them, and
				being burdened with her swollen dugs, inflamed for want
				of evacuation, she gladly let out her overheated milk, as
				if it had been a second birth, and suckled the young
				children. The woodpecker also, a bird sacred to Mars,
				came often unto them, and supporting herself upon one
				claw, she did by turns open both their mouths with the
				other, and distribute unto each of them convenient gobbets
				of her own food. This fig-tree was therefore called Ruminalis, from Ruma, the dug, which the wolf lying down
				there gave to the infants. And from a veneration of this
				strange chance of Romulus and of every thing resembling
				it, the inhabitants thereabout would not expose any of
				their offspring; but they carefully reared and fostered all
				new births. 
 Above all things, the hidden craft of Fortune appeared
					in their education at the city Gabii; for there they were
					secretly nursed and brought up, and the people knew
					nothing of their pedigree, that they were the sons of Sylvia
					and the grandchildren of king Numitor; which seems to
					be so ordered on purpose to prevent that untimely death
					which the knowledge of their royal race would occasion,
					and to give them opportunity of showing themselves hereafter by their famous exploits, and discovering the nobility
					of their extraction by their heroical actions. And this
					brings to my mind the saying of that great and wise- commander Themistocles to some of the Athenian captains,
					who, having followed him in the wars with good success,
					were grown ambitious to be preferred above him. There
					was an eager contest, said he, between the festival day and
					
					 
					
					the day following, for precedency. Thou, says the follow,
					ing day, art fill of tumult and business, but I give men the
					peaceful opportunity of enjoying themselves. Ay, says
					the festival, that’s true; but then, I pray you, tell me, if I
					had not been, where had you been? So, says Themistocles,
					if I had not preserved my country in the war with the
					Medes, what use would there be of you now? And after
					this manner Fortune seems to accost the virtue of Romulus:
					it is true indeed, your actions are great and famous, by
					which you have clearly shown that you are descended of
					the race of the Gods. But see now how far you come
					behind me. For if I had not relieved the infants in their
					distress by my bounty and humanity, if I had deserted and
					betrayed them when they lay naked and exposed, how
					could you have appeared with such lustre and splendor as
					now you do? If a she-wolf had not then lighted upon
					them, inflamed with the abundance and pressure of her
					milk, which wanted one to give food unto more than any
					food for herself; if some wild beast had happened to come
					in her stead, hungry and ravaging for meat; then there
					had been no such beautiful and stately palaces, temples,
					theatres, walks, courts, and forum, as now you justly glory
					of; then your followers had still been shepherds, and your
					buildings cottages or stables, and they had still lived in
					subjection to the Albanian, Tyrrhenian, or Latin lords.
					Certainly the first beginning of all things is of greatest
					importance, and more especially in building of a city. But
					it was Fortune that first gave a beginning to Rome, by preserving the founder of it in so many dangers to which he
					was exposed. For as Virtue made Romulus great, so Fortune preserved him till his virtue did appear.

It is confessed by all, that the reign of Numa, which
				lasted longest, was conducted by a wonderful good fortune.
				For as to the story of the wise goddess Egeria, one of the
				Dryades,—that she being in love conversed familiarly with
				
				 
				
				him, and assisted him in laying the platform and cementing
				the frame of the commonwealth,—it appears to be rather
				fabulous than true, since there were others that had Goddesses for their wives and are said to have been loved by
				them, such as Peleus, Anchises, Orion, and Emathion, who,
				for all that, did not live so pleasantly and free from trouble.
				But Numa seems to have had good fortune for his domestic
				companion and colleague in the government, which, receiving the city of Rome into her protection, at such time
				as she was tossed like a troublesome sea by the wars of
				neighboring states, and inflamed with intestine feuds, did
				quickly heal those breaches and allay those storms that
				threatened her ruin. And as the sea is said to receive the
				halcyon brood in a tempest, which it preserves and nourishes; so the people of Rome being lately gathered together, after various commotions and tossings, were by
				Fortune delivered from all wars, diseases, dangers, and
				terrors, and settled in such a lasting peace, that they had
				time and leisure to take root in their new soil and grow
				up securely into a well-compacted city. For as a great
				ship or galley is not made without many blows, and much
				force from hammers, nails, wedges, saws, and axes, and
				being once built, it must rest for some time upon the stocks,
				until the bands of its structure grow strong and tenacious,
				and the nails be well fastened which hold its parts together, lest, being launched while it is loose and unsettled,
				the hulk should be shattered by the concussion of the
				waves and let in the water,—so the first artificer of Rome,
				having built the city of rustical men and shepherds, as on
				strong foundations, was forced to endure hard labor and
				maintain dangerous wars against those who opposed its
				first origination and institution; but after it was once
				framed and compacted by this force, the second artificer,
				by the benignity of Fortune, gave it so long rest and peace,
				till all its parts were consolidated and settled in a firm and
				
