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.