The Comparison of Romulus with Theseus   

This is what I have learned of Romulus and Theseus, worthy of memory.
It seems, first of all, that Theseus, out of his own free-will, without
any compulsion, when he might have reigned in security at Troezen
in the enjoyment of no inglorious empire, of his own motion affected
great actions, whereas the other, to escape present servitude and
a punishment that threatened him (according to Plato's phrase), grew
valiant purely out of fear, and dreading the extremest inflictions,
attempted great enterprises out of mere necessity. Again, his greatest
action was only the killing of one King of Alba; while, as mere by-adventures
and preludes, the other can name Sciron, Sinnis, Procrustes, and Corynetes;
by reducing and killing of whom, he rid Greece of terrible oppressors,
before any of them that were relieved knew who did it; moreover, he
might without any trouble as well have gone to Athens by sea, considering
he himself never was in the least injured by those robbers; whereas
Romulus could not but be in trouble whilst Amulius lived. Add to this,
the fact that Theseus, for no wrong done to himself, but for the sake
of others, fell upon these villains; but Romulus and Remus, as long
as they themselves suffered no ill by the tyrant, permitted him to
oppress all others. And if it be a great thing to have been wounded
in battle by the Sabines, to have killed King Acron, and to have conquered
many enemies, we may oppose to these actions the battle with the Centaurs
and the feats done against the Amazons. But what Theseus adventured,
in offering himself voluntarily with young boys and virgins, as part
of the tribute unto Crete, either to be a prey to a monster or a victim
upon the tomb of Androgeus, or, according to the mildest form of the
story, to live vilely and dishonourably in slavery to insulting and
cruel men; it is not to be expressed what an act of courage, magnanimity,
or justice to the public, or of love for honour and bravery, that
was. So what methinks the philosophers did not ill define love to
be the provision of the gods for the care and preservation of the
young; for the love of Ariadne, above all, seems to have been the
proper work and design of some god in order to preserve Theseus; and,
indeed, we ought not to blame her for loving him, but rather wonder
all men and women were not alike affected towards him; and if she
alone were so, truly I dare pronounce her worthy of the love of a
god, who was herself so great a lover of virtue and goodness, and
the bravest man.
Both Theseus and Romulus were by nature meant for governors; yet neither
lived up to the true character of a king, but fell off, and ran, the
one into popularity, the other into tyranny, falling both into the
same fault out of different passions. For a ruler's first aim is to
maintain his office, which is done no less by avoiding what is unfit
than by observing what is suitable. Whoever is either too remiss or
too strict is no more a king or a governor, but either a demagogue
or a despot, and so becomes either odious or contemptible to his subjects.
Though certainly the one seems to be the fault of easiness and good-nature,
the other of pride and severity.
If men's calamities, again, are not to be wholly imputed to fortune,
but refer themselves to differences of character, who will acquit
either Theseus of rash and unreasonable anger against his son, or
Romulus against his brother? Looking at motives, we more easily excuse
the anger which a stronger cause, like a severer blow, provoked. Romulus,
having disagreed with his brother advisedly and deliberately on public
matters, one would think could not on a sudden have been put into
so great a passion; but love and jealousy and the complaints of his
wife, which few men can avoid being moved by, seduced Theseus to commit
that outrage upon his son. And what is more, Romulus, in his anger,
committed an action of unfortunate consequence; but that of Theseus
ended only in words, some evil speaking, and an old man's curse; the
rest of the youth's disasters seem to have proceeded from fortune;
so that, so far, a man would give his vote on Theseus's part.
But Romulus has, first of all, one great plea, that his performances
proceeded from very small beginnings; for both the brothers being