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Computer Analysis of Printings of The Urantia Book:
Publisher's Changes, 1955-1999

by Merritt Horn
January 2001

Changes in 71:7.2 through 110:5.2

        I.     Summary of Conclusions for the Impatient Reader
        II.    Scope of Analysis
        III.   Editorial Philosophy
        IV.   Critical Apparatus
                A.        Classification of Editorial Intent for Changes in the Text
                B.        Classification of Errors
                C.        Abbreviations; editions of The Urantia Book
        V.    Changes in Urantia Foundation editions of The Urantia Book (1955-1999)
                        Changes in 0:0.0 through 42:5.1
                        Changes in 42:6.7 through 69:3.9
                        Changes in 71:7.2 through 110:5.2
                        Changes in 117:7.4 through 196:3.29
)               71:7.2;  p.806 ¶2            Change type: S1/S6
        1st:                           ...and philosophy sometime becomes the chief pursuit of its citizens.
        2nd - 15th, CD:...and philosophy sometimes becomes the chief pursuit of its citizens.
Discussion:
        The change from sometime to sometimes is, from a typographical standpoint, a minor matter, but the meaning of the sentence is dramatically transformed from a confident prediction about the evolution of the ideal state in the original text to the mere acknowledgment of a possible development in all later editions.
        To paraphrase the original:
...philosophy eventually becomes the chief pursuit of the citizens of the ideal state.
        By contrast, all later editions convey the impression that:
...philosophy occasionally becomes the chief pursuit of the citizens of the ideal state.
        Given the immediate context in which this statement occurs and the revelators’ broader narrative of the evolution of inhabited worlds toward light and life, and in the absence of compelling evidence that the 1955 text was in error, this editor’s assumption is that the original wording was the author’s choice.
Conclusion: 
        The 1955 text is correct.
 
)               73:7.4;  p.827 ¶3            Change type: M1
        1st:                                   ...he and Eve were to divide their time between these...capitals...
        2nd - 15th, CD:         ...he and Eve were to divide their time among these...capitals...
Discussion:
        The original construction is correct because between can appropriately be used when more than two objects are related, especially if the relationship is to each object individually rather than in an indeterminate way to the group.  Here, the relationship is the division of Adam and Eve’s time between world capitals; it is immaterial that there are more than two capitals involved.  The following paraphrase based on the passage may help to distinguish the usages:
The Adamic children were to live among the evolutionary peoples, administering the affairs of the planetary government from the various world capitals, while Adam and Eve would divide their time between the capitals as advisors and coordinators.
Conclusion: 
        The 1955 text is correct.
)               76:5.3;  p.852 ¶2            Change type: D1
        1st, 2nd, 12th -15th:            ...the sovereign of this universe, was so soon to appear...
        3rd - 11th, CD:                 ...the sovereign of this universe was so soon to appear...
Discussion:
        The location of this comma, at the end of a line in the original format, makes it likely that the change was an accidental database corruption coincident with the use of the new printing plates in 1971.  (Unfortunately, the electronic text has not been restored to the original.)
Conclusion: 
        The 1955 text is correct.
)               78:0.1;  p.868 ¶1            Change type: D1
        1st, 2nd, 12th - 15th, CD:           ...the doings of historic times, and who have so...
        3rd - 11th:                                 ...the doings of historic times and who have so...
Discussion:
        Same as note for 76:5.3 (except that electronic text has been restored).
Conclusion: 
        The 1955 text is correct.
)               78:2.3;  p.870 ¶1            Change type: S5
        1st:                                   ...was there a civilization in anyway comparable.
        2nd - 15th, CD:         ...was there a civilization in any way comparable.
Discussion:
        The two-word form is the appropriate choice when serving as an adverb only, rather than as an adverbial conjunction, in which case the compound anyway is more common.  This latter use, roughly synonymous with at any rate or in any case, is well illustrated by its only occurrence in the papers (at 148:6.4) when Job’s friend, Eliphaz, is quoted as saying:
“Anyway, man seems predestined to trouble, and perhaps the Lord is only chastising you for your own good.”
