Below is a classic example of why original documents are the ones to be viewed if at all possible:
> A young monk arrives at the monastery. He is assigned to helping the
> other monks in copying the old canons and laws of the church, by hand.
>
> He notices, however, that all of the monks are copying from copies, not
> from the original manuscript. So, the new monk goes to the Old Abbot
> to question this, pointing out that if someone made even a small error
> in the first copy, it would never be picked up! In fact, that error
> would be continued in all of the subsequent copies.>
>
The head monk, says, "We have been copying from the copies for
> centuries, but you make a good point, my son."
>
> He goes down into the dark caves underneath the monastery where the
> original manuscripts are held as archives, in a locked vault that
> hasn't been opened for hundreds of years.
>
> Hours go by and nobody sees the Old Abbot.
>
> So, the young monk gets worried and goes down to look for him. He sees
> him banging his head against the wall and wailing.
>
> "We missed the R! We missed the R! We missed the damned R!" His
> forehead is all bloody and bruised and he is crying uncontrollably.
>
> The young monk asks the old Abbot, "What's wrong, father?"
>
> With a choking voice, the old Abbot replies, "The word was .....
> CELEBRATE!"--
> A young monk arrives at the monastery. He is assigned to helping the
> other monks in copying the old canons and laws of the church, by hand.
>
> He notices, however, that all of the monks are copying from copies, not
> from the original manuscript. So, the new monk goes to the Old Abbot
> to question this, pointing out that if someone made even a small error
> in the first copy, it would never be picked up! In fact, that error
> would be continued in all of the subsequent copies.>
>
The head monk, says, "We have been copying from the copies for
> centuries, but you make a good point, my son."
>
> He goes down into the dark caves underneath the monastery where the
> original manuscripts are held as archives, in a locked vault that
> hasn't been opened for hundreds of years.
>
> Hours go by and nobody sees the Old Abbot.
>
> So, the young monk gets worried and goes down to look for him. He sees
> him banging his head against the wall and wailing.
>
> "We missed the R! We missed the R! We missed the damned R!" His
> forehead is all bloody and bruised and he is crying uncontrollably.
>
> The young monk asks the old Abbot, "What's wrong, father?"
>
> With a choking voice, the old Abbot replies, "The word was .....
> CELEBRATE!"--
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