Back in August 2023, I found that it was possible to scan in some of an Ethiopian text, part of the Life of Saint Garima. Unfortunately the results from machine translation were disappointing. ChatGPT was no better.
This evening I was writing my last post, and remembered these efforts. So I pasted those chunks of text into ChatGPT. Here’s the first:
In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, one God above all, I have renounced everything and believed in Him until the end of the world. Amen.
The sermon delivered by Saint John, the Bishop of Aksum, concerning the greatness and honor of Saint Isaac:
He said, “Listen and understand, my beloved ones, what I will tell you. I saw a woman who was suffering greatly, trembling and in distress. And she called upon Our Lady Mary, saying: ‘For the sake of the Son, Christ, this woman is not yet born.’ They said to her, ‘Whoever does not believe in Christ and remains doubtful, they shall be humbled and brought low under her feet.’
Then, at that moment, the King of Heaven and Earth came forth. And she said, ‘The one who is greater than Moses shall come.’
Plausible. Here’s the second chunk:
And it happened on one night that a book was opened, read, and written down. And he arose for prayer in the church. And the angels wrote for him the Gospel at the fourth hour and interpreted it for him. And the angels of God descended and stood before him, and our Lord Christ comforted him. And his message was heard throughout all the land. His prayer and blessing remained with us.
Also plausible.
Perhaps I should have another go at this!
What an extraordinary resource! 20-plus years of beautifully written and measured historical analysis. Thank you.
That’s very kind – thank you.