Conclusion: 
        The 1955 format is incorrect and probably reflects a simple T1 (dropped keystroke) error.
)               79:3.5;  p.881 ¶5            Change type: S1
        1st:                                   ...religious, philosophic, and commerical civilization...
        2nd - 15th, CD:         ...religious, philosophic, and commercial civilization...
Discussion:
        This is one of only four instances in the 1955 text (the others being hestitate at 121:7.3, anniversay at 123:2.3, and peformance at 126:1.5) in which common English words have been typeset incorrectly where there is no possible basis for morphological confusion (e.g. anyway/any way, sometime/some time).  The ease with which such typing mistakes are made, combined with the difficulty of their detection in proofing (because of the mind’s tendency to see the correct word even when an error is present), made this a very common form of error in the days prior to spell-checking programs in even the most rigorously proofed book.  That there are only four such errors in the first edition is the strongest evidence for the care with which that printing was prepared, and a potent rebuttal for the many “corrections” put forth over the years which presuppose careless preparation of the original text.
Conclusion: 
        Two keystrokes were transposed in the first edition—a T4 error.
)               79:5.6;  p.883 ¶7            Change type: M3
        1st, 2nd:                             and when the land passage to the west, over the Bering isthmus...
        3rd - 15th, CD:         and when the land passage to the east, over the Bering isthmus...
Discussion:
        There is no question that North America is east of Siberia—that fact being the basis for the 1967 change.  It is difficult to account for the appearance of west in the first printing if east was in the original manuscript, but if the original was West, referring to the Western Hemisphere, the only explanation required is a mistakenly un-shifted keystroke—a simple T3 error.
        In the Urantia Papers, West and East are frequently utilized to designate a generalized geographical location rather than direction, but in all other cases they refer to the western and eastern reaches of Eurasia.  Because there is no other instance of West referring to the Western Hemisphere, we cannot be certain that this was the original wording, but it is certain that if West had been printed here in the first edition, the meaning would have been obvious, the passage would never have been revised, and the question of this unique usage of West would never have come up.
        [A more complex explanation involving an E1 error (a mistaken pre-publication “correction”) is the only mechanism available for the transformation of east in the manuscript to west in the 1955 text, but in view of the simplicity of the West/west solution, it would seem to be unnecessary to resort to the E1 explanation in this case.]
Conclusion: 
        There was a T3 error in the 1955 text: the W in West was mistakenly keyed without being shifted into its capitalized form.
)               79:8.3;  p.887 ¶3            Change type: S2/S4
        1st - 9th, 12th - 14th, CD:   ...following the disruption of Graeco‑Roman civilization.
        10th, 11th, 15th:                         ...following the disruption of Greco‑Roman civilization.
Discussion:
        A change for the purpose of database standardization is reasonable, as the original text contained both forms at different locations, but the subsequent reversion of the printed text, and the variant electronic text are problematic and quite incomprehensible to this editor.
        The origin of the variants in the text may be related to a change in recommended spellings between the 1927 and 1937 editions of the Chicago Manual. (The former specifying Graeco-, the latter, Greco-.)  The OED and Webster’s include both forms, but their preferences are split—along lines the reader can, no doubt, predict.  (See also note for 98:4.1)
Conclusion: 
        The 1955 spelling is an acceptable variant.  However, database standardization (if consistently applied), could be a reasonable justification for adopting the more modern form.
)               80:2.4;  p.890 ¶8            Change type: P1
        1st:                                   ...to the level of the Atlantic Ocean  [missing period]
        2nd - 15th, CD:         ...to the level of the Atlantic Ocean.
Discussion:
        This period, at the end of the last line on the page in the original format, was missing in the first printing.  There were only two missing periods in the first edition. (See 117:7.4)
Conclusion: 
        The was a T1 (dropped keystroke) error in the 1955 text.
)               80:5.8;  p.894 ¶1            Change type: S5
        1st:                                   Central Europe was for sometime controlled by the blue man...
        2nd - 15th, CD:         Central Europe was for some time controlled by the blue man...
