Tacitus (c. 55 -117 CE): Nero's persecution of the Christians
Tacitus was a fierce critic of Nero, and modern scholars have
questioned the reliability of his account of this notorious Roman
Emperor; but the following passage from his Annals is famous
because it is one of the first mentions in a non-Christian source
of Christianity. In 64 CE Rome underwent a catastrophic fire,
which some believed had been set at the orders of the emperor
himself. Tacitus claims that Nero tried to shift the blame to
the unpopular Christians, though other sources indicate that their
persecution may have been unconnected to the fire. It is not clear
exactly why many Romans so detested the new believers, though
Christians were often confused with Jews, who were accused of
being rebellious (with some reason, since the Jews of Judaea more
than once created insurrections against the Roman provincial government)
and lazy (since they rested on the Sabbath). Scandalous rumors
about obscene Christian rituals circulated at an early date, and
we know that they were accused of disloyalty because of their
refusal to perform the token ritual acknowledging the divine status
of the Emperor, viewed by most citizens as little different from
a modern flag salute. If Tacitus shows sympathy for them, it is
because he detests Nero more. Whatever their exact cause this
early persecution and later ones made a profound impact on the
Christian Church, and bequeathed a legacy of colorful tales of
martyred saints who were celebrated in story, song, and art for
the next two millenia, long after the Church had triumphed over
its opponents.
What were the main accusations brought against the Christians?
Yet no human effort, no princely largess nor offerings to
the gods could make that infamous rumor disappear that Nero had
somehow ordered the fire. Therefore, in order to abolish that
rumor, Nero falsely accused and executed with the most exquisite
punishments those people called Christians, who were infamous
for their abominations. The originator of the name, Christ, was
executed as a criminal by the procurator Pontius Pilate during
the reign of Tiberius; and though repressed, this destructive
superstition erupted again, not only through Judea, which was
the origin of this evil, but also through the city of Rome, to
which all that is horrible and shameful floods together and is
celebrated. Therefore, first those were seized who admitted their
faith, and then, using the information they provided, a vast multitude
were convicted, not so much for the crime of burning the city,
but for hatred of the human race. And perishing they were additionally
made into sports: they were killed by dogs by having the hides
of beasts attached to them, or they were nailed to crosses or
set aflame, and, when the daylight passed away, they were used
as nighttime lamps. Nero gave his own gardens for this spectacle
and performed a Circus game, in the habit of a charioteer mixing
with the plebs or driving about the race-course. Even though they
were clearly guilty and merited being made the most recent example
of the consequences of crime, people began to pity these sufferers,
because they were consumed not for the public good but on account
of the fierceness of one man.
Translated by Richard Hooker
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This is an excerpt from Reading
About the World, Volume 1, edited by Paul Brians, Mary Gallwey, Douglas Hughes, Azfar Hussain, Richard Law, Michael Myers, Michael Neville, Roger Schlesinger, Alice Spitzer, and Susan Swan and published by Harcourt Brace Custom Books.
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Paul Brians
Department of English
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Pullman 99164-5020
This is just a sample of Reading About the World, Volume 1.
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