Case file · Witness · Prove All Things
The Roman Who Hated Us
“But prove all things; hold fast that which is good.” — 1 Thessalonians 5:21, Douay-Rheims
The case
This Roman hated Christians. He still wrote down who executed Christ. His name was Tacitus. A Roman senator, and one of Rome's greatest historians. In the year 64, a fire burned much of Rome. People believed Nero had ordered it.
The evidence
Every quotation below is printed in the words of the edition named under it. Nothing is paraphrased.
“whether accidental or treacherously contrived by the emperor, is uncertain, as authors have given both accounts”Tacitus, Annals 15.38, trans. Alfred John Church and William Jackson Brodribb (1876, public domain) — read it at the source
“a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace”Tacitus, Annals 15.44, trans. Alfred John Church and William Jackson Brodribb (1876, public domain) — read it at the source
“Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus”Tacitus, Annals 15.44, trans. Alfred John Church and William Jackson Brodribb (1876, public domain) — read it at the source
“a most mischievous superstition, thus checked for the moment, again broke out”Tacitus, Annals 15.44, trans. Alfred John Church and William Jackson Brodribb (1876, public domain) — read it at the source
“an immense multitude was convicted, not so much of the crime of firing the city, as of hatred against mankind”Tacitus, Annals 15.44, trans. Alfred John Church and William Jackson Brodribb (1876, public domain) — read it at the source
“to serve as a nightly illumination, when daylight had expired”Tacitus, Annals 15.44, trans. Alfred John Church and William Jackson Brodribb (1876, public domain) — read it at the source
“even for criminals who deserved extreme and exemplary punishment, there arose a feeling of compassion”Tacitus, Annals 15.44, trans. Alfred John Church and William Jackson Brodribb (1876, public domain) — read it at the source
What’s established, and what isn’t
What the sources support, claim by claim — each one checked against the sources listed at the foot of this page:
- Tacitus (c. AD 56 - c. 120): Roman historian and senator, suffect consul in 97; widely ranked by modern scholars among the greatest Roman historians
- Great fire of Rome, AD 64: three of Rome's fourteen districts burnt entirely and seven partly (CE 'Nero'); Annals 15.41: began on the 19th of July
- Annals 15.38: 'whether accidental or treacherously contrived by the emperor, is uncertain, as authors have given both accounts' - so the script says only that people BELIEVED Nero ordered it (15.44: 'the sinister belief that the conflagration was the result of an order')
- Annals 15.44: Nero 'fastened the guilt' on 'a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace'
- Annals 15.44: 'Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus'
- Annals 15.44: 'a most mischievous superstition, thus checked for the moment, again broke out ... even in Rome'
- Annals 15.44: 'an immense multitude was convicted'; torn by dogs, nailed to crosses, burnt 'to serve as a nightly illumination'; Nero offered his gardens for the spectacle
- Annals 15.44: 'even for criminals who deserved extreme and exemplary punishment, there arose a feeling of compassion'
- Tacitus names no source for the Christus sentence
- The Creed's clause 'suffered under Pontius Pilate' (CE 'Apostles' Creed')
- Arithmetic: AD 64 minus AD 30-33 = 31-34 years ('about thirty years after the cross'); 2026 minus 64 = 1,962 ('almost two thousand years')
Where the record stops short:
- Tacitus is not a witness to the Resurrection, and he names no source for the sentence about Christ.
- He calls Pilate one of our procurators; Pilate's title was prefect.
- Tacitus himself leaves it uncertain whether the fire was accidental or ordered, so the file says only that people believed Nero ordered it.
For your men’s group
- An enemy's testimony counts for more here than a friend's. Why?
- He despised Christians and still wrote down the execution. What do you do with a true thing said by a man who hates you?
- Nero burned Christians for light, and Tacitus says people began to pity them. What would being hated well look like for you?
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Every source
- Tacitus, Annals Book 15, Church and Brodribb (PD): 15.38 'whether accidental or treacherously contrived', 15.41 '19th of July', full 15.44 passage verified word for word
- Tacitus: 'Roman historian and senator', suffect consul in 97, 'widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historians by modern scholars'
- Catholic Encyclopedia, 'Nero': fire of A.D. 64, three districts burnt entirely and seven partly, the people believed Nero gave the order
- Catholic Encyclopedia, 'Apostles' Creed': the clause 'suffered under Pontius Pilate'
- Image: Siemiradzki, Nero's Torches (1882 version, Bonhams), PD-Art
- Image: Munkacsy, Christ before Pilate (1881, Hungarian National Bank), PD-Art
- Image: Annals 15.44 in Codex Mediceus 68.2, 1902 facsimile, PD-Scan
- Image: Hubert Robert, The Fire of Rome (1785), PD-Art, holder unconfirmed
Found an error? [email protected] — errata corrected the day they’re found.
Drafted with AI assistance, founder-directed, and checked against the sources linked here. Our editorial standards.
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