About
About Bibliothecarius Modernus - The Modern Librarian
Bibliothecarius Modernus uses AI technology to translate Latin Patristic texts, hopefully making them accessible to audiences that extend beyond niche Latin scholarship. These translations are not intended as authoritative scholarly editions, and the quality will vary based on the AI processing, particularly when handling theologically nuanced concepts. Despite these limitations, the project operates on the principle that accessibility outweighs perfection.
Many works featured here have fallen into relative obscurity, either lacking English translations entirely or having only dated versions available. In some rare cases, more popular authors (like Tertullian or Ambrose) are included for personal reasons or upon request. The translation is prompted for maximal clarity while preserving the original meaning, with the goal of making these historical texts more approachable and potentially inspiring deeper scholarly study. Rather than replacing authoritative editions, this project should help translators identify works that still resonate with modern audiences or deserve further scholarly attention.
To ensure accuracy, the translation process incorporates several safeguards against AI errors (including hallucinations). The videos display the original Latin alongside the English translation, and interlinear (English-Latin) versions are available on the GitHub repository for many texts. This transparency allows viewers to verify translations and identify any potential inaccuracies.
Resources
- Latin Patristic Texts Repository - Access the growing collection of translated texts.
- Text Conversion Project - Learn about the technology and methods used.
For any translators who are interested in making their own translations or authoritative editions: Everything associated with my project is under Creative Commons license, so it's yours to use as a jumping off point - no need to ask. If you want to credit my work or just let me know this was helpful, that's always appreciated but not required.
About Me
Hi, I'm Ryan Wolfslayer, the person behind Bibliothecarius Modernus. For those who are interested, I am a trained librarian with an MSLIS from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. I've been working in digital librarianship for close to ten years and am an avid Python programmer. In my free time I read entirely too much theology, which is what directly inspired this project.
Connect & Contribute
Community engagement is the best part of the process, and I look forward to many discussions, corrections, and new theological or historical insights. If you know of existing scholarly translations, please share this information.
Contact: bibliothecarius.modernus@gmail.com
Professional: LinkedIn