The Complete Works of Flavius Josephus

PREFACE

...that volume, seen and shown to many before (as they say), appeared, although even an inquiry in the name of the Magistrate had been held by domestic servants; a certain woman from among them who still survives confirmed to me that this was indeed the case. As far as Olearius original: "Olearium"; Gottfried Olearius (1672–1715) was a German philologist and theologian. is concerned, I cannot state for certain whether he had anything ready for the press; friends from Germany have informed me that nothing from his labors on this Author can be found. Finally, as for Jacob Gronovius original: "Jacobi Gronovii"; a famous Dutch classical scholar known for his editions of Greek and Roman authors., I myself saw something in the possession of his son Abraham: a work begun but not finished—namely, small notes that did not proceed beyond the first book of the Antiquities. Thus, they barely pertained to a twenty-ninth part of the complete Josephus. These were written on disorganized sheets; nevertheless, we would not have neglected them if the matter had been at our discretion. Truly, the fame and learning of that man will be much better preserved by those most learned Observations on Roman and Asiatic Decrees, which we have seen fit to insert in their proper place. Indeed, it can be clearly seen that nothing which could be acquired by prayer or price was overlooked by us, as evidenced by the posthumous notes of Joannes Sibrand of Franeker original: "Joannis Sibrandi Franequerani"; Sibrand was a professor at the University of Franeker., formerly a lecturer of Greek Literature in the same homeland academy. These notes also do not progress beyond that first book, yet they can be read after it on page 60, having been voluntarily shared with us by the most excellent Joanne Doitsema, the most prudent moderator of the School of Hoorn.

And these are the materials which were sought by us with the greatest care to illustrate the context of Flavius Josephus, or were voluntarily supplied by learned men, whose names are publicly honored by us (as is right). However, because the Second Volume was by no means equal in size to the First, we gathered into it whatever we received later, or whatever filled entire small books that nevertheless pertained to the Josephan writings. Therefore, besides those collections we have mentioned, you will find there a Specimen of an Examination of Hudson’s Various Readings original: "V. L. Hudsonianarum"; V. L. stands for Variae Lectiones, or variant readings of the manuscript. by the most learned J. Wasse Joseph Wasse (1672–1738), an English classicist. on pages 51–56. Also included is an excerpt from the Greek Library concerning Flavius Josephus by Johann Albert Fabricius, by far the most famous of the Germans; this was greatly enriched by the author himself, who out of his kindness sent it to us (pages 57–71). There follows the preface of Arnoldus Peraxylus Arlenius, by far the most beautiful, addressed to Diego Hurtado de Mendoza; this preface, which was placed at the front of the Basel edition, was undeservedly neglected by other editors (pages 72–75). At the same time, we include the prefaces of other subsequent editions, as well as the most praised Prolegomena term: Prolegomena; introductory remarks or a formal essay serving as a preface to a scholarly work. of Thomas Ittig (pages 76–95). Next is an Appendix to the Works of Flavius Josephus, which appears along with Ittig’s Prolegomena in the latest German edition of Josephus; as he himself testifies, this was compiled by Johann Albert Fabricius while he was still quite a young man (see a little earlier on page 76). This appendix contains Aristeas on the seventy translators A reference to the Letter of Aristeas, which describes the translation of the Hebrew Bible into Greek (the Septuagint)., a fragment attributed to Josephus titled Concerning the Universe original: "περι παντος" (peri pantos); a philosophical fragment now usually attributed to Hippolytus of Rome., and certain other things which can be found there up to page 156. After certain variant readings are interposed, you have an excerpt concerning Josephus from M. Andreas Frankenberger’s Institutes of Antiquity and History (pages 182–185). This is followed by two books by Charles Daubuz, in which that most vexed testimony concerning Jesus Christ is asserted to be legitimate to Josephus (up to page 232). Due to the similarity of the subject, we have added to these thirty Philological and Historical Letters from several of the more celebrated men of letters; these were formerly published in a smaller format at Nuremberg in the year 1661 under the care of Christopher Arnold, and being less accessible for the use of scholars, they proceed up to page 285. That testimony concerning Jesus appears in our edition in the Antiquities, Book XVIII, Chapter III, Section 3, page 876. While we were occupied there, the thought occurred to me to write a specific small dissertation upon it, along with another explaining the Coins original: "Numismata"; refers to the study of ancient coins used to provide historical evidence for the text. engraved to illustrate Josephus (which follows this Preface of mine), to be added to the end of Volume II. But, to tell the truth, everything that can be said has been said; and no matter how much Faber Tanaquil Faber (Tanneguy Le Fèvre), a scholar who famously doubted the authenticity of the passage about Jesus. and those who follow him may cry out that it is entirely [alien] to Josephus, so...