All 5 Uses
Nero
in
The Count of Monte Cristo
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- Caligula or Nero, those treasure-seekers, those desirers of the impossible, would have accorded to the poor wretch, in exchange for his wealth, the liberty he so earnestly prayed for.†
Chpt 13-14 *Nero = Roman Emperor notorious for his monstrous vice and fantastic luxury (37-68 AD)
- Albert was used to the count's manner of proceeding; he knew that, like Nero, he was in search of the impossible, and nothing astonished him, but wishing to judge with his own eyes how far the count's orders had been executed, he accompanied him to the door of the house.†
Chpt 41-42
- I am like Nero—cupitor impossibilium; and that is what is amusing you at this moment.†
Chpt 63-64
- "Oh, why is not the world a wilderness?" she exclaimed, throwing herself into the arms of Mademoiselle d'Armilly, her eyes sparkling with the same kind of rage which made Nero wish that the Roman world had but one neck, that he might sever it at a single blow.†
Chpt 97-98
- Why should we not spend the last three hours remaining to us of life, like those ancient Romans, who when condemned by Nero, their emperor and heir, sat down at a table covered with flowers, and gently glided into death, amid the perfume of heliotropes and roses?†
Chpt 117
Definitions:
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(1)
(Nero as in: the Roman emperor) the Roman emperor who famously may have "fiddled while Rome burned" during the great fire of AD 64 (CE 64) --- known for cruelty, extravagance, and persecution of Christians (37-68 AD)Nero became emperor as a teenager and was initially guided by advisors, but he later descended into tyranny. He was blamed for the killing of his own mother and rivals, and for wasting massive amounts of money on luxuries.
After the great fire of Rome in AD 64 (aka Common Era 64)—which destroyed much of the city—rumors spread that Nero played the lyre (a small harp, not a fiddle) and sang while watching the devastation from his palace. He needed a scapegoat, so he unjustly blamed the fire on the rapidly growing Christian community and began persecuting them mercilessly. Consequently, Nero's name has come to stand for a cruel, self-serving, and irresponsible ruler. - (2) (meaning too rare to warrant focus)