Editing

Though I'm an outspoken advocate for editing and feel most things are better when edited down, another valid view is that which is taken when studying ancient writings. Scribes had to function in place of a printing press (since none existed) and over the course of time, changes, editorial decisions, and errors would be added to the original text. Our standard procedure when studying ancient manuscripts is to go back as far as possible... the closer we get to the original, the more accurate it is perceived to be.