				 
				
				lasting posture. But if at that time, when the city was
				newly built, some Porsena had advanced the Etruscan
				camp and army to the walls, being yet moist and trembling,
				or some warlike revolter of the Marsian grandees, or some
				envious and contentious Lucanian, such as in latter times
				were Mutius or the bold Silo, or the last plague of Sylla’s
				faction, Telesinus, who with one alarm armed all Italy,—
				if any of these, I say, had encompassed the philosopher
				Numa with the sound of trumpets, while he was sacrificing
				and praying to the Gods, the city being yet unsettled and
				unfinished, he could never have resisted so great a torrent
				and tempest, nor increased unto so great numbers of stout
				and valiant men. 
 That long time of peace therefore in Numa’s reign did
					prepare and fortify the Romans against all the wars which
					happened afterwards; for by its continuance, during the
					space of forty-three years, the body of the people was
					confirmed in that athletic habit which they acquired in the
					war under Romulus, and which generally prevailed henceforward against all their enemies. For in these years they
					say Rome was not afflicted with famine or pestilence, with
					barrenness of the earth, or any notable calamity by winter
					or summer; all which must be attributed, not to human
					prudence, but to the good conduct of divine Fortune governing for that time. Then the double gate of Janus was
					shut, which they call the gate of war, because it is always
					opened in time of war and shut in time of peace. After
					Numa’s death, it was opened again when the war with
					the Albans commenced, which was followed with other
					wars without number in a continued series of time; but
					after four hundred and eighty years, it was shut again
					when peace was concluded at the end of the first Punic
					war, in the consulship of Caius Atilius and Titus Manlius.
					The next year it was opened again, and the wars lasted
					until the victory which Augustus obtained at Actium.
					
					 
					
					Then the Roman arms rested but a little while; for the
					tumults from Cantabria and the wars with the Gauls and
					Germans breaking in upon them quickly disturbed the
					peace. These things I have added to explain this argument of the good fortune of Numa.

Even those kings which followed him have admired
				Fortune as the governess and nurse of Rome, and the city
				supporter, as Pindar saith. For proof of this, we may
				consider that the temple of Virtue at Rome was but lately
				built, many years after the beginning of the city, by that
				Marcellus who took Syracuse. There is also a temple
				dedicated to the Mind, or rather to good counsel, called
				Mens, by Scaurus Aemilius, who lived in the time of the
				Cimbrian war, when the arms of rhetoric and the sophistry
				of logic had crept into the city. And even to this day,
				there are no temples built to Wisdom, Temperance,
				Patience, and Magnanimity; but the temples of Fortune
				are very ancient and splendid, adorned with all sorts of
				honors, and divided amongst the most famous parts and
				places of Rome. The temple of Manly Fortune was built
				by Ancus Marcius, the fourth king; which name was
				therefore given it, because Fortune does contribute very
				much to valor in obtaining victory. The temple of Feminine Fortune was consecrated by the matrons, when they
				drove away Marcius Coriolanus at the head of an army
				marching against Rome, as everybody knows. Moreover,
				Servius Tullius, who above all the kings did most enlarge
				the power of the people and adorn the commonwealth,
				who first established a good order for the giving of suffrages
				and for the good discipline of the militia, who was the first
				censor and overseer of men’s lives and sobriety, and is
				esteemed a most wise and valiant man,—even he threw
				himself upon Fortune, and owned his kingdom to be derived from her. So great was her kindness to him, that
				
