In response , Nero fled Rome with the intention of going to the port of Ostia and , from there , to take a fleet to one of the still @-@ loyal eastern provinces . According to Suetonius , Nero abandoned the idea when some army officers openly refused to obey his commands , responding with a line from Vergil 's Aeneid : " Is it so dreadful a thing then to die ? " Nero then toyed with the idea of fleeing to Parthia , throwing himself upon the mercy of Galba , or to appeal to the people and beg them to pardon him for his past offences " and if he could not soften their hearts , to entreat them at least to allow him the prefecture of Egypt " . Suetonius reports that the text of this speech was later found in Nero 's writing desk , but that he dared not give it from fear of being torn to pieces before he could reach the Forum .