f the Church were so soon regarded by the pagans as a morose
generation instinct with hatred to the human race. In A.D. 64, when
Nero, in a fit of recklessness, set fire to his capital, he soon
discovered that he had, to a dangerous extent, provoked the wrath of the
Roman citizens; and he attempted, in consequence, to divert the torrent
of public indignation from himself, by imputing the mischief to the
Christians. They were already odious as the propagators of what was
considered "a pernicious superstition," and the tyrant, no doubt,
reckoned that the mob of the metropolis were prepared to believe any
report to the discredit of these sectaries. But even the pagan historian
who records the commencement of this first imperial persecution, and who
was deeply prejudiced against the disciples of our Lord, bears testimony
to the falsehood of the accusation. Nero, says Tacitus, "found wretches
who were induced to confess themselves guilty; and, on their evidence, a
great multitude of Christians were convicted, not indeed on clear proof
of their having set the city on fire, but rather on account of their
hatred of the human race. [167:1] They were put to death amidst insults
and derision. Some were covered with the skins of wild beasts, and left
to be torn to pieces by dogs; others were nailed to the cross; and some,
covered over with inflammable matter, were lighted up, when the day
declined, to serve as torches during the night. The Emperor lent his own
gardens for the exhibition. He added the sports of the circus, and
assisted in person, sometimes driving a curricle, and occasionally
mixing with the rubble in his coachman's dress. At length these
proceedings excited a feeling of compassion, as it was evident that the
Christians were destroyed, not for the public good, but as a sacrifice
to the cruelty of a single individual." [167:2] Some writers have
maintained that the persecution under Nero was confined to Rome; but
various testimonies concur to prove that it extended to the provinces.
Paul seems to contemplate its spread throughout the Empire when he tells
the Hebrews that they had "_not yet_ resisted _unto blood_ striving
against sin," [167:3] and when he exhorts them not to forsake the
assembling of themselves together as they "see _the day approaching_."
[167:4] Peter also, as has been stated in a preceding chapter,
apparently refers to the same circumstance in his letter to the brethren
"scattered throughout Pontus, G