Interlinear library
Classic texts ordered by date: the original text, a phonetic guide to pronouncing it in English, a literal word-for-word translation called a 'gloss', and well-known published translations, together in one evolving, community-led interlinear presentation.
Newest texts
By kind7 kinds, 79 works
- Epic and myth Iliad · Odyssey · Metamorphoses · Beowulf · Hávamál · Grímnismál · Vafþrúðnismál · Lokasenna · Þrymskviða · Völuspá · Gylfaginning · The Secret History of the Mongols · Fáfnismál · Grettis saga · The Tale of the Heike · Os Lusíadas
- Sacred texts The Pyramid Texts of Unas, Pyramid Text 273 · The Temple Hymns · Rigveda 1.1, Hymn to Agni · Genesis · Daniel 5 · 1 Corinthians 13 · The Beatitudes · The Gospel of John · The Gospel of Mark in Sahidic Coptic · Nicene Creed · Tirukkural · Luther's German Bible
- Philosophy Yijing · Sunzi, The Art of War · Metaphysics · Daodejing · Enchiridion · Meditations · Oration on the Dignity of Man · The Praise of Folly · Il Principe · Utopia · Essais · Was ist Aufklärung? · Critik der practischen Vernunft · Die fröhliche Wissenschaft · Also sprach Zarathustra
- Poetry, literature and music Quiet Night Thought · Quatrains attributed to Omar Khayyam · Inferno 1 · Canzoniere 1 · Haiku of Bashō · Le nozze di Figaro · Die Zauberflöte · La Marseillaise · La traviata · Otello
- Law and politics The Laws of Hammurabi · Two charters of Saer de Quincy · Magna Carta · The bull Inter caetera · The Ninety-five Theses · Laws for the Military Houses · Rights of Man (1789) · Rights of Woman · Communist Manifesto · General Act of the Berlin Conference
- Correspondence Res Gestae Divi Augusti · The golden horn of Gallehus · The Kylver stone · The Rök runestone · The Bayeux Tapestry captions · The Calling of the Varangians · The book of Marco Polo · Letter announcing the first voyage · Caminha's letter · Itinerario · The Akō retainers' statement · The Kites and the Crows
- Science Descartes, Principia philosophiae · Newton, Principia · Unua Libro · Einstein, E = mc²
By language27 languages, 79 works
- Akkadian The Laws of Hammurabi
- Ancient Greek Iliad · Odyssey · Metaphysics · 1 Corinthians 13 · The Beatitudes · The Gospel of John · Enchiridion · Meditations · Nicene Creed
- Biblical Aramaic Daniel 5
- Biblical Hebrew Genesis
- Classical Chinese Yijing · Sunzi, The Art of War · Daodejing · Quiet Night Thought
- Classical Persian Quatrains attributed to Omar Khayyam
- Dutch Itinerario
- Esperanto Unua Libro
- French Essais · Rights of Man (1789) · Rights of Woman · La Marseillaise · General Act of the Berlin Conference
- German Luther's German Bible · Was ist Aufklärung? · Critik der practischen Vernunft · Die Zauberflöte · Communist Manifesto · Die fröhliche Wissenschaft · Also sprach Zarathustra · Einstein, E = mc²
- Italian Inferno 1 · Canzoniere 1 · Il Principe · Le nozze di Figaro · La traviata · Otello
- Japanese The Tale of the Heike · Laws for the Military Houses · Haiku of Bashō · The Akō retainers' statement
- Latin Metamorphoses · Res Gestae Divi Augusti · The Bayeux Tapestry captions · Two charters of Saer de Quincy · Magna Carta · Oration on the Dignity of Man · The bull Inter caetera · The Praise of Folly · Utopia · The Ninety-five Theses · Descartes, Principia philosophiae · Newton, Principia
- Middle Mongolian The Secret History of the Mongols
- Old East Slavic The Calling of the Varangians
- Old Egyptian The Pyramid Texts of Unas, Pyramid Text 273
- Old English Beowulf
- Old French The book of Marco Polo
- Old Norse Hávamál · Grímnismál · Vafþrúðnismál · Lokasenna · Þrymskviða · Völuspá · Gylfaginning · Fáfnismál · Grettis saga
- Old Tamil Tirukkural
- Portuguese Caminha's letter · Os Lusíadas
- Runic Norse The golden horn of Gallehus · The Kylver stone · The Rök runestone
- Sahidic Coptic The Gospel of Mark in Sahidic Coptic
- Spanish Letter announcing the first voyage
- Sumerian The Temple Hymns
- Swahili The Kites and the Crows
- Vedic Sanskrit Rigveda 1.1, Hymn to Agni
Antiquityto AD 500
