Читать книгу Gambling; or, Fortuna, her temple and shrine - James Harold Romain - Страница 5

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CHAPTER I.

The Worship of Fortuna.

Reader, in imagination go backward with me more than 20 centuries. Enter with me the magnificent and imposing Temple of Fortuna, in old Præneste. We are within the portico of that stately hemicycle. Far above is the marble dome, and about us cluster the snowy columns. As it is early morn, flamens and virgins are assembled inside the sacred precincts. They are grouped about the flaming tripod, and the robes of purple and white blend in harmony of color. The sanctuary is redolent with burning incense. A golden image of the goddess, in heroic mould, flashes back the rays of sunlight that penetrate the inner shadows. A solemn chant entrances the ear, and our eyes turn to the westward. Before us expands the Campagna, ninety miles in length and twenty-seven in breadth. The undulating plain stretches away in all directions until it sinks into the sea; thickly studded is the superb picture with prosperous cities and “every rood of ground maintains its man.” Everywhere is presented an appearance of comfort and rich cultivation. Yonder, Mount Albanus towers to a height of 3,000 feet above the sea. Looming majestically above its topmost peak is the Temple of Jupiter Latiaris. The grandeur of mighty Rome is at our feet, a splendid and stupendous panorama of temples, amphitheatres, basilicas, palaces, circuses, baths, arches and aqueducts. Such was the spot dedicated to Fortuna by the ancient Prænestians. She was more deeply enshrined in their hearts than Olympian Jove himself.

Præneste flourished before the birth of Christ or the glory of Rome. The noble city occupied a projecting point or spur of the Apennines and was distant from Rome, due east, about twenty-three miles. Above its walls towered the Temple of Fortuna. The Temple proper was circular in form and crowned the summit of a hill more than 2,400 feet above the Mediterranean level. Standing out boldly against the sky, its majestic outlines were visible from a great part of Latium. As extended by Sulla, the sanctuary occupied a series of six vast terraces, which, resting on gigantic substructions of masonry, and connected with each other by grand staircases, rose one above the other on the hill, in the form of a pyramid. Closely associated with the ritual of the Temple were the “Prænestine Lots,” or Sortes Prænestinæ, and in existence at the beginning of the Christian era. Constantine, and subsequently Theodosius, suppressed the oracle. Its celebrity is attested by Lucan, Horace and Ovid. Cicero speaks of the great antiquity and magnificence of this shrine. Numerous were the great men who petitioned the Prænestine Fortuna for assistance. Of the number may be mentioned Tiberius, Domitian and Alexander Severus. Even Sulla sought to propitiate the goddess before engaging in his successful wars with Mithridates.

Plutarch tells us of Timotheus, the Athenian, son of Conon, who, “when his adversaries ascribed his successes to his good luck, and had a painting made representing him asleep, and Fortune by his side, casting her nets over the cities, was rough and violent in his indignation at those who did it, as if, by attributing all to Fortune, they had robbed him of his just honors; and said to the people, on one occasion, at his return from war: ‘In this, ye men of Athens, Fortune had no part!’ A piece of petulance which the deity played back upon Timotheus; who, from that time, was never able to achieve anything that was great.”

“Sylla,” he continues, “on the contrary, not only accepted the credit of such divine favors with pleasure, but gave the honor of all to Fortune. He once remarked: ‘that of all his well-advised actions, none proved so lucky in the execution, as what he had boldly enterprised, not by calculation, but upon the moment.’ He gave Fortune a higher place than merit, and made himself ‘entirely the creature of a superior power.’”

The Goddess of Chance, or Good Luck, actually existed in the imagination of the ancients. Chapman writes:

“The old Scythians

Painted blind Fortune’s powerful hands with wings,

To show, her gifts come swiftly and suddenly,

Which, if her favorites be not swift to take,

He loses them forever.”

Temples to Fortuna (the Greek Tyche) dotted the sunlit landscape from Thebes to Rome. She was adored by the Etrurians as Nortia. Originating near Mount Parnassus, her worship gradually extended into all parts of Greece and Italy. Antium, an opulent and powerful city of Latium, was once celebrated for its splendid temple of Fortune.

History discloses not a period, however remote, when Fortuna was not a favorite with the Latins. Numa Pompilius daily prostrated himself before her altar, and the ceremonial received a new impetus from his pious grandson, Ancus Martius. Servius Tullius ascribed his power and success to the gods. Especially did he assume the protection of Fortuna. Two temples were erected to her by this great king, one in the Forum Boarium and the other on the Tiber. By some it is said that the edifices were respectively dedicated to Bona Fortuna and Fors Fortuna. Yet another gorgeous structure afterward graced the Quirinal.

Precisely when the mythological system lost its influence is not known. It is not true, however, as was once generally believed, that immediately after the birth of Jesus the oracles were forever hushed. While, long prior to that event, many fanes had been deserted, yet others continued to flourish for at least two centuries thereafter. Before the Christian era, Mythology had been repudiated by Philosophy and Science. To the learned it was at best but expressive of the principles back of natural phenomena. Only because it was largely identified with the state, did it receive the support of politicians. Yielding to the spirit of Christianity, the Olympian deities departed with the decline of Rome as a pagan power.

