TACITUS ON JESUS

:''This article is part of the Jesus and history series of articles.
The Roman historian Tacitus wrote concerning the Great Fire of Rome, in book 15, chapter 44 of his ''Annals'' (c. 116):
:''Consequently, to get rid of the report, Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace. Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus, and a most mischievous superstition, thus checked for the moment, again broke out not only in Judaea, the first source of the evil, but even in Rome, where all things hideous and shameful from every part of the world find their centre and become popular. Accordingly, an arrest was first made of all who pleaded guilty; then, upon their information, an immense multitude was convicted, not so much of the crime of firing the city, as of hatred against mankind. Mockery of every sort was added to their deaths. Covered with the skins of beasts, they were torn by dogs and perished, or were nailed to crosses, or were doomed to the flames and burnt, to serve as a nightly illumination, when daylight had expired.''
Some have suggested that this passage could be a later addition by Christian scribes[1]. Some point to the fact that no early Christian writers refer to Tacitus even when discussing the subject of Nero and Christian persecution, although this is an argument from silence. Tertullian, Lactantius, Sulpicius Severus, Eusebius and Augustine of Hippo make no reference to Tacitus when discussing Christian persecution by Nero.^[1]
On the other hand, others argue that the passage is far too critical of Christians to be added by Christian scribes. The passage even implies that the Christians may have been guilty of setting fire to Rome. Additionally, any inaccuracies of the passage (i.e. "immense multitude", "prefect" vs. "procurator" Pontius Pilatus) could be due to exaggeration or mistakes in reporting when written in 116. Further, there may be evidence of persecution against Christians in Rome during Nero's reign. The apostle Peter, in 1 Peter 5:13, employs the mystical code-name "Babylon" for Rome which hints of adversity. The historian Suetonius also mentions Christians being harmed during this period by Nero, but there is no connection made with the fire. ^[2] Overall the vast majority of scholars conclude that the passage is authentic and not a later interpolation. ^[3]

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Notes

1. See Tertullian, ''Apologeticum'', lost text quoted in Eusebius, ''Ecclesiastical History'' II.25.4; Lactantius, ''Of the Manner in Which the Persecutors Died'' II; Sulpicius Severus, ''Chronica'' II.28; Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History II.25.5; Augustine of Hippo, ''City of God'' XX.19.3
2. Suetonius, ''Lives of Twelve Caesars'' Life of Nero 16
3. Robert Van Roost, Jesus Outside the New Testament, pp. 42-43 as quoted at earlychristianwritings.com

External links

★ Early Christian Writings: Cornelius Tacitus

★ Bibliography on Tacitus (from Rutgers University Classics Department)

★ 'Texts by Tacitus':

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★ At Perseus Project: Works by Tacitus in English and/or Latin

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★ At MIT Classics: ''Annals'' and ''Histories''

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★ At "The Online Books Page": Online e-texts of Tacitus' works

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★ At "Romansonline" (Latin text can be displayed side by side to translation): Works by Tacitus

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★ At Roman Literature Online: ''Germany and Agricola'' and ''The Annals''

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★ At "The Internet Sacred Text Archive": Parallel English and Latin text of the complete works of Tacitus