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The City of God

Chapter 8.--Whether Rome Ought to Have Been Entrusted to the Trojan Gods.

Where, then, was the wisdom of entrusting Rome to the Trojan gods, who had demonstrated their weakness in the loss of Troy? Will some one say that, when Fimbria stormed Troy, the gods were already resident in Rome? How, then, did the image of Minerva remain standing? Besides, if they were at Rome when Fimbria destroyed Troy, perhaps they were at Troy when Rome itself was taken and set on fire by the Gauls. But as they are very acute in hearing, and very swift in their movements, they came quickly at the cackling of the goose to defend at least the Capitol, though to defend the rest of the city they were too long in being warned.

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De civitate Dei (CCSL)

Caput VIII: An debuerit dis Iliacis Roma committi.

Dis itaque Iliacis post Troiae ipsius documentum qua tandem prudentia Roma custodienda commissa est? dixerit quispiam iam eos Romae habitare solitos, quando expugnante Fimbria cecidit Ilium. unde ergo stetit Mineruae simulacrum? deinde, si apud Romam erant, quando Fimbria deleuit Ilium, fortasse apud Ilium erant, quando a Gallis ipsa Roma capta et incensa est; sed ut sunt auditu acutissimi motuque celerrimi, ad uocem anseris cito redierunt, ut saltem Capitolinum collem, qui remanserat, tuerentur; ceterum ad alia defendenda serius sunt redire commoniti.