07-19-2009, 06:02 PM
Quote:I have posted on this forum twice my research and evidence for the ages of the hastati, principes and triarii. So far no one has commented either way. If my premise is wrong, I’m sure Mr Campbell you would have amassed your scorpions and ballistae to give me an artillery barrage greater than that inflicted by the Russians on the Germans during the opening of operation Bagration in 1944. So far you have not. Is there a reason for this?Only that I have no interest in the ages of hastati, principes and triarii. I'm beginning to realise that we are at cross-purposes. I am looking at the big picture, whereas I suspect you are focussing on specific details relating to a specific period. (I am unaware of the title of your thesis.) So I shall allow the Pyrrhus scholars to step up.
Quote:I have no respect for academics writing on the Roman army who cannot or have not been able to successfully interpret the empirical data in the primary sources, but have the audacity to state an ancient author’s numbers and reliability is worthless.I think perhaps you over-simplify the research process. There are many reasons why a scholar "cannot, or has not been able to, successfully interpret" an ancient source, and not all of them involve deceit. As you probably realise, everyone brings his/her own experience to the reading of an ancient text, and may notice details that previous readers have missed. (As a simplistic example, this is exactly what happened when I "discovered" handheld mechanical weapons mentioned in Arrian's Techne Taktike. It's not that every previous reader was incompetent, ignorant or deceitful. Just that they didn't realise the implications of what they were reading.)
Similarly, few scholars (in my experience) state their case with "audacity", but rather with neutrality, occasionally even humility. Your experience seems to have been different, which is why I was interested to see examples cited.
Quote:The mathematics it the primary sources are available to everyone, so it is a level playing field.Only for those who have (a) the interest, (b) the inclination, © the opportunity, (d) the experience, (e) the skills ... Probably not so level after all? :wink:
