Saturni aurea saecula quis requirat?
Sunt haec gemmea, sed Neroniana. Sidon. Apollinar. v. 8.
It is somewhat singular that these satirical lines should be attributed, not to an obscure libeller or a disappointed patriot, but to Ablavius, prime minister and favourite of the emperor. We may now perceive that the imprecations of the Roman people were dictated by humanity as well as by superstition. Zosim. I. ii. [c. 30] p. 105.