The End Has Come

VI.IX.LXVIII

Dear Diary,

My time has come. How they have deserted me!

I have just returned from Greece and everything in my power has gone to waste. In returning to Rome, I have found that the Senate has Governor Galba declared as emperor. He has the allegiance of the Praetorian Guard, the Senate and my army.

I should have taken him seriously during the beginning of the revolt in Gaul. I believed that his rebellion would die out like all the others. The praetorian, Senators, and army have all turned against me. I have absolutely no one to turn to except for my four loyal freedmen for help. The Senate have declared the sentence of death against me. I have been trying to reason with them but alas it’s all in vain.

The only honorable way that my life would be taken from me would be through my own hands. And if I do not succeed, I have ordered my freedmen to complete this task for me.

Though I have lost the love and support from many, I know my value and I have no doubt of my legacy that would be carried into the future.

Qualis artifex pereo! (What an artist dies in me!)

Nero Claudius Caeser