Good readers should be curious. Good writers certainly have been, and I think the best writers seek to develop the curiosity of the best readers. But there are so many good writers, and only so much time. And we all benefit from specialization, from the human ability to spread the load of effort and expertise. Annotated editions allow good readers to satisfy their curiosity without consuming all their time—and to discover, in gaps in the annotation, where the knowledge or curiosity of the annotators has not been enough, and where they can contribute something new.
Brian Boyd, University of Auckland