Of all the shining throng that beautified the Pantheon, Fortuna alone refused to abdicate a sovereignty she would exercise to the end of time. True, the exquisite forms in which she had charmed the eye were destroyed and her temples razed with the earth; yet has Fortuna continued her uninterrupted sway over the hearts of men. Sanctuaries and statutes were not necessary to her supremacy in the world. She was enshrined in the soul—her worship instinctive in the very nature of humanity. Where is the epoch of Christendom in which an innumerable multitude have not worshiped this imperial goddess? Among her devotees may be included men famous in every department of life: politics, statesmanship, war, eloquence, philosophy, science, art, literature and the liberal professions. A review of the brilliant procession is profoundly suggestive.

Great Cyrus, who founded the Persian monarchy; Darius, who originated centralized imperialism and reduced it to a system; Artaxerxes Third, the greatest administrator of remote antiquity; Miltiades, a name associated with the glories of Marathon, once designated “freedom’s best and bravest friend;” Themistocles, to whom may be fairly ascribed the victory at Salamis; Simonides, gentle and patient, the poet of nationality and patriotism; Aristophanes, the great father, and Menander, the acknowledged master of Greek comedy; Pericles, the “Olympian Zeus of oratory,” a great statesman and one of the most remarkable characters of Greece; Plato, whose name is synonymous with all that is most exalted in idealism; Xenophon, a friend and pupil of Socrates, and to whom the world is indebted for “Memorabilia,” “Anabasis,” and “Cyropædia;” Demosthenes, known to oratory as the “greatest Hellenic star;” Isocrates, his contemporary, the distinguished rhetorician; Philip of Macedon, the famous father of a more famous son; great Alexander, “Child of Zeus,” “Son of Peleus,” familiar to every schoolboy as the greatest of military conquerors.

In the resplendent story of Rome are Scipio Africanus, a military genius, and the conqueror of Hannibal; Cornelius Sulla, the great general, sagacious politician, accomplished scholar, “one of the most remarkable figures of all time;” Julius Cæsar, equally preëminent in statecraft, war and letters; Marc Antony, brave and generous; Lepidus, not the least of the second great triumvirate; Augustus, than whom a more consummate ruler and prudent statesman never lived; Tiberius, a writer of Greek odes and an orator at nine years of age; in battle he repeatedly worsted the Parthians, Cantabrians, Dalmatians, Pannonians and Illyrians; Domitian, conspicuous for his piety, who enforced the laws against adultery and other gross forms of immorality; Titus, bewailed at his death as “the love and light of the human race;” Hadrian, just, liberal, valorous and energetic; Nerva, humane and progressive; Trajan, indomitable and heroic; Alexander Severus, a virtuous prince, a student of Christianity, and the friend of Paulus and Ulpian; Sallust, distinguished in Latin literature for power and animation; Livy, the man of beautiful genius; the graceful Catullus; exquisite Horace and facile Ovid.

Among the Germanic peoples, Eugene of Savoy, a memory cherished by Austria, who lived but for glory, and raised the Hapsburg arms to a prestige unequaled before or since; Wallenstein, bold, imperious and of versatile ability in civil and military affairs.

In Italy, the Abbes Ruccellai and Frangipanni, pious and charitable; Reni Guido, who painted the marvellous “Crucifixion of St. Peter’s,” and the “Aurora.” In art, he expressed a most refined and fervent spiritualism.

The Fifth, Sixth and Seventh Charles of France, distinguished, respectively, as “The Wise,” “The Beloved,” and “The Victorious;” Charles VIII., who, with but 9,000 soldiers, defeated an Italian army of 40,000 men; Louis XI., ever admirable for his administrative talent, a friend of the middle classes, he restrained a turbulent and oppressive nobility; Louis XII., of France, a “father of the people;” Louis XIII., distinguished for valor and martial ability; Louis XIV., better known to the world as “The Great,” and to his country as Dieu-donne—“God-given;” the amiable and picturesque Henry of Navarre, the champion of Protestantism and protector of the Huguenots; Philibert de Chalon, fertile and resolute; Bertrand du Guesclin, “king of the tournament,” the “hero of heroes;” Condé and Turenne, both profound and alert; Marshall Saxe, energetic and courageous; Napoleon Bonaparte, a titanic genius of transcendent powers, king of kings, “the astonishment and terror of the world;” Ney, bravest of the brave, the victor of Elchingen, Mannheim and Moskva; Murat, “the Gold Eagle,” a truly wise king, and the greatest cavalry leader of his time; Richelieu, greatest statesman of the 17th century; Mazarin, brilliant in ministerial policy, and the wise architect of peace at Westphalia; Mirabeau, a man of gigantic thoughts and deeds—the mental Colossus of his age—“an intellectual Hercules;” Talleyrand, unexcelled in diplomacy and eminent as a financier; Thiers, equally able in politics and literature; M. Sallo, counselor to the Parliament of Paris, and Mathieu Mole, at one time the Premier-President of that body; Molière, the inimitable; Corneille, creator of French tragedy; Rotrou, his master; and Racine; Montaigne, the essayist, extraordinary for his learning and sound reason; Paschasius Justus, an erudite and excellent physician; Rousseau, apostle of universal happiness, and unrivaled in the literature of France for the subtle eloquence of his style; Voltaire, world-famous Sage of Ferney, the “sovereign writer of his century;” René Descarte, deservedly exalted in philosophy and mathematics; the delightful poets, Voiture and Coquillart, with the renowned Cardinals D’Este and De Medicis.

