Chapter I: Preface

The theory broached in this book involves a charge of the grossest fraud against a most distinguished man, who rose to high posts in public affairs and won imperishable fame in letters. There being blots on his moral character, it would be censurable to fasten upon his memory this new imputation of dishonesty, were it not substantiated by irresistible evidence.

The title of this book quite explains what its design is,--to contribute something towards settling the authorship of the Annals of Tacitus, which encomiastic admirers imagine to be the most extraordinary history ever penned, and the writer "but one degree removed from inspiration, if not inspired." This wondrous writer I assert to be the famous Florentine of the Renaissance, Poggio Bracciolini, in favour of which view I have tried to make out a case by bringing forward a variety of passages from the "History" and the "Annals" to show an extensive series of contradictions as to facts and characters, departures from truth about matters connected with ancient Roman life, laches in grammar and use of words that never could have proceeded from any patrician or plebian of the world-renowned old Commonwealth, with a number of other things that will readily strike the intelligent and sober mind as utterly inconsistent with the existing belief of the "Annals" being the production of Tacitus. All this is case in the shade for the fullest light to be thrown on the subject, when not wishing to make my theory a matter of speculation but founded in common sense, I give a detailed history of the forgery, from its conception to its completion, the sum that was paid for it, the abbey where it was transcribed, and other such convincing minutiae taken from a correspondence that Poggio carried on with a familiar friend who resided in Florence.

A reader of acumen and critical faculty following a writer in an inquiry of this nature places himself in the position of a lawyer who will not accept the interpretation of an Act of Parliament, or even a clause in it, as correct, except,--as his phrase goes,--it "runs upon all fours:" he knows that it is with a speculation in a literary matter as with a chapter of a statute: he struggles to raise only a single valid objection against what is advanced: if successful he at one destroys the whole of the theory, from thus exposing it to view as not "running upon all fours;" the fabric is, in fact, discovered to be reared on a false foundation; it must, therefore, fall as at the slightest breath a child's house built of cards; and the theory becomes one more added to the list of those that are apocryphal. If on examination it should be agreed that the theory in this book is without a flaw, I conceived that I shall have done not a small, but a considerable service to the cause of true history.

LONDON, _April_ 3, 1878.

CONTENTS.

BOOK THE FIRST.

TACITUS.

CHAPTER I.

TACITUS COULD BARELY HAVE WRITTEN THE ANNALS.

I. From the chronological point of view. II. The silence preserved about that work by all writers till the fifteenth century. III. The age of the MSS. containing the Annals.

CHAPTER II.

A FEW REASONS FOR BELIEVING THE ANNALS TO BE A FORGERY.

I. The fifteenth century an age of imposture, shown in the invention of printing. II. The curious discovery of the first six books of the Annals. III. The blunders it has in common with all forged documents. IV. The Twelve Tables. V. The Speech of Claudius in the Eleventh Book of the Annals. VI. Brutus creating the second class of nobility. VII. Camillus and his grandson. VIII. The Marching of Germanicus. IX. Description of London in the time of Nero. X. Labeo Antistius and Capito Ateius; the number of people executed for their attachment to Sejanus; and the marriage of Drusus, the brother of Tiberius, to the Elder Antonia.

CHAPTER III.

SUSPICIOUS CHARACTER OF THE ANNALS FROM THE POINT OF TREATMENT.

I. Nature of the history. II. Arrangement of the narrative. III. Completeness in form. IV. Incongruities, contradictions and disagreements from the History of Tacitus. V. Craftiness of the writer. VI. Subordination of history to biography. VII. The author of the Annals and Tacitus differently illustrate Roman history. VIII. Characters and events corresponding to characters and events in the XVth century. IX. Greatness of the Author of the Annals.

CHAPTER IV.

HOW THE ANNALS DIFFERS FROM THE HISTORY.

I. In the qualities of the writers; and why that difference. II. In the narrative, and in what respect. III. In style and language. IV. The reputation Tacitus has of writing bad Latin due to the mistakes of his imitator.

CHAPTER V.

THE LATIN AND THE ALLITERATIONS IN THE ANNALS.

I. Errors in Latin, (_a_) on the part of the transcriber; (_b_) on the part of the writer. II. Diction and Alliterations: Wherein they differ from those of Tacitus.

BOOK THE SECOND.

BRACCIOLINI.

CHAPTER I.

BRACCIOLINI IN ROME.

I. His genius and the greatness of his age. II. His qualifications. III. His early career. IV. The character of Niccolo Niccoli, who abetted him in the forgery V. Bracciolini's descriptive writing of the Burning of Jerome of Prague compared with the descriptive writing of the sham sea fight in the Twelfth Book of the Annals.

CHAPTER II.

BRACCIOLINI IN LONDON.

