A Source Book for Ancient Church History - Mirrors

14 A Source Book for Ancient Church HistoryThe Neronian persecution took place A. D. 64. The occasion wasthe great fire which destroyed a large part of the city of Rome.To turn public suspicion from himself as responsible for the fire,Nero attempted to make the Christians appear as the incendiaries.Many were put to death in horrible and fantastic ways. It wasnot, however, a persecution directed against Christianity as anunlawful religion. It was probably confined to Rome and at mostthe immediate vicinity, and there is no evidence that it was ageneral persecution.Additional source material: Lactantius, De Mortibus Persecutorum,ch. 2 (ANF, VII); Sulpicius Severus, Chronicon, II. 28(PNF, ser. II, vol. XI).(a) Tacitus, Annales, XV, 44. Preuschen, Analecta, I, § 3:1.Mirbt, n. 3.Tacitus (c. 52-c. 117), although not an eye-witness ofthe persecution, had exceptionally good opportunities forobtaining accurate information, and his account is entirelytrustworthy. He is the principal source for the persecution.[007]Neither by works of benevolence nor the gifts of the prince normeans of appeasing the gods did the shameful suspicion cease,so that it was not believed that the fire had been caused by hiscommand. Therefore, to overcome this rumor, Nero put in hisown place as culprits, and punished with most ingenious cruelty,men whom the common people hated for their shameful crimesand called Christians. Christ, from whom the name was derived,had been put to death in the reign of Tiberius by the procuratorPontius Pilate. The deadly superstition, having been checked fora while, began to break out again, not only throughout Judea,where this mischief first arose, but also at Rome, where fromall sides all things scandalous and shameful meet and becomefashionable. Therefore, at the beginning, some were seized who