- c. 2350 BCOld EgyptianThe Pyramid Texts of Unas, Pyramid Text 273 (the "Cannibal Hymn"), openingUnknown priestly authors; carved for King Unas, last king of the Fifth Dynasty (reigned about 2375-2345 BC) · 1 utterance
Carved in the pyramid of Unas at Saqqara near the end of the Fifth Dynasty, about 2350 BC (reign dates vary between chronologies by some decades); the composition may be older
old-egyptian, egyptological · James Henry Breasted (1912), Doris Topmann, Thesaurus Linguae Aegyptiae (German) (2018), Weft editorial translation (draft) (2026), R. O. Faulkner (1969, cited, in copyright), James P. Allen (2005, cited, in copyright)
- c. 2300 BCSumerianThe Temple Hymns, hymn 5 (the E-šumeša of Ninurta at Nippur)Enheduanna, en-priestess of the moon god Nanna at Ur and daughter of Sargon of Akkad (about 2300 BC); attribution debated · 1 hymn
Attributed to Enheduanna, about 2300 BC (Akkad period); this copy is an Old Babylonian school tablet from Ur, about 1800 BC
recon-2300, classroom · Weft editorial translation (draft) (2026), Åke W. Sjöberg and Eugen Bergmann (1969, cited, in copyright), J. A. Black, G. Cunningham, E. Robson, G. Zólyomi and others (1998, cited, in copyright), Daniel A. Foxvog (2021, cited, in copyright), Betty De Shong Meador (2009, cited, in copyright), Sophus Helle (2023, cited, in copyright)
- 1755–1750 BCOld Babylonian AkkadianThe Laws of Hammurabi, prologueHammurabi, king of Babylon (reigned about 1792–1750 BC) · 1 column
Set up late in Hammurabi's reign, about 1755–1750 BC, in Old Babylonian; the stele in the Louvre (Sb 8) was carried to Susa about 1150 BC
ob-1750, classroom · Robert Francis Harper (1904), Leonard William King (1910)
- 1500–1200 BCVedic SanskritRigveda 1.1, Hymn to AgniMadhucchandas Vaiśvāmitra, by tradition · 9 verses
Composed about 1500–1200 BC and handed down orally, pitch accent included, for many centuries before it was written down
vedic, modern · Ralph T. H. Griffith (1896), H. H. Wilson (1850)
- c. 9th c. BCOld Chinese (Western Zhou)Yijing (易經), the Zhouyi (周易) core text, hexagrams 1 to 64anonymous; traditionally King Wen of Zhou (the judgments) and the Duke of Zhou (the line statements), an attribution modern scholarship does not accept · 64 hexagrams
The judgments and line statements are conventionally dated to the late Western Zhou, about the 9th century BC; the dating is debated and the text may have taken shape over several generations. The oldest manuscript, the Chu bamboo slips held by the Shanghai Museum (about 300 BC), covers about half the hexagrams. This is the received text
old-chinese, tang, mandarin · James Legge (1882), Richard Wilhelm, rendered into English by Cary F. Baynes (1950, cited, in copyright)
- 750–700 BCAncient GreekIliadHomer · 1.1–52
Composed about 750–700 BC, probably a generation before the Odyssey
restored, erasmian · Samuel Butler (1898), Andrew Lang, Walter Leaf and Ernest Myers (1883)
- 725–675 BCAncient GreekOdysseyHomer · 1.1–10
Composed about 725–675 BC
restored, erasmian · Samuel Butler (1900), S. H. Butcher and Andrew Lang (1879)
- 500s–400s BCBiblical HebrewGenesis (Bereshit)Torah, in Biblical Hebrew · 1:1–2:3
Composed in the first millennium BC, taking its final form around the 500s–400s BC; the vowel points were added about AD 900
Reads right to left · tiberian, modern-israeli · Jewish Publication Society (1917), Geneva Bible (1599), King James Version (1611)
- 5th–4th c. BCClassical ChineseSunzi, The Art of War (孫子兵法), chapter 1Sunzi (孫子), traditionally Sun Wu (孫武), general to King Helü of Wu; the transmitted text · chapter 1
Traditionally by Sun Wu, who served King Helü of Wu (reigned 514 to 496 BC); most scholars date the text as transmitted to the Warring States period, 5th to 4th century BC. The oldest manuscript is the bamboo-slip text from the Han tomb at Yinqueshan, closed in the 2nd century BC; Weft prints the transmitted text
old-chinese, tang, mandarin · Lionel Giles (1910), E. F. Calthrop (1908)
- 350–322 BCAncient GreekMetaphysicsAristotle · 1 passage
