Wed Jan 15 17:47:00 1997

From owner-tc-list  Wed Jan 15 17:47:00 1997
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Subject: Re: Original Text
Date: Wed, 15 Jan 97 23:39:44 +0100
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From: Jean VALENTIN 
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>If I may be so bold, I would be
>interested in getting your personal thoughts on what the 'original text' is
>(or 'texts' are).

Hmmm... the "original text" is something between a concept and a chimera. 
In fact, what we're dealing with is a _tradition_. Some people devote 
their whole life to searching "the ideal woman", and, probably, when we 
search naively for an "original text" we're doing just the same.

In any case, if such a thing ever existed, it is lost and all our 
reconstructions remain reconstructions. Personally, I find we're on more 
solid ground when studying the development and diversity of the tradition 
than when trying to reconstruct a remote original... I must avow my 
perplexity when facing these questions.


_______________________________________________________________________
Jean Valentin - Brussels - Belgium

Ce qui est trop simple est faux, ce qui est trop complexe est 
inutilisable.
What's too simple is wrong, what's too complex is unusable.
Wat te eenvoudig is, is verkeerd; wat te ingewikkeld is, is onbruikbaar.

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