Discussion:
        The two-word form is correct as the reference is to an indefinite period of time rather than to an indefinite point in time. (See Webster’s)
Conclusion: 
        There was a T1 (dropped keystroke) error in the first edition.
)               80:7.1;  p.895 ¶1            Change type: S5
        1st:                                   ...there persisted for sometime a superior civilization...
        2nd - 15th, CD:         ...there persisted for some time a superior civilization...
Discussion:
        As in the previous case (80:5.8), the two-word form is correct because the reference is to an indefinite period of time; not an indefinite point in time.
Conclusion: 
        There was a T1 (dropped keystroke) error in the first edition.
)               83:7.6;  p.928 ¶7            Change type: S2
        1st - 9th, 12th - 14th, CD:   ...a life-long partnership of self‑effacement, compromise...
        10th, 11th, 15th:                         ...a lifelong partnership of self‑effacement, compromise...
Discussion:
        Database standardization is a good justification for the change here and at (89:8.1) below, as out of the ten occurrences of  lifelong or life-long in the text, only these two were hyphenated.  However, the later changes and current discrepancies between editions are at odds with the presumed goal.
        Although Webster’s lists the compound word, differences between Chicago Manual editions may have given rise to the varied spellings.  The 1927 and 1937 editions contain the general rule (as §251 or §213):
“Compounds of ‘life’ and  ‘world’ require a hyphen:
life-history, life-principle  (but: lifetime)...”
But the 1949 Chicago Manual modifies the rule slightly and lists lifelong  as a specific example:
“§214. Compounds with ‘god’ and some compounds of ‘life’ require a hyphen:
...life-history, life-line, life-principle, life-story  (but: lifeblood, lifelong, lifetime, etc.)”
Conclusion: 
        The 1955 spelling is an acceptable variant.  However, database standardization (if consistently applied), could be a reasonable justification for adopting the compound form.
)               86:5.13;  p.955 ¶5          Change type: S4
        1st:                                   The children of Badanon developed a belief in two souls...
        2nd - 15th, CD:         The children of Badonan developed a belief in two souls...
Discussion:
        Badonan is the correct spelling; Badanon was, no doubt, the result of an inadvertent key transposition.
Conclusion: 
        There was a T4 (key transposition) error in the 1955 text.
)               89:8.1;  p.982 ¶5            Change type: S2
        1st - 9th, 12th - 14th, CD:   ...with dedication to life-long virginity...
        10th, 11th, 15th:                         ...with dedication to lifelong virginity...
Discussion:
        See note for (83:7.6) above.
Conclusion: 
        As for (83:7.6) above, the 1955 spelling is an acceptable variant.  However, database standardization (if consistently applied), could be a reasonable justification for adopting the compound form.
)               90:2.9;  p.988 ¶5            Change type: S4
        1st:                                   ...the Shawnee Teuskwatawa, who predicted the eclipse of the sun...
        2nd - 15th, CD:         ...the Shawnee Tenskwatawa, who predicted the eclipse of the sun...
Discussion:
        Tenskwatawa is the standard transliteration for the Shawnee prophet’s name; the spelling in the first edition may have been caused by a mistaken keystroke or may have been the result of  an error in reading the original manuscript.  (Regarding the latter possibility, see the note for 195:3.1.)
Conclusion: 
        An incorrect letter was present in the 1955 text.  It is not possible to determine whether it was a T3 (incorrect keystroke) or T7 (mistaken reading of the manuscript) error.
)               95:2.3;  p.1044 ¶2          Change type: S6
        1st - 9th, 12th - 14th, CD:  ...more particularly did each of the two-score separate tribes...
        10th, 11th, 15th:                         ...more particularly did each of the twoscore separate tribes...
Discussion:
        The replacement of the original two-score with the compound twoscore is without support in Webster’s, the OED, or the Chicago Manual.
Conclusion:
        The 1955 text is correct.
)               96:3.1;  p.1055 ¶4          Change type: C1/C2
        1st:                                   ...from Egypt to the Arabian desert under his leadership.