Aristotle's lectures, about 350–322 BC, gathered as the Metaphysics after his death
restored, erasmian · Thomas Taylor (1801), John H. M'Mahon (1857)
- 4th–3rd c. BCClassical ChineseDaodejing (道德經), chapters 1 and 2Laozi (老子), traditional attribution; text as transmitted by Wang Bi (226–249) · chapters 1–2
Compiled in the Warring States period, 4th to 3rd century BC; chapter 2 is on the Guodian bamboo slips (buried about 300 BC), chapter 1 first on the Mawangdui silk manuscripts (before 168 BC); this text is Wang Bi's recension (about AD 240)
old-chinese, tang, mandarin · James Legge (1891), John Chalmers (1868)
- 160s BCBiblical AramaicDaniel 5: Belshazzar's feast and the writing on the wallBook of Daniel, in Biblical Aramaic · chapter 5, verses 1–30
The Aramaic chapters of Daniel (2:4 to 7:28) are usually dated to the 160s BC, with older court tales behind them; the vowel points were added about AD 900
Reads right to left · tiberian, modern-israeli · Jewish Publication Society (1917), Geneva Bible (1599), King James Version (1611)
- AD 8LatinMetamorphosesOvid · 1.1–9
Completed about AD 8
classical, ecclesiastical · Arthur Golding (1567), Brookes More (1922)
- AD 14LatinRes Gestae Divi AugustiAugustus · chapters 1–4, 34–35
Augustus's account of his deeds, left with his will at his death in AD 14 and set up on bronze before his mausoleum in Rome; known from the copy on the temple of Rome and Augustus at Ancyra (Ankara)
classical, ecclesiastical · William Fairley (1898), Frederick W. Shipley (1924)
- AD 53–55Ancient Greek1 Corinthians 13Paul, in Koine Greek (about 53–55) · chapter 13, verses 1–13
Written about AD 53–55
koine, erasmian · William Tyndale (1534), Geneva Bible (1599), King James Version (1611)
- AD 80–90Ancient GreekThe Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3–12)Matthew, in Koine Greek (about 80–90) · chapter 5, verses 3–12
Written about AD 80–90
koine, erasmian · William Tyndale (1534), Geneva Bible (1599), King James Version (1611)
- AD 90–110Ancient GreekThe Gospel of JohnJohn, in Koine Greek (about 90–110) · chapter 1, verses 1–18
Written about AD 90–110
koine, erasmian · William Tyndale (1534), Geneva Bible (1599), King James Version (1611)
- c. AD 125Ancient GreekEnchiridion (Handbook)Epictetus, recorded by Arrian · 3 sections
Compiled by Arrian from Epictetus's teaching, about AD 125
koine, restored, erasmian · George Long (1877), Thomas Wentworth Higginson (1865)
- AD 170–180Ancient GreekMeditations (To Himself)Marcus Aurelius · 17 sections
Written about AD 170–180, private notes kept in Greek by the Roman emperor, much of it on campaign
koine, restored, erasmian · George Long (1862), Meric Casaubon (1634)
- 3rd–4th c.Sahidic CopticThe Gospel of Mark in Sahidic Coptic, 1:1-20Mark, translated from Greek into Sahidic Coptic by an unknown translator (3rd or 4th century) · 1 section
The Sahidic translation of Mark is usually dated to the 3rd or 4th century; the oldest substantial Sahidic manuscripts of Mark are of the 5th century or later, and this digital text follows later manuscripts as standardized by its editors
sahidic, bohairic · George William Horner (1911), King James Version (1611)
- 381Koine GreekThe Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed (381): the exposition of the hundred and fifty fathersThe Council of Constantinople (381), enlarging the Council of Nicaea (325) · 5 articles
The faith of the hundred and fifty fathers of the Council of Constantinople (381), transmitted in the acts of the Council of Chalcedon (451); it enlarges the creed of Nicaea (325) and is the creed the churches of East and West still recite
koine, erasmian · Philip Schaff (1877)
- c. 400Proto-Norse and Old Norse (runic)The golden horn of Gallehus (DR 12)Hlewagastiz Holtijaz, who names himself as its maker · 1 inscriptions
Made about 400 and found at Gallehus, Denmark
as-carved · George Stephens (1884), Weft editorial translation of the modern reading (draft) (2026)
- c. 400Proto-Norse and Old Norse (runic)The Kylver stone (G 88)Unknown carver, Gotland · 1 inscriptions
