Paul Before Nero
225
darkness that enveloped him. There needed only this crowning act of
rejection of divine mercy to call down upon him the retributive justice
of God.
It was not long after this that Nero sailed on his expedition to
Greece, where he disgraced himself and his kingdom by the most
contemptible and debasing frivolity. He returned to Rome with great
pomp, and in his golden palace, surrounded by the most infamous
of his courtiers, he engaged in scenes of revolting debauchery. In
the midst of their revelry, a voice as of a tumult in the streets was
heard, and a messenger was despatched to learn the cause. He hastily
returned with the appalling news that Galba, at the head of an avenging
army, was marching rapidly upon Rome, that insurrection had already
broken out in the city, and the streets were filled with an enraged mob
threatening death to the emperor and all his supporters, and rapidly
urging their way toward the palace.
The wretched tyrant, as cowardly as he was cruel, was completely
unmanned. He sprang from the table at which he had been feasting
and drinking, overturning it in his blind terror, and dashing the most
costly wares to fragments. Like one beside himself, he rushed hither
[317]
and thither, beating his forehead, and crying, “I am lost! I am lost!”
He had not, like the faithful Paul, a powerful, compassionate God to
rely upon in his hour of peril. He knew that if taken prisoner he would
be subjected to insult and torture, and he considered how he might
end his miserable life with as little pain as possible. He called for
poison, but when it was brought, he dared not take it; he called for a
sword, but after examining its sharp edge, he laid it also aside. Then,
disguised in woman’s clothing, he rushed from his palace, and fled
through the dark, narrow streets to the Tiber; but as he looked into its
murky depths, his courage again failed. One of the few companions
who had followed him, suggested that he escape to a country-seat a
few miles distant, where he might find safety. Concealing his face, he
leaped upon a horse, and succeeded in making his escape.
While the emperor was thus ingloriously fleeing for his life, the
Roman senate, emboldened by the insurrection and the approach of
Galba, passed a decree declaring Nero to be the enemy of his country,
and condemning him to death. The news of this decision being brought
to Nero by one of his companions, the monarch inquired what manner
of death he was to suffer, and was told that he was to be stripped naked,