        2nd - 15th, CD:         ...from Egypt to the Arabian Desert under his leadership.
Discussion:
        Desert was not capitalized in the 1955 edition, but in all subsequent Urantia Foundation printings it was changed to the capitalized form. The original is appropriate if desert is a geographic description rather than part of a name.  (See, for example, Mediterranean coast (96:2.1), Nile valley (96:2.2).)
        The Uversa Press edition reflects the correct analysis by restoring this occurrence to its original form and by lowercasing the instance found three paragraphs later so that both of these are consistent with the other examples of this phrase found elsewhere in the text (95:7.1; 187:5.1).
Conclusion: 
        The 1955 text is correct.
)               96:4.4;  p.1057 ¶0          Change type: C1
        1st:                                   ...received the ten commandments which Moses promulgated...
        2nd - 15th, CD:         ...received the Ten Commandments which Moses promulgated...
Discussion:
        The capitalized form is the standard approved by the Chicago Manual, however, of the six occurrences of this designation in the text, only one was capitalized in the first edition.  Because it is statistically unlikely that five of six would be random errors, a more reasonable explanation is required.  In this editor’s opinion, the lowercased version was the choice of the several authors because it reflected the evolutionary relationship of Moses’ ten commandments to the earlier seven commandments of Melchizedek (93:4.6-13), the seven commands of Eden (74:7.5-6), and the seven commands of Dalamatia (66:7.8-15) [which are referenced as the seven commandments of Dalamatia at 74:7.6].  The single capitalized instance in the 1955 text is probably the result of a stylistic edit to conform with the usage prescribed by the Chicago Manual.   (See also note at 137:2.9)
Conclusion: 
        The 1955 text probably reflects the original manuscript.
)               98:4.1;  p1081 ¶4           Change type: S4
        1st:                                   The majority of people in the Graeco‑Roman world...
        2nd - 15th, CD:         The majority of people in the Greco‑Roman world...
Discussion:
        See note for 79:8.3 for a detailed analysis.  It is interesting to note that these two occurrences are now found in two different forms in the electronic editions.
Conclusion: 
        The 1955 spelling, although slightly archaic, is correct.  Neither “modernization” nor “standardization” has been achieved by the vagaries of later editing.
)               101:3.4#1;  p.1108 ¶4            Change type: P1
        1st:                           ...adverse ani / malistic tendencies. [missing hyphen at end of line]
        2nd - 11th:         ...adverse ani-/ malistic tendencies. [hyphen inserted]
Discussion:
        In the later printed editions, animalistic is not broken by a new line.
Conclusion: 
        There was a T1 (dropped keystroke) error in the 1955 text.
)               104:3.9;  p.1147 ¶8                Change type: P2
        1st, 2nd, 15th:     ...among absolute relationships; there are several existential triunities...
        3rd - 14th, CD:...among absolute relationships, there are several existential triunities...
Discussion:
        The original punctuation was correct, as the use of a semi-colon is required to join two independent clauses.
Conclusion: 
        The 1955 text is correct.
)               105:3.8;  p.1156 ¶5                Change type: S1
        1st:                                   Unifier of the deified and the undeified; corelater of the absolute...
        2nd - 15th, CD:         Unifier of the deified and the undeified; correlator of the absolute...
Discussion:
        Although it is possible that the original word (which is not found in either Webster’s or the OED) was a coined extension of corelation and corelative (both of which are found), it is not readily apparent how corelater would differ in meaning from correlator(s), the now standard form, which is found five times elsewhere in the text.  The more likely situation is that two separate typographical errors were made when this word was set.  The first was a T1 (dropped keystroke) error at the end of a line of type; the second was an incorrect keystroke (T3) error, substituting e for o.  This doubly misspelled word would still be difficult to catch in proofing because it would sound the same if read out loud, and interestingly enough, if it looked odd to a proofreader and consequently led him or her to consult the dictionary, the spelling could neither be confirmed nor denied by either Webster’s or the OED—neither dictionary contained correlator or corelater—and without an electronically searchable text, it is unlikely that the evidence of the otherwise unanimous usage within the revelation itself could have been brought to bear on the problem.
