Author

Date
Written

Earliest Copy

Approximate Time Span between original & copy

Number of Copies

Accuracy of Copies

Lucretius

died 55 or 53 B.C.

1100 yrs

2

----

Pliny

61-113 A.D.

850 A.D.

750 yrs

7

----

Plato

427-347 B.C.

900 A.D.

1200 yrs

7

----

Demosthenes

4th Cent. B.C.

1100 A.D.

800 yrs

8

----

Herodotus

480-425 B.C.

900 A.D.

1300 yrs

8

----

Suetonius

75-160 A.D.

950 A.D.

800 yrs

8

----

Thucydides

460-400 B.C.

900 A.D.

1300 yrs

8

----

Euripides

480-406 B.C.

1100 A.D.

1300 yrs

9

----

Aristophanes

450-385 B.C.

900 A.D.

1200

10

----

Caesar

100-44 B.C.

900 A.D.

1000

10

----

Livy

59 BC-AD 17

----

???

20

----

Tacitus

circa 100 A.D.

1100 A.D.

1000 yrs

20

----

Aristotle

384-322 B.C.

1100 A.D.

1400

49

----

Sophocles

496-406 B.C.

1000 A.D.

1400 yrs

193

----

Homer (Iliad)

900 B.C.

400 B.C.

500 yrs

643

95%

New
Testament

1st Cent. A.D. (50-100 A.D.

2nd Cent. A.D.
(c. 130 A.D. f.)

less than 100 years

5600

99.5%