The Sun.
London, England, 1868-07-09 00:00:00

ST. PETER AND NERO.

Last year, the Church celebrated the nine-
teenth centenary of the martyrdom of the
Apostle Peter, Vicar of Jesus Christ. This
year, at the same time, occurs the nineteenth
anniversary_ of . the suicide of the Emperor
Nero, Vicar of Satan. We know what the fete
of the Church was, and how the furious revo-
lution would fain have turned it into her last
Vespers. The great journal of Catholic Italy,
the Unita, recalls this to the revolutionists,
and suggests to them to take their revenge
by celebrating in their turn the centenary of
Nero. And why should they not, seeing that
Nero is their chief, as Peter is ours, and that
both are still living and wrestling with each
other yet for the prize of the word ? In truth,
there are but these two personages in all
humanity, and the history of the human race
is the history of their conflict.
Peter, the envoy and the substitute of
Christ, the only Son of God, in combatting
Nero, combatted humanity itself. He com-
batted it to wrest it from the gods it had made
for itself, and who were devouring it. In its
madness it would fain have kept them, because
it worshipped in them its own handiwork.
Peter was beaten with rods, crucified. He died,
and he was the victor. The Roman Empire,
which slew always, whose strength was based
upon vengeance, and whose duration was based
upon death, made its false step upon the
corpse of the man of peace, to whom Christ
had given the supreme commandment to love
more than others, and always to pardon. Peter
wrested Rome from Nero, and gave her to
Christ.

And Nero also fought with humanity, ever
divided and in arms against itself. He strove
against the divine instinct by which it sought
light, against the groans with which it called
upon God. A hellish inspiration seemed to
guide him, leading him to commit crimes more
hideous than the corruption of man had yet
invented, more brutal than any to which
supreme power had yet accustomed itself, and
outraging human society, nature and divinity.
In the presence of Jesus Christ, already. visible
in the whole universe, Nero declared himself
to be God.

Base pagan servility had long demanded this
outrage, but it was reserved for the madness
of Caligula to accede to the demand. Augustus,
Tiberius and Claudius, overcome by this in-
famous servility, permitted temples to be de-
dicated to them ; but Nero was the first to
believe in his own divinity. He erected altars
to himself, and Rome, with her great, her
wise, her philosophic, and her brave sons,
fell down in adoratiOn. Both Seneca and
Burrhus feigned to adore Nero ; and Tacitus,
resolved to have only the virtues which would
not interfere with his becoming a Senator, saw
Nero pass by, and went not to Christ:
Under this reign human degradation was
most public. When the Emperor, himself
given up to unspeakable debaucheries, a
monster of lust and ferocity, although the
ruler of the world, appeared as an ignoble
actor at the public theatre, lyre in hand, and

when behind him, not gennms, not IParciano
or Tigellinus, but Seneca and Burrhus, were
seen applauding, then humanity had come to
its lowest degradation, it had been seen what
tyranny could exact, and humanity could
be base enough to furnish.
There was the result of all civilization, the
outcome of philosophy, science, art, literature
and politics, of the lives of Plato, Aristotle,
Homer, Alexander, Cicero, and of Ctesar, all
was consolidated to form the monster who
played upon the lyre in a public theatre,
supported by the wisdom of Seneca and the
virtue of Burrhus. Had he known that Tacitus
was before him, little had he reeked. He
would even have let him live that posterity
" might not remain ignorant of Nero, and might
hate him. As though aware of the command-
ment of love and mercy given to Peter, which
raised him to be the head of the human race,
Nero proclaimed the spirit and the mission of
Satan which were in him, the spirit and the
mission of hate. " I would," he said, "be
hated, and it is my glory, for to be loved de-
pends not on myself alone, whereas it depends
on me alone to make myself hated."
For the rest, Nero was full of the learning
of his day, lettered, artistic, humanitarian.
A worthy disciple of Seneca, he said " good
things." When a sentence of death was pre-
sented to him to sign, he let fall the pen,
saying, "Would that I knew not how to write.'
He enrolled himself in the League of Peace.
When the Senate praised the wisdom of his
rule, he said, " Wait to praise me till I have
merited praise." He long feigned mildness,
and only ceased altogether to be a hypocrite
when he was fully found out. It was well
that by such a hand Peter should die.
Nero in his turn died a year afterwards ;
not of -the wrath of Rome, not-of the disgust
Of humanity, but of the fear which he inspired,
and which he felt himself. Fear, indeed, was
the great cause of death in this haughty Rome.
People died of fear and ennui. The Senate
dared not hate Nero, the people loved him.
His policy was to appal the great, and to
divert the rabble, and it succeeded in keeping
him for fourteen years in his place. If he
had gone on as virtuously as he began, it may
well be that be would not have lasted so long.
He was a ruler who suited this world. At
last, however, Galba being threatened, rises
in his starving province ; places are promised;
the Senate, reserved for massacres, tempts for-
tune, declares for Galba, and seeks out Nero to
put him to death. But he had already fled,
having provided himself ' with poison and a
dagger; but ho hesitated to swallow the poison,
and gazed ruefully at the dagger, unable to
make a choice. When the soldiers of the
Senate approached, he cut his throat, but with
so ill-armed a hand, that he was still able to
lament that "he who sang so well should die
such a death."

