We do not possess, nor are we ever likely to possess, any autograph of a Greek or Latin literary text from antiquity. We do not always apprise our students of this fact. This article seeks to explain why we possess only copies of the texts, often adapted for one reason or another and at many stages removed from the autographs. It also explains why certain kinds of originals cannot by their nature be copied or adapted, and are lost to us as soon as they are created. Non-literary texts too, written on durable materials other than papyri and parchment, do not, for various reasons, always constitute autographs, or autographs that we and our students can have ready access to.

我们不拥有，也不可能拥有任何古代希腊或拉丁文学文本的亲笔签名。我们并不总是告知我们的学生这一事实。本文旨在解释为什么我们只拥有这些文本的副本，这些文本常常因某种原因而被改编，并且在许多阶段被从亲笔签名中删除。它还解释了为什么某些类型的原作本质上无法复制或改编，并且一旦被创造出来就消失了。由于各种原因，写在纸莎草和羊皮纸以外的耐用材料上的非文学文本也并不总是构成我们和我们的学生可以随时获得的亲笔签名。