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January 11 - March 29, 2022
Petronius, interrogated by a glance from Cæsar, replied,— “Common verses, fit for the fire.” The hearts of those present stopped beating from terror. Since the years of his childhood Nero had never heard such a sentence from any man.
!
Thy verses would be worthy of Virgil, of Ovid, even of Homer, but they are not worthy of thee. Thou art not free to write such. The conflagration described by thee does not blaze enough; thy fire is not hot enough. Listen not to Lucan’s flatteries. Had he written those verses, I should acknowledge him a genius, but thy case is different. And knowest thou why? Thou art greater than they.
Clever!
But when I listen to music, especially thy music, new delights and beauties open before me every instant. I pursue them, I try to seize them; but before I can take them to myself, new and newer ones flow in, just like waves of the sea, which roll on from infinity.
Good simile!
Hence I tell thee that music is like the sea. We stand on one shore and gaze at remoteness, but we cannot see the other shore.”
Another good simile!
“Vinicius, a tribune of the army, an Augustian.
Why doe he not serve during the months of this book?
Vinicius heard voices accusing Nero of burning the city.
Did he?
The young tribune had not the least doubt then that Cæsar had given command to burn Rome; and the vengeance which people demanded seemed to him just and proper.
?
But neither despair nor blasphemy nor hymn helped in any way. The destruction seemed as irresistible, perfect, and pitiless as Predestination itself.
Predestination!
No one doubted then that Cæsar had given command to burn the city, so as to afford himself a spectacle and sing a song at it.
?
The hut was rather a cave rounded Out in an indentation of the hill, and was faced outside with a wall made of reeds.
Out does not need capitalization.
Camps of people were disposed in the lordly gardens of Cæsar, formerly gardens of Domitius and Agrippina; they were disposed also on the Campus Martius, in the gardens of Pompey, Sallust, and Mæcenas, in porticos, tennis-courts, splendid summer-houses, and buildings erected for wild beasts.
Tennis courts? Per Wikipedia, tennis in its earliest form was recognized in 12th century.
“But if we spread the report that Vatinius gave command to burn the city, and devote him to the anger of the people?” “O divinity! Who am I?” exclaimed Vatmius.
Typo - the name should be Vatinius not Vatmius!
Rome ruled the world, but was also its ulcer.
What Petronius thought when he heard crowds shouting "To the lions with Christians!'
People were diverted at sight of this, inferring from the number of coffins the greatness of the spectacle.
Diverted seems to be wrong word!
While taking their places, the spectators made an uproar like the sea in time of storm.
Simile
Seneca’s Iberian nerves were stronger than Chilos;
Chilo's
There is a feast at the house of Vinicius this evening;
Why would Petronius tell Vinicius that there is a feast at the house of Vinicius - particularly after the house of Vinicius was destroyed by fire?
“Christ’s command to love men was higher than that to hate evil, for His religion is not hatred, but love.”
!
Indeed Chilo looked terribly.
The sentence calls for adjective 'terrible' not adverb 'terribly.'
I Swear to thee by the name of the Redeemer that Peter is praying for thee.”
Swear does not require capitalization.
And how am I, a feeble old man, to fight with this invincible power of Evil, which Thou hart permitted to rule, and have victory?”
Typo - 'hart' should be 'hast'!
It seemed that out of every tear of a martyr new confessors were born, and that every groan on the arena found an echo in thousands of breasts.
!
He walked with solemn attention, but with calmness, feeling that since the death on Golgotha nothing equally important had happened, and that as the first death had redeemed the whole world, this was to redeem the city.
Not even the resurrection???
being a Roman citizen, the guard showed more respect to him.
Dangling modifier!
Paul felt this; and his heart was filled with delight at the thought that to that harmony of the world he had added one note which had not been in it hitherto, but without which the whole earth was like sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal.
1 Corinthians 13:1
“I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness.”
2 Timothy 4:7-8
for as light comes from the sun, so does happiness come from love.
Good metaphor!
People, uncertain of the future, dazed not express hopes or wishes; they hardly dared to feel or think.
Typo - should be 'dared' not 'dazed.'
