ComprehensibleLatin (@ComprehensLatin) profile picture

For the promotion of reading authentic Latin texts, primarily from the medieval and modern periods. Personal account of Aaron Decker.

Madison, WI
Joined June 2025
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For free electronic copies of my intermediate text series, just go to comprehensiblelatin.com/ and click the direct PDF links in the table. An Amazon link is also there in case you prefer paper copies.
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New tool that's out: a system that takes real texts and interweaves the original language with an English translation. The amount of interweaving appears to be dynamic & configurable.
--LAUNCHING NOW-- LECTIO - Reading Greek and Latin Fluidly I have been teaching for a long time. And this is what I have wanted for students. Something to build joy and confidence and skill together. This is a new method of study: Interleaving--Explore it with me:
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Last year for the 50th anniversary of the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, I began a translation of Gordon Lightfoot’s song. As fate would have it, I was satisfied enough with my work to share it today, for the 51st
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A regular shout-out to David Chamberlain, on whose website you can not only find a fully scanned and voiced version of the Iliad, but also scanned versions of works of many other authors, including all sixteen volumes of the Greek Anthology. hypotactic.com/
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Neat to see another site publishing their reader's editions for free:
Did you know all of the ancient Greek and Hebrew books we publish you can download for free on our website? Spread the word. We are trying to make biblical language education free for all people, especially those who could not otherwise afford it!
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there was a guy in a documentary about getting addicted to world of warcraft that said, "at first, you just play when you have free time. but then you discover, you have a lot more free time than you thought." i routinely return to this as a source of motivation. i have the time
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guy: “separation of church and state!” same guy: “church membership should ground immigration policy”
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Pèp ayisyen, Nou prèske fin deplwaye sòlda nou yo ak ekipman nou yo sou tè Ayiti. Sa a se pa yon operasyon kont pèp ayisyen an, ni yon envazyon peyi Ayiti. Nou pa yon gwo pisans. Nou pa gen okenn enterè ni pou nou vin domine pèp ayisyen an, ni pou nou mete men sou richès Ayiti. Nou se yon peyi modès k ap devlope. Sèl sa nou vle, se pou kat teknisyen avyasyon nou yo tounen lakay yo. Epi n ap bay gang yo yon leson, gang sa yo k ap fè pèp ayisyen an soufri, ki touye moun pèp la renmen yo, k ap anpeche l viv yon lavi nòmal, lib, san laperèz. Se prèske nou menm sèl k ap peye pou operasyon sa a. Menmsi nou resevwa yon ti èd lojistik nan men kèk lòt peyi, se ak pwòp ti kès nou n ap kouvri 90% nan depans yo. Sa koute nou chè, men nou te aprann nan pwòp soufrans nou: jistis ak lapè pa gen pri. Nou te pase nan menm soufrans Ayiti ap travèse jodi a. Nou te viv yon beny san ki te pi terib toujou pase sa pèp ayisyen an ap sibi kounye a. Nou konnen sa sa vle di: viv nan laperèz, pa fè politisyen konfyans, pa kwè okenn moun ki pwomèt l ap ede w. Paske pèsonn pa t vin ede nou, e moun ki te vini yo pa t gen bon entansyon nan kè yo. Men nou te rive chape anba sa. Apre 200 lane soufrans, finalman n ap viv nan lapè, e jodi a nou se peyi ki gen plis sekirite sou kontinan an. Nou pa vin ann Ayiti pou nou touche lajan, paske pèsonn pa peye nou pou sa. Nou vin ann Ayiti pou nou goumen kont mechan yo. Men sa m ap mande nou: fè nou konfyans, lapriyè sèl vrè Bondye a, epi mande L pou L geri Ayiti. “Lè sa a si pèp ki pote non m lan lapriyè nan pye m, si yo soumèt devan mwen, si yo pran chache m ankò, si yo vire do bay vye peche yo t'ap fè yo, m'ap tande yo nan syèl kote m ye a, m'ap padonnen peche yo, m'ap fè peyi a kanpe ankò.” 2 Kwonik 7:14 Ede nou ede Ayiti. Epi lè misyon nou an fini, n ap tounen lakay nou. Petèt jenerasyon Ayisyen k ap vini yo ap sonje nou kòm zanmi ki te vin ede yon lè.
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Evangelical homiletics has over-optimized for accessibility. A 40-minute sermon crafted to be easily understood by a poorly-educated person with an IQ of 90 is unlikely to be a pleasant experience for someone with an IQ of 130. A 'come as you are' dress code is a detraction for those who want to dress nicely for worship. 'Accessibility' has caused inaccessibility. My proposed solution is to rebalance services with more of a focus on worship (particularly on the sacraments) and scripture reading and less of a focus on teaching/programs; also working on making sure that all of the children can get a good Christian classical education.
