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The title of this Effay indicates my intention to confine my 

 obfervations to the comparative fidelity in narration of the 

 celebrated writers therein mentioned, without touching on their 

 other relative perfedlions or imperfedions. The inftance which 

 I have feleded to illuftrate this point (for abundance of them 

 might be found *) may to fome appear trifling ; and it may be 

 afked, who, in the eighteenth century, can be interefted in the 

 queftion, whether Rome, in the firft, was burnt by the hand 

 of her natural protedor, or of what utility is the difcufllon 

 which tends to wafh away one fpot from the bloody garb of 

 Nero ? The objedion fhould not come from the theoretic lover 

 of truth, never defpifing enquiry and difcrimination ; nor will 

 the expulfion of falfehood from hiftory ever appear trifling to 

 its pradical admirers. The queftion too is not totally uncon- 

 neded with the well-known controverfy in morals, on the 

 exiftence of gratuitous malevolence, as any alleged motives for 

 this fuppofed condud of the tyrant are utterly unfatisfadory to 



the 



• Such as Suetonius' aflertion, that Tiberius aboliflied the privilege of fan£luary, 

 when the contrary, which is aflerted by Tacitus, is proved beyond a doubt, by coina 

 fubfequent to his reign ; his making Germanicus conquer a king of Armenia, when 

 Armenia had no king, and was not at war with Rome ; his reprefentation of the 

 charafter of Nero, in many refpefts differing from the traits given by Tacitus and 

 others ; his mentioning the lofs of an army in Afia, when from Tacitus it appears 

 it was only the rumour of fuch a lofs. Surely thefe variances would not have 

 appeared trifling to Lipfius, who took fuch pains to reconcile thefe authors, when 

 diiFering in the point, Whether Agrippa Poflhumus was killed by a centurion or 

 a tribune of the foldiers. Jofephus obferves, that no man's character has been more 

 mifreprefented, from adulation on the one Gde and prejudice on the other, than 

 Nero's. 



