يطلب الناقد النصي التعرف على أقرب نص للنص الأصلي أو النسخة القديمة أو أي نسخة أخرى وجدت في الماضي "[...]that process which it sought to determine the original text of a document or a collection of documents, and to exhibit, freed from all the errors, corruptions, and variations which may have been accumulated in the course of its transcription by successive copyings.
that process which it sought to determine the original text of a document or a collection of documents, and to exhibit, freed from all the errors, corruptions, and variations which may have been accumulated in the course of its transcription by successive copying.