“No it’s not like that. The services are great - it’s like a family. They have a guitar player and the pastor is really down to earth. Just a regular guy. But so smart. He connects scripture to everyday life.” Just kill me dude. I am going to go become orthodox at this point.
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Librum novum recēpī hodiē. Scriptus est ā @HariSel57511397 .
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ComprehensibleLatin retweeted
Muchos mensajes, análisis y comentarios como este, asegurando que las pandillas de Haití no son como las de El Salvador; que son sanguinarias, que están fuertemente armadas, que nadie ha podido vencerlas, que todas las misiones han fracasado, que estamos cayendo en una trampa, que no sabemos a lo que nos enfrentamos, que será nuestra ruina, que vamos camino a nuestro Waterloo. Pero cuando Dios nos conceda la victoria, los mismos que hoy dicen todo eso cambiarán su discurso. Dirán que siempre fue fácil, que cualquiera podía hacerlo, que las pandillas de Haití no eran tan peligrosas como se pensaba. En fin, nunca los hemos escuchado y no vamos a empezar ahora. Todos los que se han enlistado son creyentes y hemos encomendado esta misión a Dios, mientras que las pandillas de Haití son satánicas y es de conocimiento público que hacen sacrificios humanos. Dios nos concederá la victoria. El Creador del Universo está con nosotros. Deuteronomio 28:7 “Jehová derrotará a tus enemigos que se levantaren contra ti; por un camino saldrán contra ti, y por siete caminos huirán de delante de ti”.
¿BUKELE Y SU WATERLOO? Con el anuncio del envío hacia Haiti, desde El Salvador, de un contingente de 3000 militares, cuya misión es encontrar a los 4 miembros de las fuerzas armadas de ese país, secuestrados el pasado domingo, cuando penetraron en territorio dominado por las pandillas y fueron atacados por una pandilla de irregulares armados, se avizoran en las próximas horas fuertes enfrentamientos armados. A estas horas, y sabiendo cómo se resuelven las cosas en Haití, las probabilidades de que estos militares continúen vivos son mínimas, así que si no hay posibilidad de negociar nada, y por lo tanto lo que se plantea es un enfrentamiento armado entre tropas de El Salvador y las pandillas que son dueñas del territorio donde fueron atacados y secuestrados los militares centroamericanos. Según lo publicado en la prensa internacional, los responsables son dos organizaciones criminales que dominan el área de “Croix des Bouquets”, una de ellas dirigida por Claude Celestin, quien es cabeza de la pandilla Chen Mechan (perros rabiosos), y Wilson Joseph (“Lammo San Jou) líder de la banda 400 Mawozo. En el día de ayer, este último desafió públicamente al presidente Nayib Bukele en un vídeo publicado en las redes sociales, donde advirtió que no se irá de Haití, y mostró miles de municiones y pertrechos con arma de diversos calibres, que según el están esperando a los salvadoreños. Tenemos entonces la bandeja servida para un enfrentamiento armado a solo 45 kms de la frontera de la República Dominicana y Haití, de un ejército de pandilleros armados sin nada que perder, frente a tropas regulares de El Salvador, que pelearán una guerra urbana en las calles de un país que no es el suyo y es absolutamente desconocido. Ya en el pasado reciente, los Estados Unidos en 1994 mando 20,000 soldados e intentó organizar a Haití para que se volviera a la senda de lo que ellos llaman democracia, y luego en el 2004 invadieron de nuevo junto a Canada, lo que terminó en la creación de una fuerza multinacional, la Minustah, que terminó en el más absoluto fracaso, es decir, estamos metidos en un tema que no tiene solución. Si hay alguien que tiene experiencia en combatir pandillas lo es Nayib Bukele, el presidente de el Salvador, su historia de combate a las “Maras” está a la vista de todos, solo que Haití no es el terreno amigo donde peleó esa guerra, un país de habla y cultura hispana donde jugaba de local, el país caribeño es un transplante de África en América, con una historia de violencia típica de las sociedades primitivas. Cuando Napoleón envió a sus tropas a sofocar la revolución haitiana en 1802, pensó que miles de solados podrían devolver la colonia a sus dueños, pero solo un año después, Dessalines y la fiebre amarilla los obligó a rendirse, ¿será Haití el Waterloo de Bukele?. El futuro dirá.
