1. That people which victory was given to
Are to Nero more deserving

2. Whatever Nero was who
They worshipped was ill-natured, rude

3. With protruding temples, thickset, pot-bellied
Not graceful as he struts haughtily

4. Disappointed in ambition, dry of compassion
If he pauses a moment, he recoils in fright

5. They made an idol of the dwarf and bowed before him
Prostrating between his hands, they sniffed and snorted

6. They exaggerated him and lengthened his snake
So it stretched filling the horizons with dawn

7. They gave him of their powers so that
He became a tyrant over them, harming or helping

8. The more storms he unleashes havoc and devastation
The more they multiply if he hoards them, his chest cannot contain

9. He spread in the horizons an ominous shadow
It is the shadow of death or worse and more harmful

10. If it alights in a place, it fills it with misery
Or if it passes, think of God's sword cutting

11. Destroying crops and livestock alike
Leaving behind it the cultivated land a wasteland

12. A ruler only acts tyrannically when
He does not fear the censure of the virtuous, even if fabricated

13. Nero gently ruled his people
Beginning his reign with kindness and favor

14. Consulting the cautious among them
Until the people showed ingratitude, he did not return to caution

15. Striking them with his angry palm
Stretching out his hands in kindness again

16. Until he found them too soft
So he hardened, then became rough and poured forth angrily

17. He wore gentleness for them until when
He felt from them no gentleness, he stripped it off

18. And set aside striving with them
Except for his aides, granting them power and support

19. The people corrupted themselves
So the worthless became the elect

20. And the loyal ones were villainous
And if a person was of good birth it was shameful

21. Every allegiance prospered
While within in was rot eating away

22. He continued intimidating until they feared
His curse would strike them with fright

23. With brows bent down until they saw
The rebels openly oppose him

24. Their eyes searching the dark nights
Seeking light but refusing to be tranquil

25. A rogue party of fanatics
Who long challenged authority and provoked the people to fury

26. They killed Tirkin though he followed their cause
Because he exceeded, they claimed, in exercising power

27. And they rewarded Caesar who
Subjugated the world to them, by land and sea

28. Can it be true that proud Rome
Preserved any glory while dust stained its face?

29. That did not prevent Nero, nor did he see
Anyone he feared, from fearing them

30. Forget that and recall his killing of
His mother, what a lesson in erased traces

31. She wanted her brother instead of him
And showed him how he forcibly took the kingdom

32. She supported him as ruler until when
Envy grew between them, a tree of bitterness

33. When he saw partnership in his rule
As fetters and bonds, though she gave advice

34. He marshalled the stars against her to drown her
But she escaped while the abyss cannot be fathomed

35. Then she lamented the deception but
What is beyond the eye did not elude her

36. So she chose from her soldiers a trusted
Traitor to take her life by the sword, a betrayal

37. By his excellence she sensed
The wretch's trickery when the lightning flashed

38. At that moment the enormity appeared
Of the wrong she had done that today brought ruin

39. But fear of him did not have the effect
To deter when fear intensifies

40. So before she was modest, she hinted
And though she paused, insistence overcame dignity

41. Then she said: Below you is the belly which
Overturned the world, so gut it open

42. Thus the tyrant in his cowardice
Began with outrage and persisted in betrayal

43. He judged people one by one but when
They joined together, he turned away from confrontation

44. Deeming them enemies, their livers
Were filled with rancor and hatred

45. They suppressed their anger, hiding it
Until they could openly oppose him

46. With brows bent down until they witnessed
The rebels openly take pride in their rebellion

47. Their eyes in the darkness of night
Sought light but refused to be still

48. A rogue band of hotheads
Who long shunned authority and provoked fury in the people

49. They killed Tirkin though he followed their cause
Because he exceeded, they claimed, in exercising power

50. And they rewarded Caesar who
Subjugated the world to them, by land and by sea

51. With what was right, though to them
It was wrongdoing deserving punishment

52. Every day he lavished on the army
Generous gifts scattered in abundance

53. Every day he united the people in all
That left no discontent remaining

54. Every day he socialized wherever
His people gathered morning and evening

55. So they loved him for this and forgot
The woes that befell them, abundant

56. And he lived safely in every place
And life after fear became pleasant

57. The secure are tempted, so let them say:
Joy and jesting may be followed by sorrow

58. Do you know who Servillius is? What
The Romans called him, honouring his power?

59. Do you know what tyrannical
Ruler that tyrant was over the Romans?

60. Do you know what it was one day
That made them laugh at him mockingly?

61. One evening when nothing remained between them
Of the black grapes, protecting from blackness

62. And the nobles were gathered in their club
Submissive to his hands, sweeter or more bitter

63. The session shifted in his presence
So he flicked his tail between his thighs slyly

64. He has a reputation among those who do not trust
And insight for those who rarely show cunning

65. If they prolonged his lineage with lies and if
They shortened it, he would snort and chide

66. If he moved his head they exaggerated
His wisdom, swearing it was revelation

67. He had become their guide though they were ignorant
And long ago ignorance was a guide

68. They magnified him, face and kiss, nations
In their ignorance worshipped bulls and cats

69. That is the wonder surpassing even
Nero in creativity - can he match it?

70. We will see if he does not harm him
What the people will do to harm him

71. You have not been irrigated with rain, oh ignorance, so how
Much have you irrigated in your cup, the people with bitterness?