				 
				
				she is thought to have descended into his house by a gateway
				which is now called Fenestella) and there to have conversed familiarly with him. Upon which account he built
				two temples to Fortune, one to that which is called Primogenia in the Capitol, i. e. the first born, as one may expound
				it; another to that which is called Obsequens, which some
				interpret as being obsequious to his desires, and others as
				mild and gentle. I will henceforth leave the Roman
				names, and endeavor to reckon up and interpret in Greek
				the meaning of these temples. There is the temple of
				Private Fortune on the Mount Palatine, and that of Viscous
				Fortune; which name, though it seems ridiculous, does by
				a metaphor explain to us the nature of Fortune, that she
				attracts things at a distance, and retains them when they
				are brought to contact. At the fountain which is called
				Mossy the temple of Virgin Fortune is still to be seen;
				and that of Regardful Fortune in Abescymnae. There is
				an altar also to Fortune of Good Hope in the long narrow
				street; and near to the altar of Venus Epitalaria (Foot-winged) there is a chapel to Male Fortune. 
 Infinite are the honors and titles of Fortune, the greater
					part of which were instituted by Servius, who knew that
					 Fortune is of great weight-nay, is every thing—in all
						human affairs, 
 and more especially had found by experience that by her favor he was preferred from a captive and
					hostile nation to be king of the Romans. For when
					Corniculum was taken by the Romans, the virgin Ocresia
					being taken at the same time, she for her illustrious beauty
					and virtue (which the meanness of her fortune could not
					hide or obscure) was presented to Tanaquil, the consort
					of King Tarquinius, with whom she served till she was
					married to one of the retainers whom the Romans call
					clients; and of them was born Servius. Others tell the
					story after this manner: that the virgin Ocresia using
					
					 
					
					often to receive the first-fruits and libations from the royal
					table, which were to be offered in sacrifice, it happened on
					a time that when, according to the custom, she had thrown
					them into the fire, upon the sudden expiration of the flame,
					there appeared to come out of it the genital member of a
					man. The virgin, being frighted with so strange a sight,
					told the whole matter to Queen Tanaquil; who, being a
					wise and understanding woman, judged the vision to be
					divine, and therefore dressed up the virgin in all her bridal
					ornaments and attire, and then shut her up in a room together with this apparition. Some attribute this amour to
					Lar the household God, and others to Vulcan; but whichsoever it was, Ocresia was with child, and gave birth to
					Servius. And while he was yet an infant, his head was
					seen to send forth a wonderful brightness, like lightning
					darted from the skies. But Antias tells this story after
					a different manner: that when Servius’s wife Getania was
					dead, he fell into a sleep through grief and dejection of
					mind, in the presence of his mother, and then his head
					was seen by the woman encompassed by fire; which, as it
					was a certain token that he was born of fire, so was a good
					omen of that unexpected kingdom which he obtained after
					the death of Tarquin, by the means of Tanaquil. This
					is so much the more to be wondered at, because he of all
					kings seems to have been least fitted by Nature and most
					averse by inclination to monarchical government; since he
					would have resigned his kingdom and divested himself of
					regal authority, if he had not been hindered by the oath
					which it appears he made to Tanaquil when she was dying,
					that he should continue during his life in kingly power,
					and never change that form of government which he had
					received from his ancestors. Thus the reign of Servius
					was wholly owing to Fortune, because he both received it
					beside his expectation, and retained it against his will.

But lest we should seem to shun the light of bright
				
				 
				
				and evident arguments, and retreat to ancient stories, as to
				a place of darkness and obscurity, let us now pass over the
				time of the kings, and go on in our discourse to the most
				noted actions and famous wars of following times. And
				first of all it must be confessed that the boldness and
				courage which are necessary for war do aid and improve
				military virtue, as Timotheus says; and yet it is manifest
				to him that will reason aright, that the abundance of success
				which advanced the Roman Empire to such vast power
				and greatness is not to be attributed to human strength and
				counsels, but to a certain divine impulse and a full gale of
				running Fortune, which carried all before it that hindered
				the rising glory of the Romans. For now trophies were
				erected upon trophies, and triumphs hastened to meet one
				another; before the blood was cold upon their arms, it was
				washed off with the fresh blood of their falling enemies.
				Henceforth the victories were not reckoned by the numbers
				of the slain or the greatness of the spoils, but by the kingdoms that were taken, by the nations that were conquered,
				by the isles and continents which were added to the vastness of their empire. At one battle Philip was forced to
				quit all Macedonia, by one stroke Antiochus was beaten
				out of Asia, by one victory the Carthaginians lost Libya;
				but which is yet more wonderful, Armenia, the Euxine sea,
				Syria, Arabia, the Albanians, Iberians, with all the regions
				as far as Caucasus and the Hyrcanians, were by one man
				and the success of one expedition reduced under the power
				of the Roman Empire. The Ocean, which environs the
				whole earth, beheld him thrice victorious; for he subdued
				the Numidians in Africa, as far as the southern shores; he
				conquered Spain, which joined in the madness of Sertorius,
				as far as the Atlantic Ocean; and he pursued the Albanian
				kings as far as the Caspian sea. Pompeius Magnus, one
				and the same man, achieved all those great and stupendous
				things, by the assistance of that public Fortune which
				