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'The Influencer and the Pastor' Often clergy engage in influencer-like behavior: (1) a focus on delivering content, (2) a focus on programs that center the attention on the clergy. For example, I've visited a number of evangelical churches that did not celebrate the Eucharist/Lord's Supper, but they did spend 40+ minutes on a sermon. Several times the sermon was about a program that you could participate in (e.g. a personal evangelization program, or some method of sending money to foreign countries). The services might as well have ended with 'please like & subscribe'. Additionally, members of the clergy often promote influencers directly via conferences with celebrity pastors, mass-market book campaigns, etc. The way out of influencer-land is for clergymen to focus on concretely benefiting their congregants in ways besides just delivering content. E.g. clergy could network with other clergy to matchmake for singles and congregants looking for jobs. Or fight to keep their denomination from going leftward. As a final note, publishing an article whose conclusion to the question of 'where are the young men' is 'young men aren't good enough, despite our denomination being awesome' is an example of clergy-as-influencer: the article will score points among the author's audience but will do nothing to actually solve the problem.
NEW HORIZONS FEATURE | Where are the Young Men? by Rev. Everett Henes In Christian circles, many wonder how to reach young men in a digital age, and how to encourage them to consider ministry. Rev. Everett Henes contributes to the conversation in this month's New Horizons. Read the full article here: opc.org/nh.html?article_id=1…
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Pou chèf gang yo ak manm gang yo k ap kenbe kat konpatriyòt nou yo an otaj ann Ayiti: Mesye nou kidnape yo pa konbatan. Yo se teknisyen nan domèn avyasyon ki fè pati misyon nou ann Ayiti, nan kad yon misyon entènasyonal. Misyon nou an gen sèlman pilòt ak pèsonèl teknik, ki gen kòm travay prensipal fè evakyasyon medikal epi sove lavi moun, pa fè lagè. Men, nou te kidnape yo yon fason lach pandan yo t ap retounen apre yo te fin achte manje nan yon makèt nan zòn nan. Se poutèt sa, jodi a nou te lanse yon operasyon militè pou pote yo sekou. Nou gen yon sèl objektif: fè kat konpatriyòt nou yo retounen lakay yo vivan, san okenn mal. Men, mwen vle pou nou menm, chèf gang yo, konprann yon bagay byen klè: atak jodi a pa anyen devan sa k ap vini si nou pa remèt toule kat otaj yo vivan. Epi pa pran pawòl nou yo pou menas san fondman. Nou deja fini ak gang yo nan El Salvador, e nou kapab fini ak nou tou. Nou toujou gen tan pou evite sa. Remèt nou kat konpatriyòt nou yo vivan, san okenn mal, epi tout bagay ap retounen jan sa te ye anvan kidnaping lan. Desizyon an nan men nou.
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The crypto-Kaczynski-ist urge to set one's root certificate private key to '4'.
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My current setup is 'prout' then 'aedis', which gets all the vowels out on the board, several common consonants, and confirms -us endings.
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Enough “France must return to the faith.” This is obviously true and obviously misdirection when barbarians are within the gates. The Christian believes that the governing authorities are ministers of God who do not bear the sword in vain. The Christian affirms that the governing authorities are avengers who carry out wrath on the wrongdoer. The Christian knows it is the duty of the civil magistrates to secure the conditions for ordinary men to live a quiet and peaceful life, in all godliness and holiness. The Christian believes that human law was made that in fear thereof human audacity might be held in check, that innocence might be safeguarded in the midst of wickedness, and that dread of punishment might prevent the wicked from doing harm—and that these things are most necessary to mankind. The Christian affirms the good of peace, the good of justice, and the necessity of state violence to punish and restrain the wicked—regardless of whether or not the population suffering from the violence is Christian. To paraphrase a dubiously Christian ruler who absolutely understands this principle: the Christian wants peace for everyone, even the haters and the losers.
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J’ai entendu dire que la France était finie, qu’il était trop tard pour la sauver. Mais la France est toujours aussi belle, enviable même. Sa grandeur n’a pas disparu, elle ne demande qu’à renaître. Nous avons surmonté en un an un problème cent fois plus grave, sans avoir les moyens dont dispose la France. La France pourrait y arriver en une semaine.
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1. Welcome to history. This has been a norm. Yet missionaries have gone. 2. The logic then is: In order for the Church to do foreign missions, our nation must allow any religious influx. 3. Neither temporal nor eternal kingdoms exist to exalt the fairness of the lowest common denominator. Let there be no doubt that none have conflated church and nation more than those who have carped most at right-wing politics as idolatry and overrealized eschatology.
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Sed contrā: - Codex Vaticanus (for example) contains a virtually complete copy of the OT and NT. It was written around 300-350 AD. - There is no evidence that post-70 AD Rabbinic Judaism was essential for the production of this text. - Therefore, without post-70 AD Rabbinic Judaism, the Protestant Church would still have a Bible and Merkle's thesis is disproven. If he wanted to state 'the Protestant Church wouldn't have a Bible with an OT based on a Hebrew text along the lines of modern textual-critical assumptions', then he should have stated that instead.
