Re: Fact and Fiction, Ancient and Modern

Martin Edwards wrote:
Larry Swain wrote:

Martin Edwards wrote:

Larry Swain wrote:

Martin Edwards wrote:

Hovite wrote:

On Sep 1, 2:22 am, Matt Giwer <jul...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>

We regularly learn things in ancient Rome which were recorded by witnesses
did not happen as recorded.




On the plus side, the Romans were good at building monuments with
inscriptions, so the basic framework of their history is secure. Also,
some Roman historians, such as Tacitus, were pretty realiable. On the
other hand, some Roman authors were less careful, or just made things
up. The worst example is the Historia Augusta, which contains large
amounts of fiction, and is, essentially, an ancient fake.

http://www.livius.org/hi-hn/ha/hist_aug.html




Something which is usually only mentioned in passing is that by the tenth century there was only one surviving copy at the monastery at Reichenberg, and it had to be recopied before it fell apart. Anything could have been interpolated at this time, and something may well have been.


Except that interpolations are hard, nigh on impossible, to hide, and the good medieval copiests had no reason to invent such things. I'm afraid you'll have to do better than history by innuendo: present evidence that Tacitus was tampered with.



They are not impossible to hide if they form a pericope and the flow of the narrative is the same with or without them.


So show some interpolations that fit this situation.

The one to which I originally, if obliquely referred. The burning of the Christians by Nero.


Probably not an interpolation. Whether historically accurate or not is a different question, or whether Tacitus is going over the top in his criticism of Nero.

There are still

arguments about what would seem to most to be obvious interpolations in Josephus.


Indeed, and that's the point isn't it? If they're interpolations (and at least one is), they've been detected, eh, what? So we're back to my asking you again to present some evidence.


See above. And again, not everyone agrees /even now/ that those in Josephus are interpolations.

On one of them, there is little real question. There are those motivated entirely by faith who need it to be an actual statement by Josephus, but there is little real question. The second one, referring to James, is still under consideration, though the vast majority think it an interpolation.
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