Corruptissima re publica plurimae leges: Paul's Critical Evaluation of the Law and Tacitus' Account of the History of Law (Tac. ann. 3.25-28)
When ancient authors talk about the law or the laws, they usually do so in a positive way. They rarely criticise individual laws or even the law in general. This article discusses two of the exceptions. It takes as its starting point the conspicuously negative statements about the law in Paul's...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
2024
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| In: |
Religion in the Roman empire
Year: 2024, Volume: 10, Issue: 2, Pages: 222-233 |
| Further subjects: | B
Criticism of law
B Tacitus B Paul B New Testament |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (kostenfrei) Volltext (kostenfrei) |
| Summary: | When ancient authors talk about the law or the laws, they usually do so in a positive way. They rarely criticise individual laws or even the law in general. This article discusses two of the exceptions. It takes as its starting point the conspicuously negative statements about the law in Paul's letters (e.g., Rom 6:14; 7:14-21; 8:2; 1 Cor 15:56; Gal 3-4). The excursus on the historical development of Roman law in Tacitus' Annales (Tac. Ann. 3.26.1-3.28.2), a text with a remarkably sceptical attitude towards laws, is then analysed. Finally, the critical assessments of the law in Tacitus and Paul are compared. |
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| ISSN: | 2199-4471 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Religion in the Roman empire
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1628/rre-2024-0016 |