The Italian revolutionists are the small
change for a Nero. Between them and hula
there is no tack of analogies, e.g., severity,
luxury, prodigality, rapine, murder, self-glori-
flcUtion, buffoonery, and above all, the hate of
the name of Christian. Like Nero, they would
have burnt Rome ; like Nero, they would have
slain their mother, which is the Church. And
a Seneca is not wanting to undertake the
defence of the parricide, and has, indeed/
already commenced it. But the analogy will
go still further. It is to be foreseen that if the
Revolution does not itself die, the Government,
in which it is at this moment incarnate, will
end by a cowardly suicide, and will perish
of the blows which it inflicts upon itself ill,
the midst of its own self-complacence. "t
sung so well, and yet must I die." " Analo
artifea Nereo I"

It is, therefore, quite in keeping for th°
Italian revolutionists to celebrate with all mug'
nificence the nineteenth centenary of Nero.
This noble Emperor is their type. They d°
his work, which is to wrest Rome and lin-
inanity from Peter, the Vicar of Christ, and
to hand them over to Cinsar, the man 0f
Satan.

As to success, indeed, they cannot look for
it ; and even if they succeed in reopening
the catacombs, it is the granary of plenty
The grain or Christ is yet there, and will there
multiply itself to nourish yet again the human
race:—Uni•vers.

The Lombardia of Milan, of the Ist inst., relate
the following :—" A deplorable fact occurred yam'
terday on the Piazza Santa Sofia. A number 01
young men threw stones at the Archbishop, wb°
had been to the Convent Santa Sofia to visit the
nuns. Some missiles also were cast into the church•
The police hastened to the spot and put an end to
the disturbance."

A letter from Athens, in the Journal de Paris'
speaks of scandalous scenes of which the Hellenic
Chamber of Deputies is too often the theatre. .9
mentions, among others, the following :—The dee'
tion of the members for Syra was recently under
examination. The President of the Committee, A
Giacovato, deputy for Cephalonia, becoming irri-
tated at a remark made by another member, used
some very improper language towards him. T 13.0
other deputies took the part of their insulted Col'
league, and violent words were followed by blova•
The President of the chamber was at last obliged
to terminate the sitting ; but as the tumult wen!
on still increasing, the armed force was compelled
to interfere to clear the building and close 016
door.

SWIMMING IN THE SERPENTINE. —rr e annual
competition of those members of the Serpentine Chill
who are qualified to swim for first-class prizes, took place
on Wednesday. Tho distance was 1,000 yards—from the
grating at the east end to Kensington-gardens Bridge. A-11
enormous mass of persons thronged the shore on either,
side. There were seven entries, viz., W. Cavill (°4
Brighton), J. T. Stabbach, G. Parrott, H. Ward, J. CO''
lard, H. Jenkins, and W. F. May. At 6.50 Mr. Evans
the honorary secretary, started them evenly, but in the
first dozen strokes Collard was in front. That position he
did not hold, as Stabbach and Cavill soon began to single
themselves out as leaders, and in the first 50 yards were
clear, Stabbach leading. Parrott, Ward, and Collard
were level in the second rank, Jenkins and May being
thus early disposed of as to their chance of winning. At
130 yards Cavill got the lead of Stabbach by at least ON
yards, Collard going well into the third place. In passing
the green boat-house Parrott and Ward had become level
for third, which position Parrott took decidedly tl-1
time they were abreast of the Royal Humane Society,'
house. At the bend Cavill swam most towards the mid-
dle of the stream, having a commanding lead, so that
Stabbach, by keeping to the north shore, seemed to be.
coming up, but in reality it was not so, for the furthei
they went the wider became the gap between them, and
the Brighton man was greatly cheered as he wont under
the bridge at least 30 yards ahead of Stabbach, who was
ten yards from Parrott, between whom and Ward for third
place there was not more than half a yard. Collard
dropped somewhat astern towards the finish. Mr. NV'
Huniphries, the swimming master to the club, was judge'
and the time was 18 min. 18 secs.