Posted: Sep 22, 2011 4:59 pm
I have not checked Wikipedia or other sources on Suetonius, but in the case of the documents attributed to Josephus and Tacitus, not all people here may realise that according to Wikipedia (and afaik all other sources), neither of those are actually known as their original documents dating from around 100AD.
Instead according to Wikipedia (for example) both Josephus and Tacitus are each known only as copies dated to the 11th century, ie 1000 years after Jesus was said to have died.
The 11th century copy of Josephus is described in Wikipedia as produced by Christian Monks.
Here are the links to the Wikipedia pages, and the relevant brief quotes -
Re. Tacitus http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tacitus_on_Christ
The surviving copies of Tacitus' works derive from two principal manuscripts, known as the Medicean manuscripts, which are held in the Laurentian Library, and written in Latin. It is the second Medicean manuscript, 11th century and from Monte Cassino,[6] which is the oldest.
Re. Josephus http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josephus_on_Jesus
As is common with ancient texts, The Antiquities of the Jews survives only in medieval copies. The manuscripts, the oldest of which dates from the 11th century, are all Greek minuscules, and all have been copied by Christian monks
Instead according to Wikipedia (for example) both Josephus and Tacitus are each known only as copies dated to the 11th century, ie 1000 years after Jesus was said to have died.
The 11th century copy of Josephus is described in Wikipedia as produced by Christian Monks.
Here are the links to the Wikipedia pages, and the relevant brief quotes -
Re. Tacitus http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tacitus_on_Christ
The surviving copies of Tacitus' works derive from two principal manuscripts, known as the Medicean manuscripts, which are held in the Laurentian Library, and written in Latin. It is the second Medicean manuscript, 11th century and from Monte Cassino,[6] which is the oldest.
Re. Josephus http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josephus_on_Jesus
As is common with ancient texts, The Antiquities of the Jews survives only in medieval copies. The manuscripts, the oldest of which dates from the 11th century, are all Greek minuscules, and all have been copied by Christian monks