Editorial Principles

In general this edition philologically adheres to the guidelines for guest editions of hallerNet (Editionsmodell Gasteditionen Version 1.0). A briefer, more specific statement follows below:

The texts of the letters are presented in their entirety, including the salutations and closing formulas, as are addresses when available. Alterations in the documents have been kept to a minimum. Orthographic idiosyncrasies and inconsistencies have been retained. Punctuation follows the original, except that I have added a missing period after what is obviously the end of a sentence. Capitalization is often frustratingly difficult to determine. To reduce the seeming arbitrariness a little, I have capitalized the first word of a sentence and of a salutation and all proper names. Crossings out, additions, and other revisions in the manuscripts are indicated in the textual notes (asterisked), as follows: Words crossed out, but still legible, are set in angle brackets (< >). The abbreviation interl[ined] indicates word(s) inserted above or between the lines. Something marked changed from was written over or otherwise altered from an earlier word or phrase. Editorial interventions in the text appear between square brackets ([ ]). They occur where it seemed helpful to spell out an unclear abbreviation or, once in a great while, to supply a crucial word, letter, or punctuation mark that the writer omitted.

The commentary does not pretend to be exhaustive. Links in the text lead to brief biographies of persons and basic bibliographical data for publications. Unasterisked notes seek to clarify vague references.