Read the classics beside the original
Humanitext Reader
Read Greek and Latin classics sentence by sentence, with the original beside translations in English, Japanese, Chinese, and Korean. Dictionaries and grammatical notes support the reading, while reader feedback steadily improves the library.
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What you can do
- Read more than 900 works and nearly two million aligned sentences in four languages
- Keep the original and translation aligned one sentence at a time
- Select a word for dictionary entries, morphology, and translation alignment
- Help improve a participatory library through comments and error reports
How it works—and how to use it well
Come one step closer to the words of the original
Humanitext Reader is a multilingual online library for reading ancient Greek and Latin classics. It currently brings together more than 900 works and nearly two million aligned sentences, setting the original beside translations in English, Japanese, Chinese, and Korean.
You can begin without having studied either ancient language. At the same time, Reader is designed to let you return to the vocabulary and structure of the source whenever you wish, rather than allowing the translation to obscure it. AI builds a bridge to the original; it should not make the original disappear.
Begin with a single work
Choose an author or title from “Find a work to read,” or open one of the introductory selections. Pick a translation language and the original and translation will appear together, one sentence at a time.
- Select a word in the original to open dictionary information and morphological analysis.
- See the corresponding parts of the original and translation highlighted together.
- Consult notes on grammar, syntax, and names without leaving the passage.
- Share a link to a chapter or sentence so that others can begin at the same place.
A beginning language student can lean on the dictionary and notes; a more experienced reader can compare the choices of the translation with the source. The pace is yours.
A conversation around a sentence, across languages
Each sentence has its own discussion. Comments are translated by AI into all four interface languages and gathered in one thread rather than separated into linguistic silos. A question of interpretation, an observation from class, or a bibliographic lead can remain attached to the precise passage that prompted it. Individual comments can also be shared and cited by link.
If you find what may be a mistranslation, omission, or typographical error, send an error report. Contributions are acknowledged through scores and badges. Reader is not conceived as a finished text delivered in one direction, but as a library whose readers inspect and improve it together.
Read AI translation critically
AI has contributed to many of the translations and notes. A fluent rendering may still suppress word order, ambiguity, or a feature of style. For research and quotation, consult the original, the edition used, and established translations and commentaries.
The value of Humanitext Reader is not that it offers a final translation. It is that translation and source remain visible together, allowing a moment of doubt or curiosity to lead you immediately back to the original.
Take the first step in the app.
Begin small: one question, one work, or one page from a document.