Introduction To ERRATA for the Second Edition of
A Course in Miracles
This pamphlet contains all the changes made after the sixth printing of the First Edition of A Course in Miracles. All of these have been incorporated in the Second Edition. They are listed by book -- Text, Workbook for Students, Manual for Teachers -- keyed to the pagination in the First Edition. The large number of these changes deserves an explanation, and that is the purpose of this introduction.
We begin by presenting the sequence in which A Course in Miracles evolved into its present form, originating with Dr. Helen Schucman's shorthand notes begun in 1965. Helen took down her internal dictation in notebooks, and regularly dictated these to her colleague and collaborator, Dr. William Thetford, who typed out her words. This original typing of the three books came to be called the 'urtext,' a word denoting an original manuscript.
After each of these typing sessions, Bill read back to Helen what he typed to ensure that no mistakes were made. Thus, the urtext can be considered to have been carefully checked, and to be an accurate copy of Helen's original notes. Helen later retyped the manuscript of the Text twice and the Workbook and Manual once, and none of these retypings was ever proofread.
It should be mentioned that minor alterations were intentionally made in these retypings of the manuscript from the urtext. Personal material that Helen and Bill received was omitted, since they were instructed that it did not belong in the public edition. Other changes had to do with form -- paragraphs, punctuation and capitalization -- and minor word changes to smooth over the gaps left by the removal of the personal material. Chapter and section titles were also added in the Text.
Helen's second typing of the Text and retyping of the Workbook and Manual were edited, one final time, in preparation for the First Printing in 1976. This editing was carried out along the same lines noted above. After the editing was completed, the entire Text was again retyped; but this too was not adequately proofread. The relatively few changes made in the Workbook and Manual did not call for their retyping. Finally, the manuscript of the three books was given to the printer and again retyped before being typeset, and this was also not adequately proofread.
As a result of this long process of retypings, some material was inadvertently omitted. Furthermore, a fair amount of typographical errors went unnoticed. Thus, when a Second Edition of A Course in Miracles was undertaken to incorporate a system of paragraph and sentence numbering, requiring an entirely new computerized typesetting, it seemed to be an appropriate time to insert the deleted material and correct all prior mistakes. To ensure that this Second Edition be as free as possible from errors, the three books of the First Edition of A Course in Miracles were proofread against the urtext that Bill had originally typed from Helen's notes. All retypings, as well as Helen's original shorthand notebooks, were consulted to trace the errors and omissions that were found.
The errata fall into several categories. Aside from Helen's omissions and mistakes, and those of the typist and typesetter, there were inconsistencies in capitalizations that, it is hoped, have been corrected. Also, since A Course in Miracles came specifically to Helen and Bill as a way of helping them heal their relationship, the "you" in the Course was often originally plural in form, addressing both of them. Frequently, the phrase "you and each other" was used. In editing the manuscript for the First Printing, this phrase was changed to "you and your brother," as the Course was ultimately meant for individuals who would be working on forgiving their specific special relationships. Some of these, as well as other plural references were missed, however, and so they have been corrected here. It should be noted that changes related only to the form of the printing -- page headings, spacing, etc. -- have not been included in this pamphlet.
Finally, the Foundation for Inner Peace would like to thank the countless number of people who have brought mistakes to our attention over the years, and to express gratitude to the many people who assisted in the gargantuan task of proofreading for the Second Edition.
This material is copyright 1992 by the Foundation for A Course in Miracles.
Reproduced here with the the kind permission of the authors and the Foundation.
GO TO DISCUSSION OF THE URTEXT, ORIGINAL SCRIBING =>
GO TO ADDITIONAL DISCUSSION OF URTEXT; ITS ILLEGAL ACQUSITION AND DISTRIBUTION =>
GO TO DISCUSSION OF "HLV" - HUGH LYNN CAYCE VERSION =>
GO
TO CAPITALIZATION IN ACIM - RULES AND SIGNIFICANCE =>
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