 Thus, having separated out ‘our [Roman] people’ as bearers of the belief in gods’ existence, Balbus proceeds to declare that the ever-increasing strength (as he sees it) of religious belief is no accident given the way the gods have concretely manifested their power. He then cites examples, from both distant and more recent Roman military history, of gods seen fighting on the side of Rome, or acting as messengers of Roman victory (2.6). He follows this up with tales of how divine premonitions were sent by the gods to warn Rome away from impending disaster, with dire consequences when they were ignored (2.7–8).