masked as Mercury, god of hell; red irons, that others, masked as
Charon, bore, being first applied as safeguard against swoon or
fraud. And when, to the kisses of flutes, the last palm had been
awarded, the last death acclaimed, a ballet was given; that of
Paris and Venus, which Apuleius has described so well, and for
afterpiece the romance of Pasipha? and the bull. Then, as night
descended, so did torches, too; the arena was strewn with
vermilion; tables were set, and to the incitement of crotals,
Lydians danced before the multitude, toasting the last act of that
wonderful day.

It was with such magnificence that Nero showed the impresario's
skill, the politician's adroitness. Where the artist, which he
claimed to be, really appeared, was in the refurbishing of Rome.

In spite of Augustus' boast, the city was not by any means of
marble. It was filled with crooked little streets, with the
atrocities of the Tarquins, with houses unsightly and perilous,
with the moss and dust of ages; it compared with Alexandria as
London compares with Paris; it had a splendor of its own, but a
splendor that could be heightened.

Whether the conflagration which occurred at that time was the
result of accident or design is uncertain and in any event
immaterial. Tacitus says that when it began Nero was at Antium, in
which case he must have hastened to return, for admitting that he
did not originate the fire, it is a matter of agreement that he
collaborated in it. In quarters where it showed symptoms of
weakness it was by his orders coaxed to new strength; colossal
stone buildings, on which it had little effect, were battered down