Context: While textual criticism developed into a discipline of thorough analysis of the Bible — both the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament — scholars also use it to determine the original content of classic texts, such as Plato's Republic. There are far fewer witnesses to classical texts than to the Bible, so scholars can use stemmatics and, in some cases, copy text editing. However, unlike the New Testament where the earliest witnesses are within 200 years of the original, the earliest existing manuscripts of most classical texts were written about a millennium after their composition. All things being equal, textual scholars expect that a larger time gap between an original and a manuscript means more changes in the text.

Question: Does the Bible or Plato's Republic have more witnesses?
Answer: There are far fewer witnesses to classical texts than to the Bible

Question: What's the gap between original Christian texts and subsequent editions of the same works?
Answer: within 200 years

Question: What's the gap between original classical texts and subsequent editions of the same works?
Answer: about a millennium after their composition

Question: How does the expanse of time correlate to authenticity with regard to original and subsequent versions of texts?
Answer: a larger time gap between an original and a manuscript means more changes in the text.

Question: Plato's Republic has more witnesses than what?
Answer: Unanswerable

Question: The Bible has fewer witnesses than what types of work?
Answer: Unanswerable

Question: When were the latest witnesses of the New Testament?
Answer: Unanswerable

Question: Textual scholars expect there to be a smaller time gap between an original and what?
Answer: Unanswerable

Question: There are fewer changes in a text when there is a larger what?
Answer: Unanswerable