				 
				
				waited upon the Roman arms with success; and after all
				this, he sank under the weight of his own fatal greatness. 
 The great Genius of the Romans was not propitious for a
					day only, or for a little time, like that of the Macedonians;
					it was not powerful by land only, like that of the Laconians, or by sea only, like that of the Athenians. It was
					not too slowly sensible of injuries, as that of the Persians
					nor too easily pacified, like that of the Colophonians; but
					from the beginning growing up with the city, the more it
					increased, the more it enlarged the empire, and constantly
					aided the Romans with its auspicious influence by sea and
					land, in peace and war, against all their enemies, whether
					Greeks or barbarians. It was this Genius which dissipated
					Hannibal the Carthaginian, when he broke in upon Italy
					like a torrent, and the people could give no assistance,
					being torn in pieces by intestine jars. It was this Genius
					that separated the two armies of the Cimbri and Teutones,
					that they should not meet at the same time and place;
					by which means Marius the Roman general encountered
					each army by itself, and overcame them; which, if they
					had been joined together, would have overflowed all Italy
					like a deluge, with three hundred thousand valiant men,
					invincible in arms. It was the same Genius that hindered
					Antiochus by other occasions from assisting Philip while
					he was engaged in war with the Romans; so that Philip
					was first vanquished while Antiochus was still in danger.
					It was by the conduct of the same Genius that Mithridates
					was taken up with the Sarmatic and Bastarnic wars while
					the Marsians attacked Rome; that jealousy and envy
					divided Tigranes from Mithridates while the latter was
					flushed with success; but both of them were joined together in the defeat, that they might perish in the same
					common ruin.

What shall I say more? Has not Fortune relieved
				the city, when it was reduced to the greatest extremity of
				
				 
				
				danger? When the Gauls encamped about the Capitol and
				besieged the castle,
				 And heaped the camp with mountains of the dead, 
 
 
 did not Fortune and chance discover their secret attack in
					the night-time, which otherwise had surprised all men?
					Of which wonderful accident it will not be unseasonable
					to discourse here a little more largely. 
 After the great overthrow and slaughter of the Romans
					at the river Allia, some of those that remained fled hastily
					to Rome, and communicated their terror and consternation
					to the people there. Some trussed up their bag and baggage and conveyed themselves into the Capitol, resolving
					there to wait the event of so dismal a calamity; others
					flocked in great multitudes to Veii, and there proclaimed
					Furius Camillus dictator, giving him now in their distress
					an absolute and unaccountable power, whom before in their
					pride and prosperity they had condemned and banished, as
					guilty of robbing the public treasure. But Camillus, to
					strengthen his title to this authority, which might seem to
					be given him only for the present necessity, contrary to the
					law of the state touching the election of such a magistrate,
					scorned to accept an election from a body of armed soldiers,
					so lately shattered and beaten, as if the government of the
					city were dissolved; but sent to acquaint the senators that
					were in the Capitol, and know if they would approve the
					election of the soldiers. To accomplish this, there was
					one C. Pontius, who undertook to carry the news of this
					decree to those in the Capitol, though it was with great
					danger of his life; for he was to go through the midst of
					the enemies, who were entrenched and kept watch about
					the castle. He came therefore in the night-time to the
					river Tiber, and by the help of broad corks supporting the
					weight of his body, he was carried down the stream in a
					
