Manuscript Transmission

manuscript evidence pleads its case
internally and externally.
fragments and whole texts cite the ebb and flow
of textual attestation by source witnesses.

internally and externally,
documented trails frame the contours
of textual attestation by source witnesses
as a mosaic of intricate parchments.

documented trails frame the contours,
with consistently cited witnesses of varying priority
as a mosaic of intricate parchments--
oh, to breathe the rarified air of sacred antiquity!

with consistently cited witnesses of varying priority
confirmed by credible versions and the fathers--
oh, to breathe the rarified air of sacred antiquity
faithfully transmitted by the early monastics.

confirmed by credible versions and the fathers,
fragments and whole texts cite the ebb and flow.
faithfully transmitted by the early monastics,
manuscript evidence pleads its case.

7 April 2007 by Glen Alan Woods