72. You have provoked with injustice every
Arrogant one, not caring if he is exposed

73. And you have accommodated the Mother of Villages
The one its praiser deemed good, as if it were

74. If the mighty speak to it, it flatters
And praises, but if they shun it, it is sullen

75. So it persisted in tyranny and they rushed
Into the field of humiliation, approving and thanking

76. You have deluded and made it imagine
Itself the owner of power, impossible to defeat

77. So the more violent its ghastliness,
The more they strengthen its authority

78. Every day it claims artistry though it is
Only clumsy, until accepted

79. It claimed beauty so they said: By God
You have made people lose their wits, scattering them

80. It claimed skill so they said: You return
Intoxication to the awake, intoxicated again

81. It went too far boasting: In portraying
I have wonders, so they said: You give life to the dead, created anew

82. It exaggerated: In theater I have
No equal, so they said: You compose prose

83. Its entourage adorned it with a scheme
More calamitous to the kingdom and harmful

84. It intended a journey with its procession
Arrogant, crossing by land and sea

85. Heading to Athens, its face set
For it was the place for artists, excellent

86. It wanted their testimony in a gathering
Lauding its ascent over the ignorant like the full moon

87. Rehearsing its theater piece, front and back
Citing its portrayal, learned and masterful

88. Yes, by Athens, it was known for
Granting fame, so dangers last an age

89. Since it was the abode, and if
The world were a land, it would be its rain

90. Indeed, Athens had become nothing
But a part of Rome's state by force

91. So if it met societies that
Believed in empty praise, it would be deceived

92. Or if it seemed mocking itself
Mocking ignorance though that was not its manner

93. Thus slavery flatters and repeats
The free nation bare and exposed

94. That explains the flatteries
The gloating Caesar, overbearing, granted

95. So he fulfilled his desire, then returned
Pleased with an act done early on

96. Apollo himself, if he saw him
Would not blame him, not even a glance

97. He returned confident while every
Sorrowful one hid his grief

98. And Rome's inhabitants received him
As they would receive a conquering hero

99. The Greatest Caesar paid him no heed
When he had humbled the world, attacking and wounding

100. They erected gates magnifying him
And surrounded his approach with an army, esteemed

101. And they displayed a night decoration
That made Rome as the heavens, flowering

102. A decoration the creation had not witnessed
In that age anything similar, exploring

103. It enthralled and provoked his spirit
So he harbored at night a terrible idea

104. To make in it a miracle
To horrify future generations, shining like a star

105. Gathering there all the explosives
He claimed to have mastered, knowledgeable and experienced

106. Producing a performance more moving than any
Inferno that dazzles eyes with blazing flames

107. A beautiful sunset, and his view
Was that the best beauty spreads widely harm

108. So the great decoration, after which
Other decorations are no longer mentioned

109. Nero won his utmost desire
Burning Rome to innovate a new idea

110. After perfecting his acting
To be prominent in theater everywhere

111. The fire blazed in it at night while
Its people slumbered, forgotten

112. Flames from every side arose
Marching, summoning, crossing and passing through

113. Burning swarms met in an embrace
Of flame, one group after another

114. They gathered Rome's quarters all
Into a hellfire melting bodies completely

115. Buildings collapsed, embers
Scattered, and blood flowed like embers

116. People confused, baffled, plunged
Into horror, and horror intensified

117. Wading into the blaze except a few
Who made of the limbs over the fire a bridge

118. The wild beasts broke free, not pausing
From tearing, ripping and breaking wherever they met

119. They attacked ferociously, then fled
Terrified, speeding down every passage

120. Around them, ample flesh was roasted
And they, after the effort of fasting, refused to break fast

121. They staggered, their blood pouring
As they moaned, their weeping like wine

122. The bricks flowed illumination and blood