					 
					
					smooth calm water, and safely landed on the other side.
					From thence he passed through places uninhabited, being
					conducted by darkness and silence, to the rock of the
					Capitol; and climbing up through its winding and rough
					passages, with much labor and difficulty at last he arrived
					at the summit, where, being received by the watch, he
					acquainted the senators with what was done by the soldiers,
					and having received their approbation of the decree of
					election, he returned again to Camillus. The next day
					after, one of the barbarians by chance walking about this
					rock, and seeing in one place the prints of his feet and his
					falls, in another place the grass trodden down which grew
					upon the interspersed earth, and the plain marks of his
					body in its winding ascent through the craggy precipice,
					went presently and informed the rest of the Gauls of the
					whole matter. They, finding that a way was shown them
					by the enemy, resolved to follow his footsteps; and taking
					the advantage of the dead time of the night, when all were
					fast asleep, not so much as a watch stirring or a dog
					barking, they climbed up secretly to the castle. 
 But Fortune in this case was wonderfully propitious to
					the Romans, in discovering and preventing such an imminent danger by the voice of the sacred geese, which were
					maintained about the temple of Juno for the worship of
					that Goddess. For that animal being wakeful by nature
					and easily frighted with the least noise, these sacred geese
					had been so much neglected by reason of the scarcity of
					provisions which was in the castle, that they were more
					easily wakened by the approach of the enemy out of their
					light and hungry sleep. Therefore they presently perceived
					the Gauls appearing upon the walls, and with a loud voice
					flew proudly towards them; but being yet more frightened
					with the sight of their shining armor, they raised a louder
					gaggling noise, which wakened the Romans; who understanding the design, presently beat back the enemies, and
					
					 
					
					threw them down over the precipices of the rock. Therefore, in remembrance of this wonderful accident, a dog
					fastened to a cross, and a goose lying in a bed of state upon
					a rich cushion, are carried about, even to this day, in
					pompous solemnity. And now who is not astonished that
					considers how great the misery of the city was at that time,
					and how great its happiness is now at this day, when he
					beholds the splendor and riches of its donatives, the emulation of liberal arts that flourish in it, the accession of
					noble cities and royal crowns to its empire, and the chief
					products of sea and land, of isles and continents, of rivers
					and trees, of animals and fields, of mountains and metallic
					mines, crowding to adorn and beautify this place Who
					is not stunned with admiration at the imminent danger
					which then was, whether ever those things should be or
					no; and at those poor timorous birds, which first began
					the deliverance of the city, when all places were filled with
					fire, darkness, and smoke, with the swords of barbarians
					and bloody-minded men? What a prodigy of Fortune was
					it that those great commanders, the Manlii, the Servii,
					Postumii, and Papirii, so famous for their warlike exploits
					and for the illustrious families that have descended from
					them, should be alarmed in this extremity of danger by
					the silly geese, to fight for their country’s God and their
					country? And if that be true which Polybius writes in
					his second book of those Gauls which then possessed
					Rome,—that they made a peace with Camillus and departed, as soon as they heard the news of the invasion that
					was made upon their territories by the neighboring barbarians,—then it is past all controversy, that Fortune was
					the cause of Rome’s preservation by drawing off the enemies to another place, or rather forcing them from Rome
					beyond all men’s expectation.

But why do I dwell upon those things which have
				nothing of certain or evident truth, since the memories of
				
				 
				
				those times have perished, and the history of them is confused, as Livy tells us? For those things which happened
				in following ages, being plain and manifest to all, do sufficiently demonstrate the benignity of Fortune to Rome;
				among which I reckon the death of Alexander to be no
				small cause of the Romans’ happiness and security. For
				he, being a man of wonderful success and most famous
				exploits, of invincible confidence and pride, who shot like
				a star, with incredible swiftness, from the rising to the setting sun, was meditating to bring the lustre of his arms
				into Italy. The pretence of this intended expedition was
				the death of Alexander Molossus, who was killed at Pandosia by the Bruttians and Lucanians; but the true cause
				was the desire of glory and the emulation of empire, which
				instigated him to war against all mankind, that he might
				extend his dominion beyond the bounds of Bacchus and
				Hercules. He had heard of the Roman power in Italy,
				terrible as an army in battle array; of the illustrious name
				and glory which they had acquired by innumerable battles,
				in which they were flushed with victory; and this was
				a sufficient provocation to his ambitious spirit to commence a war against them, which could not have been
				decided without an ocean of blood; for both armies appeared invincible, both of fearless and undaunted minds;
				and the Romans then had no fewer than one hundred and
				thirty thousand stout and valiant men, 
				 
 
 All expert soldiers, skilled on foot to dare,
				 
 Or from the bounding courser urge the war.