Hijo de la gallina blanca. Born of a white hen. This was said of persons who were extremely fortunate; who were successful in whatever they undertook; «who were born», as we say, «with a silver spoon in their mouth». The following is related by Suetonius, as giving origin to this adage. When Livia, the wife of Augustus Caesar, was at one of her country seats, an eagle flying over the place, dropped a white hen, holding a sprig of laurel in its beak, into her lap. The empress was so pleased with the adventure, that she ordered the hen to be taken care of, and the laurel to be set in the garden. The hen, we are told, proved unusually prolific, and the laurel was equally thrifty; and as there was thought to be something supernatural in its preservation, branches from it continued long to be used by succeeding emperors, in their triumphs. En hora buena nace, quien buena fama cobra. He that gets a good name, was born under a fortunate planet, or in a lucky hour.

   Who boast of curing poor and rich,
   Yet are themselves all over itch.

Physicians pretending to cure the diseases of others, and are themselves loaded with complaints, are the immediate objects of the censure contained in this adage; but it may also be applied to persons railing against vices to which they are themselves addicted. Persons whose office it is instruct the people in the duties of morality and religion, should consider how much their admonitions will lose of their weight and efficacy if their conduct is not in a great degree, at the least, consonant to their doctrine; if they cannot entirely refrain from vice, they should be extremely careful to conceal their deviations from the precepts they mean to inculcate, lest their example should be more powerful than their lectures.