Albæ gallinæ filius

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.