I’ve just become aware of a blog that started in 2021 called The Three Pillars. It’s written by Scott Cooper, another layman like myself. The blog is devoted to church history stuff, just as I do here. It’s very nice to see a new blog in this space!
Recent posts include:
- Hugh of Saint-Victor On Sacred Scripture [English translation]
- Did the Sadducees have a limited canon?
- “Deciding” the Canon of Scripture: Damasus and the Council of Rome in 382 AD
The first of these is an extremely interesting experiment. The author modestly confesses that he has almost no Latin, so it must have taken some courage to venture out there and have a go! What he has done is to get the Latin text, and translate it bit by bit using ChatGPT. This he is controlling using Google Translate. The output is in two columns, Latin on the left, English on the right, so be aware of this if you are viewing it on a handheld mobile device.
I’ve only glanced at a few lines, but it’s not bad at all; certainly better than no translation at all. Fascinating!
One glitch that happens in Google Translate is that it omits a clause; but using two services should catch that. I would imagine that over time the author will find his Latin improving enormously, just as mine did back in the late 90s.
Great stuff!
Roger, thank you! What a blessing and honor to have you swing by. I’ve learned so much from your work and example. No one deserves more credit for inspiring me to blog. Yes, I do plan to put an honest effort into developing some Latin proficiency. Unfortunately, language isn’t one of my strengths. In addition to my poor command of American English, I only have some very basic Spanish and enough Russian to make my Russian-speaking daughter laugh when I try to use it. At least I know the alphabet and can sound out words. If I can do that with Russian, maybe Latin will prove a bit less challenging and I’ll make some actual progress.
But seriously, if it weren’t for all that you’ve contributed to the study of church history, I don’t know that I’d be half as capable as I am. If I know anything, it’s only that there are people way smarter and far more skilled than myself and finding them is half the battle. You’re near the top of that list. I’m here reading and searching your blog and tertullian.org more often than you realize.
You sound just in the position that I was when I started out. I was translating stuff using machine translators too. But over time you just imbibe the languages. Languages are just stuff – you acquire what you need and don’t worry about the rest. I admire your courage! Go for it!