I. Gaining insight into the darkest passions from associating with Cardinal Beaufort. II. His passage about London in the Fourteenth Book of the Annals examined. III. About the Parliament of England in the Fourth Book.

CHAPTER III.

BRACCIOLINI SETTING ABOUT THE FORGERY OF THE ANNALS

I. The Proposal made in February, 1422, by a Florentine, named Lamberteschi, and backed by Niccoli. II. Correspondence on the matter, and Mr. Shepherd's view that it referred to a Professorship refuted. III. Professional disappointments in England determine Bracciolini to persevere in his intention of forging the Annals. IV. He returns to the Papal Secretaryship, and begins the forgery in Rome in October, 1423.

CHAPTER IV.

BRACCIOLINI AS A BOOKFINDER

I. Doubts on the authenticity of the Latin, but not the Greek Classics. II. At the revival of letters Popes and Princes offered large rewards for the recovery of the ancient classics. III. The labours of Bracciolini as a bookfinder. IV. Belief put about by the professional bookfinders that MSS. were soonest found in obscure convents in barbarous lands. V. How this reasoning throws the door open to fraud and forgery. VI. The bands of bookfinders consisted of men of genius in every department of literature and science. VII. Bracciolini endeavours to escape from forging the Annals by forging the whole lost History of Livy. VIII. His Letter on the subject to Niccoli quoted, and examined. IX. Failure of his attempt, and he proceeds with the forgery of the Annals.

BOOK THE THIRD.

THE LAST SIX BOOKS OF THE ANNALS.

CHAPTER I.

THE CHARACTER OF BRACCIOLINI.

I. The audacity of the forgery accounted for by the mean opinion Bracciolini had of the intelligence of men. II. The character and tone of the last Six Books of the Annals exemplified by what is said of Sabina Poppaea, Sagitta, Pontia and Messalina. III. A few errors that must have proceeded from Bracciolini about the Colophonian Oracle of Apollo Clarius, the Household Gods of the Germans, Gotarzes, Bardanes and, above all, Nineveh. IV. The estimate taken of human nature by the writer of the Annals the same as that taken by Bracciolini. V. The general depravity of mankind as shown in the Annals insisted upon in Bracciolini's Dialogue "De Infelicitate Principum".

CHAPTER II.

THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY.

I. The intellect and depravity of the age. II. Bracciolini as its exponent. III. Hunter's accurate description of him. IV. Bracciolini gave way to the impulses of his age. V. The Claudius, Nero and Tiberius of the Annals personifications of the Church of Rome in the fifteenth century. VI. Schildius and his doubts. VII. Bracciolini not covetous of martyrdom: communicates his fears to Niccoli. VIII. The princes and great men in the Annals the princes and great men of the XVth century, not of the opening period of the Christian aera. IX. Bracciolini, and not Tacitus, a disparager of persons in high places.

CHAPTER III.

FURTHER PROOFS OF FORGERY.

I. "Octavianus" as the name of Augustus Caesar. II. Cumanus and Felix as joint governors of Judaea. III. The blood relationship of Italians and Romans. IV. Fatal error in the _oratio obliqua_. V. Mistake made about "locus". VI. Objections of some critics to the language of Tacitus examined. VII. Some improprieties that occur in the Annals found also in Bracciolini's works. VIII. Instanced in (_a_) "nec--aut". (_b_) rhyming and the peculiar use of "pariter". IX. The harmony of Tacitus and the ruggedness of Bracciolini illustrated. X. Other peculiarities of Bracciolini's not shared by Tacitus: Two words terminating alike following two others with like terminations; prefixes that have no meaning; and playing on a single letter for alliterative purposes.

CHAPTER IV.

THE TERMINATION OF THE FORGERY.

I. The literary merit and avaricious humour of Bracciolini. II. He is aided in his scheme by a monk of the Abbey of Fulda. III. Expressions indicating forgery. IV. Efforts to obtain a very old copy of Tacitus. V. The forgery transcribed in the Abbey of Fulda. VI. First saw the light in the spring of 1429.

CHAPTER V.

THE FORGED MANUSCRIPT.

I. Recapitulation, showing the certainty of forgery. II. The Second Florence MS. the forged MS. III. Cosmo de' Medici the man imposed upon. IV. Digressions about Cosmo de' Medici's position, and fondness for books, especially Tacitus. V. The many suspicious marks of forgery about the Second Florence MS.; the Lombard characters; the attestation of Salustius. VI. The headings, and Tacitus being bound up with Apuleius, seem to connect Bracciolini with the forged MS. VII. The first authentic mention of the Annals. VIII. Nothing invalidates the theory in this book. IX. Brief recapitulation of the whole argument.

BOOK THE FOURTH.

THE FIRST SIX BOOKS OF THE ANNALS.