Leo Genn Quotes

Emperor Nero Do I live for them or do they live for me?

Petronius You are the sun in their sky! Does the sun have privacy?

Emperor Nero The sun has the night! These people expect me to shine daily - hourly!

Petronius It is not enough to live well. One must die well.

Vinicius They won't believe such a lie!

Petronius But they are believing it. People will believe any lie, if it is fantastic enough.

Petronius To Nero, Emperor of Rome, Master of the World, Divine Pontiff. I know that my death will be a disappointment to you, since you wished to render me this service yourself. To be born in your reign is a miscalculation; but to die in it is a joy. I can forgive you for murdering your wife and your mother, for burning our beloved Rome, for befouling our fair country with the stench of your crimes. But one thing I cannot forgive - the boredom of having to listen to your verses, your second-rate songs, your mediocre performances. Adhere to your special gifts, Nero - murder and arson, betrayal and terror. Mutilate your subjects if you must; but with my last breath I beg you - do not mutilate the arts. Fare well, but compose no more music. Brutalize the people, but do not bore them, as you have bored to death your friend, the late Gaius Petronius.