Conclusion: 
        This word contained two errors in the 1955 edition.  However, the external reference authorities available at the time did not contain the now standard spelling and provide reasonable etymological support for the possible validity of  this variant form.
)               105:3.9;  p.1157 ¶0                Change type: S2
        1st - 9th, 12th - 14th, CD:   ...is invalidated by the eternity co‑existence of the Son, the Spirit...
        10th, 11th, 15th:                         ...is invalidated by the eternity coexistence of the Son, the Spirit...
Discussion:
        The hyphenated form is not found elsewhere in the text and is not supported by the guidelines of the Chicago Manual or the reference dictionaries.  (Coexist [no hyphen] and its various derivative forms are found twenty times throughout the Papers.)
Conclusion: 
        An error was present here in the 1955 text—possibly an extra keystroke in typing (T2), or, more likely, an editorial (E2) error.
)               106:5.1;  p.1167 ¶2                Change type: C2
        1st:                           ...and the Unrevealed Consummator of Universe Destiny.
        2nd - 15th, CD:...and the unrevealed Consummator of Universe Destiny.
Discussion:
        The lowercase version appears to be correct because unrevealed does not seem to be part of the name but is solely descriptive (the title being found in several places without unrevealed preceding it). In the one other case in which unrevealed is found in conjunction with Consummator of Universe Destiny, it is not capitalized (0:12.7).  [Unrevealed is found in one other location as a capitalized component of a title—The Unrevealed Creative Agencies of the Ancients of Days (30:1.21)—so such a format is possible.]
)               107:6.2;  p.1182 ¶4                Change type: S6
        1st - 5th, 10th - 15th, CD:   The Adjuster is man's eternity possibility;...
        6th - 9th:                                    The Adjuster is man's eternal possibility;...
Discussion:
        The original text does appear unusual at first glance because one expects a noun like possibility to be modified by an adjective such as eternal; not by another noun. In this situation however, eternity is not serving as an adjective, rather the two nouns together form a single concept or nominal group, identical in structure to the group which ends the subject sentence: ...man is the Adjuster’s personality possibility.
Conclusion: 
        The 1955 text is correct.
)               109:7.2;  p.1201 ¶3                Change type: S2
        1st - 9th, 12th - 14th, CD:   Personalized Thought Adjusters are the untrammelled...
        10th, 11th, 15th:                         Personalized Thought Adjusters are the untrammeled...
Discussion:
        Although both variants are acceptable, untrammeled is the unanimous usage elsewhere in the text and is preferred by the Chicago Manual.
Conclusion: 
        The 1955 text was not in error, but database standardization, if consistently applied, is a reasonable basis for making the suggested change.
)               110:3.4;  p.1206 ¶2                Change type: S2
        1st - 9th, 12th - 14th, CD:   ...wholly compatible with a light‑hearted and joyous life...
        10th, 11th, 15th:                         ...wholly compatible with a lighthearted and joyous life...
Discussion:
        All other occurrences in the text follow the compound form: lighthearted (with the possible exception of one which is hyphenated at a line break).  Database standardization is probably in order here, although it is interesting to note that this may be a stylistic variation as it is the only use of the word by an author other than the midwayers responsible for Part IV.
Conclusion: 
        The 1955 text was not in error, but database standardization, if consistently applied, is a reasonable basis for making the suggested change.
)               110:5.2;  p.1208 ¶1                Change type: S6
        1st - 9th, 12th - 14th, CD:   ...disconnected parade of the un‑co‑ordinated sleeping mind...
        10th, 11th, 15th:                         ...disconnected parade of the unco‑ordinated sleeping mind...
Discussion:
        The original, fully hyphenated form is found in Webster’s, and the fully closed form is found in the OED, but the hybrid of the 10th, 11th and, 15th editions is not found anywhere.  The modified spelling also violates the general hyphenation guidelines of the Chicago Manual regarding the avoidance of forms which might cause the reader to stumble over either pronunciation or meaning.
Conclusion: 
        The 1955 text is correct.

 


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