Main Menu

Hello everyone! Below, I have attached some of the most common words in Latin.  Taken together, they account for almost half the words in a typical prose text. One of the most tiresome parts of translating is constantly looking up the meanings of certain words, so hopefully, having a large amount attached below will make your translation experience far more enjoyable. The definitions given are illustrative, not exhaustive.  Many of the following words have a large semantic ra

By this point, I trust you all know the drill for these Tales of Two Translations. I provide the original Latin for a section of an esteemed ancient text first, then translations by two translators with distinct translation styles. As you read through the post, give a translation of the original Latin a shot on your own. Confused? Take a peek at one of the translations below, and try to parse out how the translators concocted the English from the Latin. Then, after you've com

We are back yet again for another "Tale of Two Translations," where, in order to form our own distinct translation styles we turn to esteemed translations throughout history. As we continue to venture through Ovid's Metamorphosis , be sure to take note of how different translations address confusing pieces of Latin grammar. Latin is not a language easily transformed into English, and often translations will disagree over how best to interpret a piece of the original text. The

Despite the joy I take in our traditional poetic and prosaic analyses, I felt something was missing in Aeterna Poesis ; something that the blog has touched upon but never fully explored. That is, the art of translation. Although the minute grammatical details and the complexities of the Latin language cannot be adequately conveyed in short blog posts, another aspect of translation can be: personal style. As a function of how old the Latin language is and, by extension, how ol

Within artistic circles, there is a constant tension between “valuable” and, for lack of a better word, “trashy” art. This bifurcation is pervasive, seeping into cultural discourse whenever an artist’s work finds virality amid the brain-rot-infused algorithms that seemingly only push pretty dancing and “hot takes.” Therefore, when an artist does break through, one would assume that fellow artists would band together on social media to celebrate their success. Unfortunately, t

Today, I am going to tell you a story. Although Halloween was a few months ago, for many, the countdown to spooky season has begun again. And even for the rest of us not as invested in the October 31st festivities, we are entering the season of ghosts as well. As we venture into 2026, we will make many resolutions: eat better, save more money, give more compliments, and other variations on the theme of self-improvement. Will we succeed in those resolutions? Maybe for a month

Online spaces and the cultural conscience are bereft of adequate information as to how sex and sexuality functioned in pre-enlightenment eras. Now, queerness and homosexuality are thought of as intrinsic parts of one's identity, which have been, for a large part of Western history, dating from the Middle Ages, scorned and demonized. Harmful stereotypes have proliferated and continue to proliferate as a means to isolate, trivialize, and, in the most dangerous cases, eradicate

We are back yet again with another analysis of Pro Archia, although this one will likely be our last. I can envision many reacting to this statement in fury, pondering why on earth I did not progress linearly through the text (although that anger would have originated in our latest Pro Archia post), and why I appear to harbor such great disrespect for Cicero that I continue to handpick sections of his magnum opus for translation and analysis. To those who feel this strongly,

As we officially enter December, we are firmly in winter. Despite what the official tribunal on seasons has decreed —namely, that winter begins on December 21st —the post-Thanksgiving season invites festive holiday celebrations and all that goes with them. Nobody in their right mind who lives in the Northern Hemisphere could associate the proliferation of snowmen, insolent 12-year-olds throwing slush masquerading as snowballs, and hot-chocolate season as firmly planted in fal

'Tis the season for gratitude and gifts! Thanksgiving just passed a few short days ago, and since then, anyone not already engrossed in the Christmas spirit has thrown up their trees and started blasting Mariah Carey. Everywhere you turn, the colors red, green, white, and gold will soon cover any available surface, and the pressure to "Buy! Buy! Buy!" will only intensify with each passing moment. After all, what is Thanksgiving without an elaborate dinner party complete with

We are back with an analysis of the following few sections of Pro Archia, but this post will be formatted slightly differently. Insofar as the history of Cicero, Archias, and this case has not changed over the course of one chapter (it has not), instead of being redundant and repeating aforementioned biographies (see the previous two Prosaic Analyses for a history recap if needed), I believe we’d be better served taking Pro Archia in larger chunks. Sections 13-15 inclusive ar

We are back, for the second week, with another prosaic analysis! But despite Pro Archia continuing to differ stylistically from the majority of Ancient Roman poems, it still carries with it a certain poetic quality. Indeed, if you groaned after realizing that this would be a post about prose rather than poetry, you might find some solace in knowing that the prose we'll be discussing is practically a love letter to poetry itself. Cicero, always the fan of tangents, departed f

Losing love is the second worst feeling one can experience. Giving up love, and the regret that follows, is the first. Some of us are unlucky enough to turn away from a potential blossoming relationship, or even worse, one that was fully formed and thriving. Why we do so is a topic to be explored in a different post, by a different blog run by someone with at least a morsel of psychology knowledge. All I can offer here is one comfort: you are not the first to toss aside someo

Yes, I acknowledge that this is not typical content for an Aeterna Poesis post. With our name translating to “Eternal Poetry,” analyzing Latin Poetry goes without saying. But Latin prose? That type of analysis requires a different format and style, deviating from the beloved and comfortable form established in our previous posts. Rather than seeing a “Meter” or “Theme and Voice” section, this post will feature sections devoted to history and the structure of a Roman defense

We have all been, at some point in our lives, locked out. You may take that statement as metaphorically as you please, but what I am incredibly confident in is that, even if it was merely because you forgot the keys, everyone reading this has felt, at some time, outcast from somewhere they were desperate to be. Yet I also assume that many of us have also felt emotionally barred from someone or something. Whether you were locked out from the guarded emotional experiences of so

The only thing there seems to be more of in our present day than political issues is commentary surrounding them. For every one...

When one has not experienced purely requited love and instead has been relegated to an endless onslaught of talking stages,...

There is nothing more terrifying than an aging woman. Or so society argues. The fear of the female hag -- wrinkly, pruning, and sagging with age -- has been one so embedded into the patriarchal psyche that entire industries have been buoyed by the simple promise that they can erase the markers of time from the female figure. Beauty and skincare are the first that come to mind, promoting ineffective or even poisonous "remedies" to help a woman maintain a "childlike glow." Yet

Everyone has that one friend who refuses to pay for anything. Any activity in which the tickets aren't free? You'll have to pay for both...

"Love is War." Without a doubt, every one of us has heard that phrase uttered once in our lives, whether it be with the most earnest...