Editing Textual criticism (section)

== Basic notions and objectives ==
The basic problem, as described by [[Paul Maas (classical scholar)|Paul Maas]], is as follows:
{{blockquote|We have no [[Autograph (manuscript)|autograph]] [handwritten by the original author] manuscripts of the [[ancient Greece|Greek]] and [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] classical writers and no copies which have been [[collated]] with the originals; the manuscripts we possess derive from the originals through an unknown number of intermediate copies, and are consequently of questionable trustworthiness. The business of textual criticism is to produce a text as close as possible to the original (''constitutio textus'').{{sfn|Maas|1958|p=1}}}}

Maas comments further that "A dictation revised by the author must be regarded as equivalent to an autograph manuscript". The lack of autograph manuscripts applies to many cultures other than Greek and Roman. In such a situation, a key objective becomes the identification of the first ''exemplar'' before any split in the tradition. That exemplar is known as the ''[[archetype]]''. "If we succeed in establishing the text of [the archetype], the ''constitutio'' (reconstruction of the original) is considerably advanced."{{sfn|Maas|1958|pp=2–3}}

The textual critic's ultimate objective is the production of a "critical edition".{{Citation needed|date=December 2008}} This contains the text that the author has determined most closely approximates the original, and is accompanied by an ''apparatus criticus'' or [[critical apparatus]]. The critical apparatus presents the author's work in three parts: first, a list or description of the evidence that the editor used (names of manuscripts, or abbreviations called [[sigla]]); second, the editor's analysis of that evidence (sometimes a simple likelihood rating),{{Citation needed|date=December 2008}}; and third, a record of rejected variants of the text (often in order of preference).{{efn|"The ''apparatus criticus'' is placed underneath the text simply on account of bookprinting conditions and in particular of the format of modern books. The practice in ancient and medieval manuscripts of using the outer margin for this purpose makes for far greater clarity."{{sfn|Maas|1958|pp=22–23}}}}