Carved on Gotland about 400: the earliest complete futhark
as-carved · Weft editorial translation of the modern reading (draft) (2026)
- 4th–6th c.Old TamilTirukkural, chapter 1, The Praise of God (கடவுள் வாழ்த்து)Tiruvaḷḷuvar, by tradition · 10 kurals
Composed perhaps between the 4th and 6th centuries AD; the date is uncertain
old-tamil, modern · G. U. Pope (1886), W. H. Drew (1840)
Early Middle Ages500 to 1000
- 700sClassical ChineseQuiet Night Thought (靜夜思)Li Bai (701–762), Tang dynasty · lines 1–4
Written in the early-to-mid 700s, Tang dynasty
tang, mandarin, cantonese · L. Cranmer-Byng (1909)
- c. 800Proto-Norse and Old Norse (runic)The Rök runestone (Ög 136): the openingVarinn, who names himself as the carver, for his dead son Væmōð · 1 inscriptions
Carved about 800 at Rök, Östergötland
as-carved · George Stephens (1884), Weft editorial translation of the modern reading (draft) (2026)
- 700s–1000Old EnglishBeowulfAnonymous, Old English · lines 1–11
Composed between the 700s and about 1000; manuscript about 1000
west-saxon · Francis Barton Gummere (1910), William Morris and A. J. Wyatt (1895)
- 800s–900sOld NorseHávamálPoetic Edda · stanzas 1–164
Composed in the Viking Age, 800s–900s; written down about 1270
old-norse, modern-icelandic · Henry Adams Bellows (1923), Benjamin Thorpe (1866)
- about 950Old NorseGrímnismál (Poetic Edda): Odin between the fires in Geirröðr's hall names the halls of the gods and himself, all 54 stanzasanonymous, Old Norse (Codex Regius, about 1270; the poem about the tenth century) · stanzas 1–54
Composed in the tenth century on the usual dating; written down in the Codex Regius about 1270, where it follows Vafþrúðnismál, and complete in AM 748 I 4to
old-norse, modern-icelandic · Henry Adams Bellows (1923), Benjamin Thorpe (1866)
- about 950Old NorseVafþrúðnismál (Poetic Edda): Odin's contest of wisdom with the giant Vafþrúðnir, all 55 stanzasanonymous, Old Norse (Codex Regius, about 1270; the poem about the tenth century) · stanzas 1–55
Composed in the tenth century on the usual dating (Bellows: about the middle of the tenth century); written down in the Codex Regius about 1270, where it follows Hávamál; from stanza 20 also in AM 748 I 4to
old-norse, modern-icelandic · Henry Adams Bellows (1923), Benjamin Thorpe (1866)
High and Late Middle Ages1000 to 1500
- about 1000Old NorseLokasenna (Poetic Edda): Loki's flyting of the gods at Ægir's feast, all 65 stanzasanonymous, Old Norse (Codex Regius, about 1270; the poem about the tenth or eleventh century) · stanzas 1–65
Dated variously to the tenth or the eleventh century; written down in the Codex Regius about 1270, where it follows Hymiskviða; the prose frame calls it Ægir's feast
old-norse, modern-icelandic · Henry Adams Bellows (1923), Benjamin Thorpe (1866)
- 900s–1200sOld NorseÞrymskviða (The Lay of Thrym)Poetic Edda · 32 stanzas
Date of composition debated, from the 900s to the 1200s; written down about 1270 in the Codex Regius
old-norse, modern-icelandic · Henry Adams Bellows (1923), Benjamin Thorpe (1866)
- c. 1000Old NorseVöluspá (The Seeress's Prophecy)Poetic Edda · stanzas 1–66
Composed about 1000, near the conversion of Iceland to Christianity; written down about 1270 in the Codex Regius
old-norse, modern-icelandic · Henry Adams Bellows (1923), Benjamin Thorpe (1866)
- c. 1070sMedieval LatinThe Bayeux Tapestry captionsUnknown designer and embroiderers, probably for Bishop Odo of Bayeux · 24 scenes
Embroidered most likely in England in the decade after 1066, probably for Bishop Odo of Bayeux; recorded at Bayeux Cathedral in 1476
anglo-norman, classical · Frank Rede Fowke (1898), John Collingwood Bruce (1856)
- 11th–12th c.Classical PersianQuatrains attributed to Omar Khayyam, set against FitzGeraldOmar Khayyam (1048–1131), by attribution · 6 quatrains
Attributed to Omar Khayyam of Nishapur (1048–1131); the earliest manuscripts behind this selection were copied in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries
Reads right to left · early, modern · Edward FitzGerald (1889), Edward Heron-Allen (1899)
