Justin (historian)
Justin(Latin:Marcus Junianus Justinus Frontinus;[n 1]fl.c. 2ndcentury) was a Latin writer and historian who lived under theRoman Empire.
Life[edit]
Almost nothing is known of Justin's personal history, his name appearing only in the title of his work. He must have lived afterGnaeus Pompeius Trogus,whose work he excerpted, and his references to theRomansandParthianshaving divided the world between themselves would have been anachronistic after the rise of theSassaniansin the third century. HisLatinappears to be consistent with the style of the second century.Ronald Syme,however, argues for a date around AD 390, immediately before the compilation of theAugustan History,and dismisses anachronisms and the archaic style as unimportant, as he asserts readers would have understood Justin's phrasing to represent Trogus' time, and not his own.[1]
Works[edit]
Justin was the author of anepitomeof Trogus' expansiveLiber Historiarum Philippicarum,orPhilippic Histories,a history of the kings ofMacedonia,compiled in the time ofAugustus.Due to its numerous digressions, this work was retitled by one of its editors,Historia Philippicae et Totius Mundi Origines et Terrae Situs,orPhilippic History and Origins of the Entire World and All of its Lands.Justin'sprefaceexplains that he aimed to collect the most important and interesting passages of that work, which has since been lost. Some of Trogus' original arguments (prologi) are preserved in various other authors, such asPliny the Elder.Trogus' main theme was the rise and history of theMacedonian Empire,and like him, Justin permitted himself considerable freedom of digression, producing an idiosyncratic anthology rather than a strict epitome.
Legacy[edit]
Justin's history was much used in theMiddle Ages,when its author was sometimes mistakenly conflated withJustin Martyr.[2]
Notes[edit]
- ^Justin's name is given only in manuscripts of his own history, the majority of which simply identify him asJustinus.One manuscript identifies him asJustinus Frontinus,the other asMarcus Junianus Justinus.The accuracy of these names is uncertain.
References[edit]
Bibliography[edit]
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain:Chisholm, Hugh,ed. (1911). "Justin".Encyclopædia Britannica(11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
- Borgna, Alice (2018), "Ripensare la storia universale. Giustino e l'Epitome delle Storie Filippiche di Pompeo Trogo",Spudasmata.
- Syme, Ronald (1988), "The Date of Justin and the Discovery of Trogus",Historia,vol. 37, pp. 358–371.
External links[edit]
- An early edition(Milan, 1476) of theEpitomefrom the Bavarian State Library
- Justin'sEpitomeatThe Latin Library,Corpus Scriptorum Latinorum,&Itinera Electronica(in Latin)
- Watson's 1853 translation atCSL,the Tertullian Project,&Attalus(in English)
- Arnaud-Lindet's 2003 translation atCSL(in French)
- Correa's 2003 partial translation atCSL(in Spanish)
- Prologiof Pompeius Trogus's workat the Tertullian Project
