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+--- Thread: \"One source facts\" (/showthread.php?tid=19004)
\"One source facts\" - Jona Lendering - 06-19-2011
I am currently writing an article on the testis unus, testis nullus principle: if you have one source, you cannot evaluate its quality. I want to offer some illustrations of well-known facts that are actually based on one source only.
For example: we have only Herodotus to prove that Cyrus the Great conquered faraway Lydia before he conquered nearby Babylon. It is usually taken for granted, and it may well be true, but I can imagine Herodotus, who is not above altering the chronology of Gelon's wars against Carthage, preferred an early conquest of Lydia, making his Lydian stories a more perfect prologue.
(Note: All other sources mentioning an early conquest, are derived from Herodotus and can be eliminated; the common date of 547 for the conquest of Lydia has been refuted; more.)
Another example: Caesar's conquest of Belgium. There is no archaeological confirmation, and all other sources (Livy' Periochae and Cassius Dio) are derived from Caesar's own account. They can be eliminated.
Personally, I am convinced that Caesar conquered Belgium: there is evidence that confirms the rest of the Gallic War. I will not say that Caesar is generally reliable, but the outline of his story is probably correct. Nevertheless, his conquest of Belgium is "a one source fact".
Are there other examples?
Re: \"One source facts\" - MARCvSVIBIvSMAvRINvS - 06-19-2011
There must be several examples Jona, but however interesting it is to debunk stories which are only accredited to a single source, archaeological information can give us insight in these stories. If a persian inscription mentioning Cyrus´ name was found in the present day region of Lydia, in situ and in a ground layer which dates back to the era, what is there to dispute ? Using single sources to prove anything is the first thing you are warned never to do when starting to study antiquity. That is one of the main reasons why any Classical scholar should also be well educated in archaeology, the time scholars could write books solely based on literary or documentary evidence combined with some epigraphy lies far in the past...
M.VIB.M.
Re: \"One source facts\" - Jona Lendering - 06-19-2011
Quote:however interesting it is to debunk storiesIt's not about debunking; I am currently writing about the empirical structure of our knowledge. What is a type, what is an ideal type; hermeneutics; positivism; comparativism; social physics; source criticism; textual linguistics; fallacies; et cetera, et cetera Summary here.
Re: \"One source facts\" - MARCvSVIBIvSMAvRINvS - 06-19-2011
That looks mighty interesting !!
Will be happy to read it when it comes out !
M.VIB.M.
Re: \"One source facts\" - D B Campbell - 06-20-2011
Quote:Another example: Caesar's conquest of Belgium. There is no archaeological confirmation, and all other sources (Livy' Periochae and Cassius Dio) are derived from Caesar's own account. They can be eliminated.There is no archaeological evidence for Caesar's two invasions of Britain, either. (At least, none known to me.) However, this type of fact falls into a (subtly) different category, in my opinion. Caesar's narrative was designed to be read at Rome by his contemporaries, some of whom would surely have "smelled a rat" if the content had been fabricated.
Personally, I am convinced that Caesar conquered Belgium: there is evidence that confirms the rest of the Gallic War. I will not say that Caesar is generally reliable, but the outline of his story is probably correct. Nevertheless, his conquest of Belgium is "a one source fact".
Are there other examples?
By contrast, none of Herodotus' readers was in a position to dispute his claims, which mostly lay far off, chronologically and geographically.
I wonder if this might be a factor worth exploring?
Re: \"One source facts\" - Jona Lendering - 06-20-2011
Quote:I wonder if this might be a factor worth exploring?Yes, you are right about that. In my book, I mention this; personally, I am convinced that Caesar did more or less what he claims to have done - with some spinning and framing of course, Caesar being the world's most influential spin doctor.
Quote:That looks mighty interesting !! Will be happy to read it when it comes out !Deadline September, publication in January. I will put an English synopsis online.