2.25.1
XXV. Κραταιουμένης δ’ ἤδη τῷ Νέρωνι τῆς ἀρχῆς, εἰς ἀνοσίους ὀκείλας ἐπιτηδεύσεις, κατ’ αὐ- τῆς ὡπλίζετο τῆς εἰς τὸν τῶν ὅλων θεὸν εὐσεβείας. γράφειν μὲν οὖν οἷός τις οὗτος γεγένηται τὴν μοχθηρίαν, οὐ τῆς παρούσης γένοιτ’ ἂν σχολῆς · πολλῶν γε μὴν τὰ κατ’ αὐτὸν ἀκριβεστάταις παραδεδωκότων διηγήσεαιν, πάρεστιν ὅτῳ φί- λον, ἐξ αὐτῶν τὴν σκαιότητα τῆς τἀνδρὸς ἐκτόπου καταθεωμααι μανίας, καθ’ ἢν οὐ μετὰ λογισμοῦ μυρίων ὅαων ἀπωλείας διεξελθών, ἐπὶ τοααύτην ἤλασε μιαιφονίαν, ὡς μηδὲ τῶν οἰκειοτάτων τε καὶ φιλτάτων ἐπισχεῖν, μητέρα δὲ ὁμοίως καὶ ἀδελφοὺς καὶ γυναῖκα αὺν καὶ ἄλλοις μυρίοις τῷ γένει προσήκουσιν τρόπον ἐχθρῶν καὶ πολε- μίων ποικίλαις θανάτων ἰδέαις διαχρήαααθαι. ἐνέδει δ’ ἄρα τοῖς πᾶσι καὶ τοῦτ' ἐπιγραφῆναι αὐτῷ, ὡς ἀν’ πρῶτος αὐτοκρατόρων τῆς εἰς τὸ θεῖον εὐαεβείας πολέμιος ἀναδειχθείη. τούτου πάλιν ὁ Ῥωμαῖος Τερτυλλιανὸς ὧδέ πως λέγων μνημονεύει ἐντύχετε τοῖς ὑπομνήμααιν ὑμῶν, ἐκεῖ εὑρήαετε πρῶτον Νέρωνα τοῦτο τὸ δόγμα, ἡνίκα μάλιατα ἐν Ῥώμῃ, τὴν ἀνατολὴν πᾶσαν ὑποτάξας, ὠμὸς ἦν εἰς πάντας, διώξαντα. τοιού- τῳ τῆς κολάαεως ἡμῶν ἀρχηγῷ καυχώμεθα. ὁ γὰρ εἰδὼς ἐκεῖνον νοῆσαι δύναται ὡς οὐκ ἄν, εἰ μὴ μέγα τι ἀγαθὸν ἦν, ὑπὸ Νέρωνος κατακριθῆναι.”
XXV. When the rule of Nero was now gathering strength for unholy objects, he began to take up arms against the worship of the God of the universe. It is not part of the present work to describe his depravity: many indeed have related his story in accurate narrative, and from them he who wishes can study the perversity of his degenerate madness, which made him compass the unreasonable destruction of so many thousands, until he reached that final guilt of sparing neither his nearest nor dearest, so that in various ways he did to death alike his mother, brothers, and wife, with thousands of others attached to his family, as though they were enemies and foes. But with all this there was still lacking to him this, that it should be attributed to him that he was the first of the emperors to be pointed out as a foe of divine religion. This again the Latin writer Tertullian mentions in one place as follows: “Look at your records: there you will find that Nero was the first to persecute this belief when, having overcome the whole East, he was specially cruel in Rome against all. We boast that such a man was the author of our chastisement; for he who knows him can understand that nothing would have been condemned by Nero had it not been great and good.”