References Explained
There are three different kinds of alpha-numeric references used in this compilation:
1) Volume, Chapter, Section, Paragraph
3) Shorthand Notes volume, page and line numbers
1) Volume, Chapter, Section, Paragraph
While there are some anomalies in the later volumes, the basic reference system consists of four fields representing Volume, Chapter, Section and Paragraph. Thus T 1 A 3 means Text volume, Chapter 1, Section A, Paragraph 3.
The Urtext Text volume originally had no chapter or section breaks, it is one continuous document of 1072 pages. The chapter and section breaks were first added in the subsequent Hugh Lynn Cayce [HLC] version. To facilitate cross-referencing with the later HLC version, the chapter and section break points originally added by the Scribes in that version have been retro-fitted to the Urtext manuscript. Except for the end of chapter one, where those two versions differ greatly, the HLC and Urtext are similar enough that these break points do generally identify the same relative positions. In the Foundation for Inner Peace abridgements, the chapter and section numbers were frequently moved in the first half of the Text volume, and so do not correspond to these original chapter and section breaks in all cases. In the latter part of the Text and the other volumes, the correspondence of all versions is quite good.
In the searchable E-text and Concordance files these references can be directly searched for with the Find button in the browser or Acrobat Reader simply by entering the value into the search field. To go to the beginning of chapter 30, for instance, searching for T 30 A will do it!
In other editions of ACIM, the chapter and section numbers are usually the same or at least similar, so can often be used “universally” to reference the material. In the Foundation versions, as noted, some of the section divisions were moved and some of the text which was preserved was re-arranged. Due to this, any comprehensive “universal reference system” is rather problematic and we have yet to find a way to deal with these anomalies that is completely satisfactory.
2) Manuscript Page Number
In the Urtext E-texts, the original manuscript page number appears in bold, bracketed numerals in-line with the text. In the Text volume, the originally marked page numbers, after page 83, do not correspond to the actual page sequence. Thus there are two page numbers printed, the first is the actual absolute page number, from 1 to 1072, and the second is what is written on the original manuscript page. Many manuscript pages have several numbers written and crossed out. The one printed is the one that is not crossed out. The most useful, and the one to enter into Acrobat Reader to find that page in the Facsimile or E-text files, is the first one in the pair, the absolute page number. The second number, the one marked on the manuscript page, is included for backwards compatibility. In the other volumes, the numbers marked on the manuscript pages are accurate, so there is only a single number. Before the bracketed numerals there is a letter corresponding to the volume name:
T: Text
W: Workbook
M: Manual for Teachers
U: Use of terms
P: Psychotherapy
S: Song of Prayer
G: Gifts of God
So M(43) means page 43 of the Manual for Teachers.
As with the chapter/section references, the page number can be directly “searched” with the Find button in the browser or Acrobat Reader.
3) Shorthand Notes volume, page and line numbers
In
some cases cross-referencing to the Shorthand Notes is indicated.
For example, if you see N:4:122:10, that means volume 4 of the Notes collection, page 122 of volume four, line number 10.