The Jewish Historian Flavius Josephus: A Biographical Investigation

publisher as businessman steps between the author and his readership, and that the constantly
necessary business of advertising falls upon his shoulders. In antiquity, according to Birt’s
evidence, distinguished people released their books mostly by publishing them themselves and
therefore business interests immediately came to the fore. Thus Polybius himself deemed it
compatible with his dignity that he should refute the charge raised against his work that it was
too expensive due to its length, by pointing out that it was still cheaper to purchase his long
history than so many individual texts as would equal Polybius’ work in content (Polyb. 3.32).
The author of Rhetorica ad Herennium 1.1 considers it necessary to counter, right at the
beginning, the suspicion that he is acting out of business interests since much was earned from
textbooks themselves, of course. The situation was much worse when a large number of copies
were produced and could no longer be sold: this fate threatened Josephus, should Justus of
Tiberias prevail.
When Cicero released his Academica in a new edition and the old copies now lay unused,
his publisher Atticus was threatened with great loss. Indeed, Cicero thought he could console
him (Att. 13.13.1): tu illam iacturam feres aequo animo, quod illa quae habes de Academicis frustra
[23] descripta sunt; because the new work will be much better – this we may imagine
furthermore – you will therefore do such good business with the new edition that this will
compensate you for the losses from the old edition. Josephus had no such consolation; he had
had the manuscripts of the War produced at great expense (ἀναλώμασι μεγίστοις 1.16), and in
the midst of the sales and distribution appears Justus with his claim that Josephus’ book is
rubbish and that only he, Justus, has written intelligibly. Josephus does not wish to give up his
place to him; he himself requires the turnover of his unsold manuscripts and so he tears down
his competitor and pursues him and his work with a hatred that sheds a significant light on the
business practices of that time. How much “literary critical” combat in antiquity could be
attributed to similar causes?
Now it is obvious why Justus, who played a major role in the Life, is not mentioned at all
in the older parallel presentation of the War. Josephus had no reason to compete with his
literary opponent until the year 100 when Justus, with his work, launched the battle against
Josephus’ War.
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