The notoriously corrupt and tyrannical emperor of Rome from 37-68 C.E., who allegedly set Rome ablaze and used the ensuing catastrophe to justify persecuting, torturing, and killing Christians. Philosophy uses Nero’s “frenzied lunacy” as an example of why power does not necessarily make people virtuous, but in fact often leads them to evil.
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Nero Character Timeline in The Consolation of Philosophy
The timeline below shows where the character Nero appears in The Consolation of Philosophy. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Book II, Part VI
In verse, Philosophy recounts the destruction wrought by the murderous emperor Nero, whose “high power” did not “check [his] frenzied lunacy.”
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Book III, Part IV
In another short verse, Philosophy remembers how Nero’s fancy clothes did nothing to win him favor, and how it was actually considered a...
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