II. On the Number of the Lost Books of Tacitus. By the Lord Mahon

Extract

The historical works of Tacitus which remain to us are, as is well known, besides the Life of Agricola, the four first books of the Annals, part of the fifth, the sixth, the eleventh, twelfth, thirteenth, fourteenth, fifteenth, and part of the sixteenth, the four first books of the History, and part of the fifth. It is asserted by Brotier, in his excellent edition, that the total number of books must have been sixteen of Annals and fourteen of History, and this assertion has never yet, so far as I know, been doubted or called in question. I think, however, that there are strong grounds for presuming that the real number of books was eighteen of Annals and twelve of History; and, though the point be of small importance, it may perhaps not be without some interest to the admirers of the greatest of Historians.