“The evidence for our New Testament writings is ever so much greater than the evidence for many writings of classical authors, the authenticity of which no-one dreams of questioning. And if the New Testament were a collection of secular writings, their authenticity would generally be regarded as beyond all doubt. It is a curious fact that historians have often been much readier to trust the New Testament than have many theologians.” F.F. Bruce, The New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable? 1949, p. 15.
| Author/Text | Existing Copies | Years between original and earliest surviving copies |
| Plato | 7 | 1200 |
| Pliny | 7 | 750 |
| Herodotus | 8 | 1300 |
| Thucydides | 8 | 1300 |
| Demosthenes | 8 | 800 |
| Suetonius | 8 | 800 |
| Euripides | 9 | 1300 |
| Aristophanes | 10 | 1200 |
| Caesar | 10 | 1000 |
| Tacitus | 20 | 1000 |
| Aristotle | 49 | 1400 |
| Sophocles | 193 | 1400 |
| Homer/Iliad | 643 | 500 |
| New Testament | 24,000 | 40-70 |