Pouring out, ruby and amber ablaze

123. Yesterday it was like a mirror
That a bird might sometimes disturb

124. In it elite mansions frowned
Gloomily, while vines smiled, green

125. When breezes passed over them
They would shatter them into fragments scattered

126. What a spectacle it was then
As pearls flowed in the rivers, a river

127. You would see the waves in it swell
Filling the water's expanse with magic

128. Like swimming gazelles competition
Racing ahead in rivalry and enchantment

129. Frolicking, laughing, secure
From any hint of doubt, pure

130. Beauty sent along its shoulders
From the braid of golden curls, hair

131. Every narcissus-bosomed doe moaned
With a hand of amber and legs of amber

132. It is the meadow's light or the most brilliant jewel
It is the supple bough or the most radiant waist

133. Sometimes appearing, and sometimes unseen
Surpassing elegance when it casts off particles

134. Where are those eyes? Did they transit
To a garden while the cool of water grew hot?

135. They became black, darkness engulfed them
A driver expanding it, urging and rippling

136. In swathes of tar its purple
Still glimmers, from where it flows

137. Its clear complexion returned, refined
And its smiling eyes yellowed

138. Its washings were hot springs washing it
Gaining from the joining heat more heat

139. O daughters of water, it is a loss that
You are dark when blondeness did not make you ugly

140. That is what oppression brought about, but could
Purity meet it and not banish the turbid?

141. Around Rome a wall rose, shining
Flying its banners red, yellow and green

142. Under a sky filled by its burns
With thick darkness, drunk

143. The tyrant gazed upon its sections
Skillful in drawing, music and poetry

144. There the flames blazed in it at night while
Its inhabitants slept, forgotten

145. Tongues from every side arose
Marching, summoning, crossing and passing through

146. They crawled about ferociously
Meeting and fusing in an embrace of flame

147. They gathered Rome's quarters all
Into a hellfire melting bodies completely

148. So buildings collapsed while cinders
Were cast, and blood flowed like cinders

149. And people were lost, confused
Plunged into horror that intensified horror

150. A plunge into the blaze except a few
Who on the limbs over the fire made a passage

151. The predatory beasts broke free, not pausing
From meeting, tearing, and breaking whatever they found

152. They attacked for slaughter, then fled
Terrified down every lane

153. Around them meat was roasted in plenty
But they, after fasting's effort, refused any feast

154. They staggered, their blood spilling
As they moaned, their weeping like wine

155. Ruby and amber flowed profusely
With the surplus flowing, a ruby and a downpour

156. Yesterday it was like a mirror
Where a bird might sometimes make a scratch

157. In it metdescending mansions frowned
While vines would smile a verdant smile

158. When breezes passed over them
They would shatter them into bits scattered about

159. What a vision it was as pearls
Flowed in the rivers, a gushing river

160. You would see the waves in it swell
Filling the water's expanse with magic

161. Like swimming gazelles vying
Racing ahead in rivalry and in ardour

162. Frolicking, laughing without fear
Innocent of any hint of doubt, pure

163. Beauty sent along its shoulders
From the braid of golden curls, hair

164. Every narcissus-bosomed doe moaned
With a hand of amber and legs of amber

165. It is the meadow's light and most brilliant gem
It is the supple bough or most lucent waist

166. Sometimes it appears and sometimes unseen
Exceeding elegance when it sheds particles

167. Where are those eyes? Did they travel
To a garden while the water's chill grew warm?

168. They became black, darkness engulfed them
A current widening it, spurring and rippling

169. In swaths of tar its purple
Still glimmers, from where it emanates

170. Its clear complexion returned, refined
And its smiling eyes became saffron

171. Its washings were hot springs washing it
Gaining from adjoining heat more heat

172. O daughters of water, it is a loss
That you are dark when blondness did not ugly you

173. That is what tyranny did, but could
Purity meet it and not banish the turbid?