As for Nero, his reign as Emperor would degenerate into greater
debauchery, murder, and madness, to the point where even pagan Romans
had had enough. The cry of revolt was raised across Gaul, Germany, Briton
and Spain. The Senate declared him an outlaw and sentenced him to a
commoner’s death. The Praetorian Guard then switched its allegiance to
General Galba. As a group of Praetorians pursued his chariot, Nero realized
that his end had come, and so took his own life with a dagger. With his
suicide, ended the persecution of the Church. Nero’s last words were,
“What an artist dies in me!”
Themes for study:
Nero’s pride and psychopathic megalomania;
Nero’s burning of Rome and his scapegoating of the Christians;
The cruelty of the persecution inflicted on the Christians;
The martyrdoms of Sts. Peter and Paul.
Further reading:
Warren H. Carroll, The Founding of Christendom (A History of
Christendom), Vol. 1, Christendom Press, 1985, pp. 419-426;
Anne W. Carroll, Christ the King: Lord of History, Second Edition,
Trinity Communications, 1986, pp. 85-86;
Fernard Hayward, A History of the Popes, J.M. Dent & Sons Ltd.,
1931, pp. 13-15;
Rev. D. I. Lanslots, The Primitive Church, TAN Books and
Publishers, 1926, pp. 223-230.
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