Alexandria daily gazette, commercial & political. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1808-1812, 1808-11-04

his beace NTH an issnoali,aious. briee.( I0)
In public life he was no less despicable.
No sooner was he established on the throne,
than he contrived to ruin the very persons
whose intrigue had lifted him into power
not openly-for this was impracticable.--s
But by feigning panic by pretending that
a conspiracy was formed against his life, &
a revolution projected in the empire.G1)
A project, says the historian, SO absurd,
that no one Was stupid enough to believe
it.
He next drove from the government all
the old and faithful officers who had derct-
ed their lives 10 the public service. And
for what reason? Merely because they with
held their applause from his vices and fol-
cs.G2) Vices andfol.ies that wasted the
public treasure and degraded the common
wealth.
Their places he supplied with fillers,
dancers, and actors! (15) Yagabonds with
out principle, without property, without
character. But Nero was a patron Of the
frivolous arts. For he himself was master
of all tie frivolous accomplishments Of his
age. He WAS a dancer, a singer, scalp
tor, painter, charioterr, q poet, rhe-
torician, an actor, fiddler and, it would
seem from the historians (i4)a bhilosobaez..
Nay, we have these proofs,of It: he pro-
1iected q canal from the lake Avernus to the
mouth Of the Ilber, a distance OF more than
$50 miles through ridge Of rocks, which
was just as practicable as % make vessels
sail in a dry sea, and ordered home all the
convicts from Erica to assist in the enter
prise. (15) His attention, however, was
soon diverted from this 10 another which
promised eq,ial celebrity ard greater zprutit.
On being told by one Eassus, vsorant ad-
venturer, OF huge cavern in distant and
uninhabitsd country, which contained i'm
mcnse stores OF gold, supposed to be the
wealth o. queen DIDO lying in massv hca,.s
and towering IN columns to prcdieious
height lie seized tie bubble with avi,litv,
bargained for the mine, and exhausted the
pubic wealth in searching for what was not
10 be found. lie even made assignments
on the property and addressed the senate Gil
the value OF the purchase. All eyes, ard
ears, and mouths were oren. The emperor
could nos be deceived. -Ihe senate an,i vast
nunl5ers OF the people were gulled. Poems
and orations We're made By his parasites at
the next Quinquenni.l games, il which il
was said with admiration tnat the earth was
10 longer satisfied with yielding only hc,
usual bounties, but teemed in lis reign
with productions altogether new--vven With
treasures already stored. Go)
At another time, when the temple OF a.
nus was shut, and Rome was at peace with
ali the world, to convince the people of the
public prosperity, he ordered eco ships Of
corn just arrived from Egypt, the public
rranaly, to be sunk IN the Iiber. (12) A
famine ens,,ed as might have been expected
and while the citizens were starving in
the streets, another snip arrived from the
Nile, laden, not with corn, bur with sand,
to smooth ar arena for Nerc's experiments.
az II any further proofs are required, the
histo1 IAN has assured us that he was slovenly
and indecent in his appearance, (1s) fond OF
wearing scarlet, (1o) and usually went a
broad in the same dress he wore at table
his coat banging loose abort him, with
handkerchief swinging roend i,.sneck, and
even without shoes. (co) Unhappily fer
home, however, philosophers, rhetoricians
and hesiers are not always the best rulers.
They are TOO frequently men Of frivolous
passions, OF narrow views and eccentric no.
tions-men Of unthinking prodiga'ity-eond
of idle and untried experiments, which they
pursue at the expence of the welfare and
happiness of the nation. Such was Nero.
H found the public treasury full. He
sGuandered several millions in mad projects
and LEFT it empty. (2D He found Rome in
the highest prosperity; by public edict he