To fiddle while Rome burns

to enjoy yourself or continue working as normal and not give any attention to something important and unpleasant that is happening that you should be taking action to prevent: Environmentalists claimed governments were fiddling while Rome burned.

1. Who said fiddled while Rome burned?
2. Where does fiddle while Rome Burns come from?
3. How do you use fiddle while Rome burns in a sentence?
4. Did Nero really play the fiddle?

Who said fiddled while Rome burned?

In 1649 the playwright George Daniel committed this line to print: “Let Nero fiddle out Rome's obsequies.” And ever after, through Samuel Pepys and Samuel Johnson to our own time, Nero has been fiddling as Rome burned.

Where does fiddle while Rome Burns come from?

The phrase fiddle while Rome burns can be traced to Ancient Rome. The story goes that a fire broke out in Rome under the reign of Nero and instead of taking action to stop the fire, Nero played his lyre and composed a song about the destruction.

How do you use fiddle while Rome burns in a sentence?

Fig. to do nothing or something trivial while knowing that something disastrous is happening. (From a legend that the Roman emperor Nero played the lyre while Rome was burning.) The lobbyists don't seem to be doing anything to stop this tax bill. They're fiddling while Rome burns.

Did Nero really play the fiddle?

While he certainly didn't play the fiddle -- since it was not yet invented -- Nero did play another stringed instrument, the harp-like cithara. Roman historians record that Nero had a real passion for the cithara.