2.2 "the application of thought to textual criticism" by a.e.  (Page 11/10)

In beginning to speak about the application of thought to textual criticism, I do not intend to define the term thought, because I hope that the sense which I attach to the word will emerge from what I say. But itis necessary at the outset to define textual criticism, because many people, and even some people who profess to teach it to others, do not know what it is. Onesees books calling themselves introductions to textual criticism which contain nothing about textual criticism from beginning toend; which are all about palaeography and manuscripts and collation, and have no more to do with textual criticism than ifthey were all about accidence and syntax. Palaeography is one of the things with which a textual critic needs to [68]acquaint himself, but grammar is another, and equally indispensable; andno amount either of grammar or of palaeography will teach a man one scrap of textual criticism.

Textual criticism is a science, and, since it comprises recension and emendation, it is also an art. It is thescience of discovering error in texts and the art of removing it. That is its definition, that is what the name denotes . But I must also say something about what it does and does not connote , what attributes it does and does not imply; because here also there arefalse impressions abroad.

First, then, it is not a sacred mystery. It is purely a matter of reason and of common sense. We exercisetextual criticism whenever we notice and correct a misprint. A man who possesses common sense and the use of reason must notexpect to learn from treatises or lectures on textual criticism anything that he could not, with leisure and industry, find outfor himself. What the lectures and treatises can do for him is to save him time and trouble by presenting to him immediatelyconsiderations which would in any case occur to him sooner or later. And whatever he reads about textual criticism in books,or hears at lectures, he should test by reason and common sense, and reject everything which conflicts with either as merehocus-pocus.