08-26-2014, 11:25 AM
It seems to be down to variations in survival. Take the Res Gestae, if we had the original bronze inscription set up in Rome, then that would be primary; as we only have provincial copies then they are the primary sources. If no physical inscription had survived to the modern day, then any excerpt from the Res Gestae written by a contemporary, or near contemporary, author would have been the primary source.
Martin
Fac me cocleario vomere!
Fac me cocleario vomere!