A source-book of ancient history - The Search For Mecca

Palace; Administration 483
buildings which had the appearance of a city.
Within its
area were corn-fields, vineyards, pastures, and woods,
which contained a great number of animals of various
kinds both tame and wild.
In other parts the palace was
entirely overlaid wdth gold and adorned with jewels and
mother of pearl. The dining rooms were vaulted, and
compartments of the ceilings, inlaid with ivory, were
made to revolve and scatter flowers; they contained pipes,
too, which shed unguents upon the guests. . . . When he
dedicated this magnificent building after finishing it, all
he said in approval was, "Now I have a dwelling fit for a
man."
III.
Nero's Administration
The prince forbade by an edict any magistrate or procurator
in the government of a province to exhibit a show
Gladiatorial
of gladiators or wild beasts, or indeed any other public n^s^^^i.iu
entertainment ; for hitherto our subjects had been as much
oppressed by such bribery as by actual extortion, while
governors sought to screen by corruption the guilty deeds
of arbitrary caprice.
That same year, repeated demands on the part of the
people, who denounced the excessive greed of the revenue
collectors, made Nero doubt whether he should not order
"
the repeal of all indirect taxes, and so confer a most splendid
boon on the human race. But this sudden impulse
was checked by the senators who, having first heartily
praised the grandeur of the conception, pointed out that
the dissolution of the empire must ensue if the revenues
which supported the state were to be diminished; for as
soon as the customs were swept away, there would follow
a demand for the abolition of the direct taxes. Many companies
for the collection of indirect taxes had been formed
Regulation
of the taxes>
^°'