'n Edisietegniese voorstel vir die samestelling van 'n histories-kritiese uitgawe van die eerste lewe van Colet (Etienne Leroux)

[摘要] English: The primary aim of this study was to put forward a proposal, within the scientific framework of the textual criticism, on how a historical-critical edition of Die eerste lewe van Colet by Etienne Leroux could be constituted. In emulation of a textual-critical tradition which, on the European mainland, has a span of many decades, the objective was to propose certain guidelines on how such a project could be adhered to within the South African, or more specifically the Afrikaans context. In this regard the origin, development and nature of such an edition have been explored extensively. With reference to the first-mentioned it was established that modern historical-critical editions originated during the nineteenth century with the publication of GE Lessing's Sámtliche Schriften (1838 - 1840) by Karl Lachmann. The aim of this edition as initiated by Lachmannn was in the first instance to constitute an authentic text which, in the words of Plachta (1995:505) would record, organize, and 'restore' all the author's texts. Secondly it was also intended to capture the development or growth of the author's works. Many historical-critical editions published afterwards would follow the guidelines set by Lachmann. However, over the years, such editions would undergo certain changes, which led to the increasing prominence of the variant apparatus. Different variant models were developed with the specific objective of presenting the development of an author's work in a more simplified, synoptic, complete, and easily accessible manner. With regard to the nature of the historical-critical edition, the definition of Kanzog (1970), namely that such an edition must reflect the historical development of all the versions of a work or works, was used as a starting point. This definition of Kanzog (1970) was also used as a basis in formulating a proposal for the establishment of a historical-critical edition of Die eerste lewe van Colet. Taking the viewpoints of mainly German and Dutch theorists as a point of departure, procedures have been proposed with regard to the constitution of inter alia the critical reader's text, the variant apparatus and the commentary ofa historical-critical edition. In the case of the first-mentioned, namely the establishment of a critical reader's text, the focus was placed on the selection and preparation of the copy-text. One of the most important issues within the framework of the textual criticism on which there is general consensus, is that, when selecting a copy-text, the authority thereof should be established. From this it follows that any version of a work of which the authority has been established with certainty could be used as a copy-text. After careful critical consideration of the different authoritative versions of a particular text, and taking into account the advantages and disadvantages associated with each version, the editor or compiler of a historical-critical edition is at liberty to select any version as a copy-text. The selected text is then collated with the other versions to determine the occurrence of any errors that cannot be attributed to the author. As Mathijsen (1997:58) puts it, the selected text is subject to expurgation from any elements buiten de bedoeling van de outeur om. Emendations that take place must, however, be accounted for in the historical-critical edition. Mistakes which occurred as a result of ignorance on the part of the author or which were deliberately caused by him are not to be emended. In the case of Leroux, with his idiosyncratic style of writing and his open declaration that he, for the sake of achieving a specific effect with his writing style, would not hesitate to spell or use words incorrectly, it would not seem appropriate to precipitately bring about changes in his texts for the sake of emendation, as it would be contradictory to the aims and objectives of a historical-critical edition. Only those errors that occurred without the knowledge of the author and which can therefore be attributed to others (e.g. setter or copytypist) should be rectified as such. With regard to the typography of a text, such as the use of inverted commas, modernization may take place provided that it does not alter the meaning of a particular text. In this case it is not necessary to account for such changes. A proposal regarding the constitution of a variant model of the historical-critical edition of Die eerste lewe van Colet is that the synoptic model, as a result of its surveyability, completeness, readability and relative simplicity, could be used as a starting point. Different viewpoints exist within the paradigm of the textual criticism on how the commentary of a historical-critical edition should be constituted. Whilst some theorists hold the opinion that the commentary should be placed before or after the readers text in the same volume, others conclude that it should appear separately from the readers text and variant apparatus, the reason for this being the fact that the commentary, unlike the other components, is likely to become obsolete. Some criteria over which there is unanimity within textual critical circles is that it should be synoptic and accessible - something that should also apply to a historical-critical edition of Die eerste lewe van Colet. Although several elements can be included in the commentary of a historicalcritical the proposal with regard to Die eerste lewe van Colet is that only its history of origin, reception and transmission should be reflected in such an edition. Within textual practice such a procedure is fairly acceptable, especially where it concerns partial editions. To illustrate how the recording of the history of origin of Die eerste lewe van Colet should be taking place the procedure was, in the first instance, to give a short summary of the origin of the novel; subsequently related fragments from secondary documents such as diaries and letters were included. Concerning the history of reception of a particular work, Mathijsen (1997:60) holds the opinion that it need not be comprehensive; therefore it was also endeavoured, by means of meaningful reviews and discussions in newspapers, magazines and books, to give a summary of the reception history of the different editions of Die eerste lewe van Colet. The transmission of a work has to do with its embodiment and perpetuation in different versions. When the history of transmission of a work is recorded, it is important that the different primary sources be described in chronological fashion and that the authority of each primary source be determined. Against this background an attempt was made to describe each and every transmitted version of Die eerste lewe van Colet and to determine their authority. Concerning the location or position of the commentary within a historical-critical edition of Die eerste lewe van Colet the proposal is that it can either be placed before or after the readers text, or even be bound in a separate book. In view of the fact that in South Africa a central body, such as the Constantijn Huygens Instituut voor tekstedities en intellectuele geschiedenis (CHI) and the Center for Scholarly Editions (CSE) situated in The Hague and America respectively which strives towards the attainment of authentic textual editions, is nonexistent, the proposal would be that the establishment of a historical-critical edition of Die eerste lewe van Colet be undertaken by an individual or a group of individuals who not only have a sound knowledge of the particular novel but also have a profound understanding of the entire body of works of Leroux. In the final analysis it can also be mentioned that such an enterprise would not be possible without any subsidy from some source or other.

[发布机构] University of the Free State