wished indeed that all should have as much comfort as they could themselves desire, but that the glory of the kingdom demanded that the light of some should shine above that of others. Therefore, in accordance with the order established in the world, it could not be otherwise than that as Fortuna had her castle, so also should Industria have her workshops full of people. But this was granted them, that each one who was not idle might raise himself from poverty by whatever means he could or knew.
(The Supplications of the Industrious Ones.)
10. Now, when the answer given to these supplicants became known, others after a while appeared bearing a petition of the industrious. They begged that in future those who idled not should be assured, whatever their estate and their enterprises might be, that they would obtain that for which they strove and worked, and that blind fortune should not decide. Concerning this petition, a lengthy council was held; thence I judged that the matter was by no means an easy one. At last it was declared that, though the power and might that had once been entrusted to Fortuna and her faithful servant Chance (for it could not be otherwise) could not be taken out of their hands, yet their petition would be remembered, and an order given that, as far as possible, the industrious rather than the thriftless should be
