Yes, but I don't think it unlikely. As Ken Olson has pointed out elsewhere, the amount of information that Tacitus presents is essentially akin to what one would find in lots of short creedal-like statements. Ken points to Justin Martyr First Apology 13 as one such example:andrewcriddle wrote: ↑Tue Mar 01, 2022 9:33 amApologies for taking this clause out of the context of your whole post, but I was interested by this idea.Chris Hansen wrote: ↑Mon Feb 28, 2022 8:41 am
Chris Hansen here:
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I've also taken flack ..., for my position that Tacitus was not an independent source and likely relied on information garnered from Christians (through Pliny the Younger, imo),
It would seem to require that Pliny knew more about Christian origins than is stated in his extant work.
Andrew Criddle
https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0126.htmOur teacher of these things is Jesus Christ, who also was born for this purpose, and was crucified under Pontius Pilate, procurator of Judæa, in the times of Tiberius Cæsar; and that we reasonably worship Him, having learned that He is the Son of the true God Himself, and holding Him in the second place, and the prophetic Spirit in the third, we will prove.
I would similarly add Ignatius, Epistle to the Smyrnaeans 1:
https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0109.htmHe was truly of the seed of David according to the flesh, and the Son of God according to the will and power of God; that He was truly born of a virgin, was baptized by John, in order that all righteousness might be fulfilled by Him; and was truly, under Pontius Pilate and Herod the tetrarch, nailed [to the cross] for us in His flesh.
Essentially, it seems like to me just general information that he could have gathered. I just submitted a paper on this for peer review, but in it I show also where Pliny and Tacitus traded letters back and forth, and additionally, where we have evidence that Tacitus sent his work to Pliny for emendations and opinions, which gives Pliny ample opportunity to share his knowledge on Christians. I think it would be fair to say he knows more than what was put in a letter, given he did interrogate Christians and such.