Fair Albion comes into the story with “Lion-Hearted” Richard, the incomparable knight-errant; Edward I., unequaled in his century as warrior and ruler; Edward III., who befriended literature and art, and espoused the cause of progress; his son, the Black Prince, “most glorious star of chivalry;” Henry VIII., a foe to papacy, and for a time the most popular monarch in English history; “Ye Merrie King Charles;” Duke of Marlborough, the brilliant and successful general; Arthur Wellesley, “The Iron Duke,” venerated and beloved; Horatio Nelson, of magnificent exploits and stupendous victories, who said: “Where anything great is to be done, there Providence is sure to direct my steps;” unrivaled was he in daring resource and skill; Sir Charles Napier, conqueror of Sinde and the “acknowledged hero of a family of heroes;” Dan Chaucer, “that first sweet warbler” of English verse, philosopher, politician and poet; Marlowe, the mightiest of Shakespeare’s pioneers; Shakespeare, himself, “sweet swan of Avon,” myriad-minded and wondrous; “rare” Ben Jonson; Raleigh, a universal genius—“the glass of fashion and mould of form;” Surrey, polished and chivalric; John Dryden, of whom Dr. Johnson said: “As Augustus was to Rome, so was Dryden to English literature. He found it brick and left it marble;” Dr. Tobias Smollett, who wrote “Humphrey Clinker;” Fielding, the frank and manly author of “Tom Jones;” sweet Oliver Goldsmith, in letters perspicuous, vivacious, and graceful; Halifax,

“Jotham of piercing wit and pregnant truth,

Endued by nature and by learning taught

To move assemblies;”

the first Marquis of Anglesey, high-spirited and impetuous, a dashing general of cavalry; that best of Irish Viceroys, Frederic Howard, Earl of Carlisle; Lord Bolingbroke, accomplished and eloquent; Shaftesbury, the incorruptible statesman, upright judge and friend of religious freedom; Horace Walpole, of whom Macaulay said, that his writings “were among the delicacies of intellectual epicures;” Dr. Dodd, divine, author, editor and chaplain of the king; George Selwin, the celebrated conversational wit; Sir Philip Francis, immortal as “Junius,” and a “friend of the people;” the artistic Farquhar; courtly Waller; elegant Dorset; charming Sedley; and scholarly Congreve; jolly Dick Steele, a master of classical prose; Charles James Fox, of whom James Mackintosh said: “He is the most Demosthenian speaker since Demosthenes;” Sheridan, “capable of the grandest triumphs in oratory,” and noted for his sparkling wit and exquisite songs; Wilberforce, who dedicated his life to a struggle for the abolition of the slave-trade; Edward Gibbon, the historian, splendid, imposing and luminous; Ponsonby, once speaker of the Irish House of Commons; Dr. Colton, author of “Lacon;” William Pitt, of dauntless spirit and unimpeachable integrity; and Lord Byron, a poet famed for his passionate eloquence and pathetic gloom.

Fortuna may proudly enumerate her great votaries in America: Aaron Burr, Edgar Allan Poe, William Wirt, Luther Martin, Gouverneur Morris, Daniel Webster, Henry Clay, General Hayne, Sam Houston, Andrew Jackson, Generals Burnett, Sickles, Kearney, Steedman, Hooker, Hurlbut, Sheridan, Kilpatrick, Ulysses S. Grant, George D. Prentiss, Sargeant S. Prentiss, Albert Pike, A.P. Hill, Beauregard, Early; Ben Hill, Robert Toombs, George H. Pendleton, Thaddeus Stevens, Green of Missouri, Herbert and Fitch of California, “Jerry” McKibben, James A. Bayard—father of the recent Secretary of State—Benjamin F. Wade, the lamented Broderick, John C. Fremont, Judge Magowan, Charles Spencer, Fernando Wood and his brother Benjamin, Colonel McClure, Senator Wolcott, Senator Pettigrew, Senator Farwell, Matthew Carpenter, Thomas Scott, Cornelius Vanderbilt, Hutchinson of Chicago, and Pierre Lorrillard. Names might be extended indefinitely. Enough have been mentioned to illustrate how the gambling habit permeates all ranks of society in the United States.

With the conclusion of our retrospect, we may well exclaim: What is the nature of a passion so inveterate and general: of a propensity that dominates all mankind alike, whether noble or mean, wise or foolish, strong or weak? “Is there a remedy?” propounds the philosopher. The legislator asks, “What is my duty?”