mountainman

FROM: Bryn Mawr Classical Review 2000.07.07

Finally Mark Edwards returns to discuss "The Constantine Circle and the Oration to the Saints". His specific focus is Constantine's celebrated authorship of the Oration which he reaffirms by reference to a summary of the contents, Latin (rather than Greek) composition, Latin theology, the 'Roman Venue', the 'Political Occasion' and 'The Constantinian Circle'.

Internal references collude to point towards the recently victorious Augustus of 314 as the author, Rome as the setting, and Lactantius as an influence. What hints at radical revision is E.'s conclusion that:

"The Oration to the Saints reveals an emperor who was able to give more substance to his faith than many clerics, and an apologist whose breadth of view and fertile innovations make it possible to rank him with the more eminent theologians of his age."

Some history books, at least, will need to be rewritten.

Toto

Apologetics in the Roman Empire: Pagans, Jews and Christians (or via: amazon.co.uk) looks like an interesting book.

Roger Pearse

You mean Eusebius didn't write it?

All the best,

Roger Pearse

mountainman

It seems that way. A stylometric analysis might be interesting.

Thus it may be more appropriate to examine Constantine, not as a
supreme imperial mafia thug dictator, but rather a supreme imperial
mafia thug dictator, and eminent christian theologian.

The question is whether he found an existent "outlandish religion"
and became its promoter, supporter, protector and later a legislator,
or whether he fashioned the fabrication of the Galilaeans out of many
yards of whole imperial cloth.

As you know, the answer to this question plays on my mind.

spin

Amusing. Willing to discard palaeography, yet ready to embrace stylometry. I wish you'd try to be a little consistent.


spin

mountainman

Paleography is not discarded but temporarily set aside
on the basis that such an assessement cannot be expected to
detect forgery (eg: of the Hadrian script from the 4th century),
and stylometric assessment can only add to our data base of
possibilities.

In all other areas, where fraud is of no concern, the assessment
by paleography is to be considered appropriate. I have no gripe
with paleographers, or the paleographic tradition on this basis.

spin

Why not?

spin

S.C.Carlson

Because Mountainman evidently thinks that Eusebius was sophisticated enough to forge manuscripts imitating a century's earlier handwriting and dump them into the garbage heap at Oxyrhynchus for modern scholars to unearth.

spin

Hmmm, I never thought of that!


spin

mountainman

Phase 1 (312-316 CE): Rome - the fabrication of the Galilaeans is composed.

Phase 2 (317-324 CE): The literature is sent to the eastern empire
(in advance of the military insurgence which was planned to follow).
The fabrication possibly included forged ancient handwriting. The
whole lot would have been thrown by Licinius et al, on the rubbish
heaps of Oxyrhynchus. The "Arian Controversy" is the result of this
insurgence of fabricated literature, and the [words of Arius:

* There was time when he was not. ...... (ie: before Constantine)
* He was made out of nothing existent. .... (ie: its a fiction)
* etc

Phase 3 (324 CE): Constantine's becomes supreme imperial mafia thug
of the Roman empire. It may have been in this year that he "goes
down to ancient Egypt" and rips the huge obelisk at the temple of
Karnack, standing since 1500 BCE, from its foundations. Makes plans
to build a boat to transport it back to Rome.

Phase 4(325 CE): The literature is "On Display" at the Council of Nicaea.
Key people of the eastern regime are "invited to attend a party".
Signatures were collected by Constantine against the words of Arius.
If the eastern attendees played their card right, they would not only
live to see another day, but they would return home as "bishops" of
Constantine's new (and strange) Roman religious order.

Phase 5(330 CE): The literature is bound into "the Constantine Bibles".
The canon is Eusebian, via Origen (a Eusebian prenicene profile).

Phase 6 (330-430): Constantine bibles variously copied into
today's (earliest) surviving codexes.