1. Is this text reliable? Criteria for establishing the “original” text.

2. Definitions Original - the first recording of the historical event or idea Witness - later/other recordings of the original Transmission - the recording of a manuscript anew

3. General Criteria Number of witnesses Age of the witnesses Quality of the witnesses Geographical spread of the witnesses Difficulty of the reading Conformity with language, style and culture

4. Number of Witnesses If all things are equal, then the lesser found variant is generally not “original”. All things are rarely equal. This is the most unreliable stand alone criteria.

5. Age of the Witnesses The oldest witness is more likely to be original even if the later witnesses are more numerous. However, a later text may have copied an earlier text that is now lost.

6. Quality of Witnesses If the witness is full of grammatical or spelling errors, it is more likely to not be the original. Scribes were not trained and were often inattentive.

7. Geographical Spread of the Witnesses Variations were often copied within a confined geographic area. If one form is found in geographically diverse witnesses that are early - it is probably closer to the original.

8. Difficulty of the Reading One of the most useful criteria. The more polished the final text, the less probable it is the original. Scribes often corrected errors within the text (and especially among texts) to create a harmonious account of the event.

9. Conformity to language, style, and culture If a word, idiom, or wording appears in a variation that was not used in the author’s time and culture, it is not the original. Scribes changed words that were not as widely used at the time of the copying.

10. Is the text original? Scholars use all six criteria together. Texts are often changed in transmission - it is highly unlikely that we have the originals of any “old” texts.

11. Euclid: An example Most Middle Age texts were from Adelhard’s translation from the Arabic (Hajjaj) Most modern translations:

12. The “Modern” Euclid Theon of Alexandria (Hypatia’s father) edited a version in 4th century CE Stephen the Clerk created a manuscript in 888 CE (now at Oxford) - in Greek Heiberg translated the Greek manuscript Heath worked with Heiberg’s translation Most of today’s editions are based on Heath

13. How reliable is our text? There is about a 1000 year span between the oldest preserved witness and the original. The two documents are in the same language. However, there was a huge shift in philosophical thought - this could have influenced the text. Also, the 888 CE manuscript was based on a rewritten form of an earlier text.

14. Miscellaneous Fun Facts Written text on papyri or vellum (animal skin) was stored in rolls (scrolls) until about 200 CE. Then, codices (books) were developed and used. The Library of Alexandria was much like the Library of Congress. It has been reported that many scrolls and books were destroyed when it was destroyed.

15. Translation: The Next Step

16. The Problems of Translating Languages that no longer are actively spoken or written Words that no longer are actively used Words that are used with altered meanings Differences between the original language and the “target” language

17. Styles of Translating Formal Equivalence - preserves word order from the original order; form is most important Paraphrase - restate the text in the translator’s words; meaning is most important Functional / Dynamic Equivalence - seeks a balance between the two

18. For example... From Swahili: Njia hii inaitwaje. To English: What is the name of this street? Njiahiii - na - itwa - je. Path –this it - is -called - ?

19. Now you know... what you don’t know!

20. Resources Ehrman, B. (2004). The new testament: A historical introduction to the early Christian writings (3ed). New York: Oxford University Press. http://www.math10.com/en/maths- history/history1/classical-greek- geometry2.html, retrieved June 11, 2007http://www.math10.com/en/maths- history/history1/classical-greek- geometry2.html http://www.claymath.org/euclid/; retrieved June 7, 2007http://www.claymath.org/euclid/