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.
THE FIRST SIX BOOKS OF THE ANNALS.
REASONS FOR BELIEVING THAT BRACCIOLINI WROTE BOTH
PARTS OF THE ANNALS.
I. Improvement in Bracciolini’s means
after the completion of the forgery of the last part
of the Annals. II. Discovery of the first
six books, and theory about their forgery.
III. Internal evidence the only proof of their
being forged. IV. Superiority of workmanship
a strong proof. V. Further departure than in
the last six books from Tacitus’s method another
proof. VI. The symmetry of the framework
a third proof. VII. Fourth evidence, the
close resemblance in the openings of the two parts.
VIII. The same tone and colouring prove the same
authorship. IX. False statements made about
Sejanus and Antonius Natalis for the purpose of blackening
Tiberius and Nero. X. This spirit of detraction
runs through Bracciolini’s works. XI.
Other resemblances denoting the same author.
XII. Policy given to every subject another cause
to believe both parts composed by a single writer.
XIII. An absence of the power to depict differences
in persons and things.
LANGUAGE, ALLITERATION, ACCENT AND WORDS.
I. The poetic diction of Tacitus, and its
fabrication in the Annals. II. Florid
passages in the Annals. III. Metrical composition
of Bracciolini. IV. Figurative words:
(a) “pessum dare” (b) “voluntas”
V. The verb “foedare” and the Ciceronian
use of “foedus”. VI. The language
of other Roman writers,—Livy, Quintus Curtius
and Sallust. VII. The phrase “non
modo—sed”, and other anomalous expressions,
not Tacitus’s. VIII. Words not used
by Tacitus, “distinctus” and “codicillus”
IX. Peculiar alliterations in the Annals and
works of Bracciolini. X. Monotonous repetition
of accent on penultimate syllables. XI.
Peculiar use of words: (a) “properus”
(b) “annales” and “scriptura”
(c) “totiens” XII. Words
not used by Tacitus: (a) “addubitare”
(b) “extitere” XIII. Polysyllabic
words ending consecutive sentences. XIV.
Omissions of prepositions: (a) in. (b)
with names of nations.
