spin wrote:Let's go back to the final part of the fire narrative, as it now stands in Ann. 15.44. There is a glaring problem I have not discussed before that is overlooked because of reading bias, our reading bias. We are so gulled by the horrid treatment the narrative says that was suffered by the poor christian martyrs.
44. Such indeed were the precautions of human wisdom. The next thing was to seek means of propitiating the gods, and recourse was had to the Sibylline books, by the direction of which prayers were offered to Vulcanus, Ceres, and Proserpina. Juno, too, was entreated by the matrons, first, in the Capitol, then on the nearest part of the coast, whence water was procured to sprinkle the temple and image of the goddess. And there were sacred banquets and nightly vigils celebrated by married women. But all human efforts, all the lavish gifts of the emperor, and the propitiations of the gods, did not banish the sinister belief that the conflagration was the result of an order. Consequently, to get rid of the report, Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace. Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus, and a most mischievous superstition, thus checked for the moment, again broke out not only in Judaea, the first source of the evil, but even in Rome, where all things hideous and shameful from every part of the world find their centre and become popular. Accordingly, an arrest was first made of all who pleaded guilty; then, upon their information, an immense multitude was convicted, not so much of the crime of firing the city, as of hatred against mankind. Mockery of every sort was added to their deaths. Covered with the skins of beasts, they were torn by dogs and perished, or were nailed to crosses, or were doomed to the flames and burnt, to serve as a nightly illumination, when daylight had expired. Nero offered his gardens for the spectacle, and was exhibiting a show in the circus, while he mingled with the people in the dress of a charioteer or stood aloft on a car. Hence, even for criminals who deserved extreme and exemplary punishment, there arose a feeling of compassion; for it was not, as it seemed, for the public good, but to glut one man's cruelty, that they were being destroyed.
Tacitus tells us that Nero tried
everything, "
But all human efforts, all the lavish gifts of the emperor, and the propitiations of the gods, did not banish the sinister belief that the conflagration was the result of an order." Well, it seems, not
quite everything. Finally, we are told, he hit on another thing to do "
to get rid of the report", he "
fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures" on the christians. So far, so good, you might say. He tried everything but nothing worked, so after trying everything he discovered it was not quite everything. He had another trick up his sleeve: he blamed the christians. But the weird thing is that we don't get told whether it was successful or not.
After we learn of the failure with human efforts, with gifts and even with propitiations, these "
precautions of human wisdom" being to no avail, we don't learn the result of Nero's shifting the blame. Instead, we learn about what happened to the christians.
Next time I corner you in a bar, look me in the face and tell me if you think the TT is the work of one of the greatest orators in ancient Rome. This is when those who want it to be veracious say, "he must have been having a bad day." That's after the meticulous way he stitched Nero up to take the wrap for the fire with no evidence.
Domus Transitoria, when the fire broke out, so the theory that he deliberately burned down Rome to build a new residence is a farce.
OK, thanks. I can stop scratching.