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The anxiety of Nero to avoid the charge is utterly incompa- 

 tible with the narration of Suetonius. Incendit tirbem tarn palam, 

 fays that hiftorian, Ut plerique Confulares, Cubicular'ws ejus, cum 

 Jfupa tadaque, in pradiis Juis deprehenfos non at tiger int. Is it cre- 

 dible that he, who fo much dreaded the imputation, fhould have 

 committed the fad without difguife. That he ufed every exer-' 

 tion to avert the charge appears from Tacitus — by anxious and 

 a£tive care to expedite the rebuilding of the city — by princely 

 largeffes to the fufFerers — ^by fupplications and atoning facrifices 

 to the gods, he laboured to extricate himfelf from the infamy. 

 It is true he was not fuccefsful. Such was the odium againft him. 

 Non ope hutnana, non largitionibus principis, aut deiim placamentis 

 decedebat jnfamia. He then endeavoured to throw the fufpicion 

 on the Chriftians, fince he found the world too prejudiced to af- 

 cribe the event to accident — with equal want of fuccefs indeed. 

 But all which I wifh to infer is, that this extreme anxiety con- 

 futes the notion of his rafh unguarded promotion of the cala- 

 mity; and that he was particularly diftrefled at this rumour 

 appears from his known charader, which was, in general, to 

 defpife all rumours. Nihil patientius quam malediBa et convitia hq- 

 minum tultt. — Suetonius, p. 258. 



The extent of the power of prejudice againft this miferable 

 Prince at this period cannot be more ftrongly exemplified than 

 in the murmurs which Tacitus mentions, occafioned by his open- 

 ing the city and widening the ftreets, becaufe, as was alleged, 

 the old narrow ftreets and lofty houfes contributed exceedingly 



to 



