--] At one spectacle men on horseback overcame bulls while
riding along beside them, and the knights who served as Nero's personal
guard brought down with their javelins four hundred bears and three
hundred lions. On the same occasion thirty knights belonging to the
military fought in the arena. The emperor sanctioned such proceedings
openly. Secretly, however, he carried on nocturnal revels throughout the
length and breadth of the city, insulting the women, practicing lewdness
on boys, stripping those whom he encountered, striking, wounding,
murdering. He had an idea that his incognito was impenetrable, for he used
all sorts of different costumes and false hair at different times: but he
would be recognized by his retinue and by his deeds. No one else would
have dared to commit so many and such gross outrages so recklessly.
[Sidenote: A.D. 56 (a.u. 809)] It was becoming unsafe even for a person to
stay at home, since he would break into shops and houses. It came about
that a certain Julius Montanus, [Footnote: _C. Iulius Montanus C.F._
(Cp. Suetonius, Life of Nero, chapter 60).] a senator, enraged on his
wife's account, fell upon this reveler and inflicted many blows upon him,
so that he had to remain several days in concealment by reason of the
black eyes he had received. Montanus did not suffer for it, since Nero
thought the violence had been all an accident and was for showing no anger
at the occurrence, had not the other sent him a letter begging his pardon.
Nero on reading the epistle remarked: "So he knew that he was striking
Nero." The suicide of Montanus followed hard after.

[Sidenote: A.D. 57 (a.u. 810)] In the course of producing a spectacle at
one of the theatres, he suddenly filled the place with sea-water so that
the fishes and sea-monsters [Footnote: [Greek: ktaenae] of the MSS. was
changed to [Greek: kaetae] on the conjecture of Sylburgius, who was
followed by Bekker, Dindorf, and Boissevain. (Compare also Suetonius, Life
of Nero, chapter 12).] swam in it, and had a naval battle between
"Persians" and "Athenians." At the close of it he suddenly withdrew the
water, dried the subsoil, and continued land contests, not only between
two men at a time but with crowds pitted against other crowds.

[Sidenote: A.D. 58 (a.u. 811)] [Sidenote:--10--] Subsequent to this,
oratorical contests took place, and as a result even of these numbers were
exiled and put to death.--Seneca also was held to account, one of the
ch