milestones, happened to be on the same spot where Coriolanus encamped as an exile, and the reconciliation took place. Now the supplication of the mother and the matrons, which may be historical, was connected with the name of the _Fortuna muliebris_; and it was believed that this temple, the time of the building of which was known, had been erected in consequence of that event. Yet _Fortuna muliebris_ corresponds with _Fortuna virilis_, who had a temple in Rome, a male and a female deity, as _Tellus_ and _Tellumo_. The same contraposition is also exhibited in _animus_ and _anima_.[93] Livy says that he would not be astonished if his readers felt tired of the wars of the Volscians and Æquians. And indeed every one has this feeling from the time when he first became acquainted with Livy. The narrative spoils the elegance of the first decade. What has made these wars so peculiarly troublesome to him, is the circumstance that he does not distinguish between them, nor divide them into periods. With the exception of what remains in Dionysius on the subject, he is the only source we have, and so it is difficult for us to get a general view of the events. The first period reaches down to the last years of the decennium from 280 to 290. Its beginning is shrouded in great darkness; the conquests of Tarquin the Proud are very vague. Afterwards we find the Volscians under the name of Auruncians invading the Latin territory; then follow a number of petty wars to about 290; in the last years we see the Volscians in possession of Antium, though they soon lose it again. In the second period the tables are turned: the Æquians take an energetic part in the war of the Volscians; Latium is entirely crushed; the war takes a very unfortunate turn for the Romans, Latins and Hernicans. This lasts to about 296, when the Romans make peace with the Volscians properly so called, and the danger is warded off. In the third period, the Romans carry on the war singlehanded against the Æquians: it has lost its dangerous character, and is on both sides carried on very languidly. Then follows another Volscian war against the Ecetrans, leagued with the Æquians. This fourth period is ushered in by the great victory of A. Postumius Tubertus (324); from which time the Romans keep advancing until the war with the Gauls, conquering many Volscian towns, and weakening the Æquians. In the Gallic war the Æquians also may have suffered much. Afterwards,--and this is the fifth period,--the wars begin anew, but their character is quite different. The Æquians are insignificant foes, and the Volscians amalgamated with the Latins, fighting like them for their own independence.