Quote:That Tacitus wrote at the beginning of the second century casts no doubt on the matter whatsoever.
But did Tacitus write this passage or is it a much later forgery. Not a single writer, xtian or otherwise, cites Tacitus and this passage. Further, none of them seem to know anything about Nero persecuting xtians for the fire.
The first might be an oversight or the typical failure of ancient writers to name sources but the second is inexcusable for xtians trying to establish a record of persecution by Roman emperors.
