THE ORACLE OF DELPHI

Tarquin's crimes troubled his conscience with bad dreams. He sent his sons to Delphi to consult the oracle. Tarquin had murdered his nephew for his money, sparing only the other nephew Brutus because he seemed an idiot. But Brutus was pretending—patiently waiting to avenge his brother. At Delphi, after delivering Tarquin's offerings, the three young men asked who would be the next king of Rome. The Pythoness said: "He who first kisses his mother." The princes hurried home planning to kiss their mother first. Brutus, tipped off by the priestess (he had given a staff filled with gold), fell and kissed the earth—the mother of all mankind. The princes kissed their mother at the same moment on either cheek.