I. The fifteenth century an age of imposture, shown in the
invention of printing.--II. The curious discovery of the first six
books of the Annals.--III. The blunders it has in common with all
forged documents.--IV. The Twelve Tables.--V. The Speech of
Claudius in the Eleventh Book of the Annals.--VI. Brutus creating
the second class of nobility.--VII. Camillus and his grandson.--
VIII. The Marching of Germanicus.--IX. Description of London in
the time of Nero.--X. Labeo Antistius and Capito Ateius; the
number of people executed for their attachment to Sejanus; and the
marriage of Drusus, the brother of Tiberius, to the Elder Antonia.

I. I have now so far cleared the way as to be in a fair position
to enter with feasibleness into an investigation of the Annals,
with the view of proving that it was not written by Tacitus.

In beginning the investigation, I shall proceed on the assumption
that it is a modern forgery of the fifteenth century, having as
grounds for this assumption that it was the age when the original
MSS. containing the work were discovered; that the existence of
those MSS. cannot be traced farther than that century; that (which
is of vast consequence in an inquiry of this description) it was
an age of imposture; of credulity so immoderate that people were
easily imposed upon, believing, as they did, without sufficient
evidence, or on slight evidence, or no evidence at all, whatever
was foisted upon them; when, too, the love of lucre was such that
for money men willingly forewent the reputation that is the
accompaniment of the grandest achievements of the intellect. Take,
for example, the noble art of printing; for inventing it any man
of genius might reasonably be proud. His name, if known, would be