Theos-Talk Archives (May 2003 Message tt00020)

Wes recently wrote on Theos-Talk:

". . . when Judge reprinted 'The Voice of the Silence' in New York in
1893, he did some minor editing and rearranged the footnotes to 
appear on the text pages instead of at the back of the book. So, when 
The Theosophy Company went to re-publish the Voice, there were two 
editions to choose from: Blavatsky's and Judge's. Which one should 
we have published? HPB's 'original' text, or Judge's edition which 
was a bit easier to use? The Theosophy Company editors apparently 
decided to use Judge's, relying on his known skill as an 
editor. . . . "

Compare the above admission by Wes with Dallas' previous statement 
that:

". . .the U L T insists on using and providing for study, only the 
ORIGINALS -- I see too many interpretive changes in Theosophical 
texts altered by those who have later claimed that they can correct 
errors made in those 'originals.' Who dares to say that they can do 
better than H P B and the Masters . . . ?"

When Dallas observes 

"I see too many interpretive changes in Theosophical texts altered by 
those who have later claimed that they can correct errors made in 
those 'originals,'" 

would he ALSO include Mr. Judge in the phrase "by those who have 
later claimed that they can correct..."?

Below may be a good example of Judge's "minor" (?) editing:

In at least two emails posted to Theos-Talk in March-April 2000, 
Peter Merriott questioned the need for Mr. Judge to make a change in 
HPB's ORIGINAL concerning the phrase "thin oblong squares". 

Peter wrote in part:

"HPB writes:

"The original PRECEPTS are engraved on thin oblong squares"
(Original edition, page vii, caps added where italics put in 
original)

"Unfortunately, in my view, the wording of this has been altered in 
the ULT edition wherein the word "squares" has been removed thus 
rendering the passage:

"The original Precepts are engraved on thin oblongs.." (ULT 
edition)

"In the Collected Writings of HPB we find an article by her wherein we
discover that she has used the term OBLONG SQUARES before. So it is
somewhat puzzling why this phrase should have been altered (presumably
corrected?) in the ULT edition. . . . ."

"The words OBLONG SQUARE are italicised in the above article which 
suggests HPB wished to draw our attention to its special 
significance. . . . ."

". . . . Clearly then, this is no mistake, no idle phrase or term 
that HPB is using in the VOICE. So again, one might ask why change 
it in the VOICE OF THE SILENCE, why remove the word "squares" to 
leave the phrase "thin oblongs"? For to do so is to delete something 
very important in the text, or so it seems to me. . . ."

". . . .Do we perhaps get a sense that this term OBLONG SQUARE is an
important one, and should have remained untouched as HPB wrote it in 
her original VOICE OF THE SILENCE? . . . "

I close this posting with the following question.

Does Dallas' remarks:

"I see too many interpretive changes in Theosophical texts altered by 
those who have later claimed that they can correct errors made in 
those 'originals.' Who dares to say that they can do better than H P 
B and the Masters . . . ?"

ALSO EQUALLY APPLY to Mr. Judge's above "interpretive change" to 
HPB's ORIGINAL edition of THE VOICE?

Daniel H. Caldwell
BLAVATSKY STUDY CENTER/BLAVATSKY ARCHIVES
http://blavatskyarchives.com