ABSTRACT
In this chapter we shall begin our examination of the evidence common to two or more of the theories, and the first we shall deal with is the argument from parallelisms. A literary parallelism, as its name implies, is a passage occurring in a work by one author which bears a marked resemblance in thought and expression to a passage occurring in a work by another author. When such a parallelism is discovered it naturally suggests some connection between the two works. This connection may result from any of the following causes:
Deliberate plagiarism.
Unconscious plagiarism.
Derivation from a common source.
The use of a commonplace expression.
Coincidence.
