lacuna - n - A gap or missing part, as in a manuscript, series, or logical argument; hiatus.
A particularly frustrating example of lacunae is the Annals of Tacitus (A.D 55-117), which has large gaps, especially in his lives of Augustus, Tiberius, and Caligula. It's enough to make stones weep and turnips bleed.
2 comments:
Gaps (censorship)? I can certainly understand why Caligula and Tiberius might have imposed gaps, but I'm a bit surprised at Augustus, who was (is?) considered one of the "better" emperors.
Not censorship in this case. There's only one surviving copy of the Annals, and it has large chunks missing: the beginning of the life of Augustus, the part that explains how Sejanus lost the favor of Tiberius, and all of Caligula. I particularly regret the loss of the monstrous Caligula; it must have been good - if lurid - reading.
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