Without post-70 AD, rabbinic Judaism, the Protestant church does not have a Bible. First, the manuscript tradition that all of our modern translations are based on is the Masoretic text. The Masoretes were the rabbis that followed after the Tannaim and the Amoraim. They worked from the 7th to the 10thcentury AD and their main focus was the preserving of the Hebrew text of the Old Testament and developing the vowel and accent system that we use today when we read the Hebrew text. Delete the work of the Masoretes and you delete the text that we use for our Old Testament. No rabbis, no Bible. Second, the Protestant recovery of the ability to read the Old Testament in the original Hebrew language was made possible by relying on the work of late medieval rabbis, primarily the grammarians, along with the assistance of 16thcentury Jews who either were willing to teach Hebrew to their Christian neighbors or who actually converted to the Christian faith themselves and brought their rabbinic knowledge of the Hebrew text with them. For instance, in the early thirteenth century, David Kimhi composed the Miklohl, a basic grammar of the Hebrew language, and the Hashorashim, a Hebrew dictionary. When sixteenth century Christians began returning to the Hebrew language, these texts provided their entrance into Hebrew fluency. Additionally, the grammarians produced a series of commentaries on the text of the Old Testament, commentaries which developed something very similar to what we now refer to as the historical-grammatical method. These commentaries served as tutors to early protestant exegetes, trying to make their way through the Hebrew text for the first time. For instance, from 1517-1519, the Christian publisher Daniel Bomberg, working in Venice, published what we now refer to as the Bomberg Rabbinic Bible. It contained the Masoretic text of the Old Testament, surrounded by the corresponding Targum (Aramaic translation/interpretation of the Hebrew text), and commentaries by grammarians such as Rashi, Kimhi, Ibn Ezra, etc. Bomberg’s Rabbinic Bible became an essential tool in the libraries of Reformed exegetes. If you have spent any time in Bucer’s commentary on the Psalms, you know how heavily he relied on Bomberg’s sources for his own understanding of the text. What is harder to notice, but which is equally true, is how much weight Calvin himself gave to these sources. At one point Calvin singles out Kimhi as the best of the Jewish exegetes. This reliance on the assistance of the grammarians permeates the works of sixteenth and seventeenth century, Protestant exegesis. Delete the Rabbis, and you delete the Protestant ability to read and translate the Hebrew text. This reliance on Jewish sources was not without its pitfalls. The anti-trinitarian controversies that plagued the Reformed church in the 16th century were largely a result of Protestant reliance on Jewish commentaries. For instance, Kimhi’s commentary on the Psalms included critiques of the Christian reading of the messianic Psalms. Some young exegetes were not ready to go up against Kimhi’s work and found themselves succumbing to heterodox views on the deity of Christ, etc. Nevertheless, the vast majority of the Reformed church figured out how to make good use of Jewish sources without losing their minds. For instance, it is not a coincidence that many of the contributors to the formation of the Reformed political tradition, men like Franciscus Junius and John Selden, were also great Hebraists, steeped deeply in the works of medieval rabbis. They drew from that tradition for much of their work. There were movements to burn all the Jewish sources that rose up at various moments, but these movements were primarily driven by the Papists, not the Reformed, who generally opposed this mania. To repeat my opening claim - without post-70 AD, rabbinic Judaism, the Protestant church does not have a Bible. The Jews were still wrong about Jesus. But without them, you don’t have Bible.
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The Baptist Faith and Message says, “The state has no right to impose penalties for religious opinions of any kind.” One might say, "Polygamy and human sacrifice are kinds of religious opinions denied public expression." But they would respond: "Those are penalized not as religious acts but as public harms." So, the question is whether the religious act is publicly harmful or injurious to persons. Atheism, polytheism, demon-worship, statues to Hindu warrior monkey gods, blasphemy, undermining Christian national culture, etc. are publicly harmful. Therefore, a Baptist may affirm the confession while also calling for the suppression of everything from atheism to the undermining of Christian national culture. They just can't call for penalties for religious opinions as religious opinions but as they undermine civil goods.
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Esotericism via children's math assignments. The expected 'correct' answer of 50% is contrasted with the coin not being described as fair, and the empirical evidence mildly indicating against it. Perhaps the problem writer is secretly a Bayesian looking to undermine the frequentist interpretation tacitly assumed in most math curricula.
My little nephew’s mathematics assignment, i’ve been at this for 3 hours for now. 😭😭
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