- c. 1113Old East SlavicThe Calling of the Varangians (Tale of Bygone Years, 859-862)The Kievan chronicle tradition; the compilation of about 1113 is attributed to Nestor, a monk of the Kiev Caves Monastery · 4 years
Compiled in Kiev in the early 12th century from older annals; this text is the Laurentian copy, written in 1377
orv1100, ru · Samuel Hazzard Cross (1930), Samuel Hazzard Cross and Olgerd P. Sherbowitz-Wetzor (1953, cited, in copyright)
- c. 1207–1219Latin of the charters (England and Scotland, early 13th century)Two charters of Saer de Quincy, earl of WinchesterSaer de Quincy, earl of Winchester (d. 1219), and his clerks · 2 charters
Two grants by the same earl, known only from later copies: the land of Duglyn to the canons of Cambuskenneth, between his creation as earl in 1207 and the death of King William of Scots in December 1214; and the church of Gask to the Hospital of Brackley, dated by its 1908 editors to 1218 or early 1219, shortly before he left on crusade
anglo-latin, classical · William Alexander Lindsay, John Dowden and John Maitland Thomson (eds.) (1908), William Fraser (ed.) (1872), Weft editorial translation (2026)
- 1215LatinMagna CartaKing John and the barons, Runnymede · chapters 39–40
Sealed at Runnymede, 15 June 1215
anglo-latin, classical · William Sharp McKechnie (1905), Kenneth Bell (1910)
- c. 1220Old NorseGylfaginning (The Deluding of Gylfi): the making of the world from Ymir, and the death of BaldrSnorri Sturluson (1179–1241), Prose Edda · chapters 5–8, 49
Written by Snorri Sturluson about 1220 as part of a handbook for poets; the main manuscripts date from the first half of the 1300s
old-norse, modern-icelandic · Arthur Gilchrist Brodeur (1916), Rasmus B. Anderson (1880)
- 13th c.Middle Mongolian (Ming transcription)The Secret History of the Mongols, sections 1–10 (元朝秘史)Anonymous, Mongol court; Ming transcription · 10 sections
Composed at the Mongol court in a Year of the Rat, seventh month, as its colophon says; the year is usually taken as 1228 or 1240. The Mongolian original is lost; it survives in a transcription into Chinese characters with word glosses, made at the Ming court in the late 14th century
mm-1250 · Weft editorial translation (2026), Ming court translators, the summary translation (總譯) into Chinese (late 14th c.), Igor de Rachewiltz (2015, cited, in copyright)
- c. 1270Old NorseFáfnismál (The Lay of Fafnir)Poetic Edda · 44 stanzas
Written down about 1270 in the Codex Regius, between Reginsmál and Sigrdrífumál; when the verse was composed is not known, and the prose links are probably the compiler's
old-norse, modern-icelandic · Henry Adams Bellows (1923), Benjamin Thorpe (1866)
- 1298Franco-ItalianThe book of Marco Polo: the island of Cipangu (Franco-Italian F text)Marco Polo (1254–1324) and Rustichello of Pisa · chapter 159
Written down at Genoa in 1298 by Rustichello of Pisa from Marco Polo's account, as the book's prologue states; the text here is the Franco-Italian manuscript BnF fr. 1116, copied in the early 14th century, as printed in 1824
fr1300, it1300 · Henry Yule (1871), William Marsden (1818)
- 1306–1321Renaissance ItalianInferno 1: Nel mezzo del cammin di nostra vitaDante Alighieri (1265–1321) · 1 canto
The Commedia was begun about 1306–1308 and finished shortly before Dante's death in 1321; the journey is set at Easter 1300
florentine, modern · Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1867), Henry Francis Cary (1814)
- 1310–1320Old NorseGrettis sagaAnonymous, Old Icelandic (about 1310–1320) · chapter 14, sentences 1–9
Written about 1310–1320
old-norse, modern-icelandic · William Morris and Eiríkr Magnússon (1869), George Ainslie Hight (1914)
- c. 1350Renaissance ItalianCanzoniere 1: Voi ch'ascoltate in rime sparse il suonoFrancesco Petrarca (1304–1374) · 1 sonnet
Composed about 1350 as the opening sonnet of the collection; Petrarch revised the Canzoniere until his death in 1374
florentine, modern · Nott, in Bohn's Petrarch (1859), Thomas Wentworth Higginson (1903), Joseph Auslander (1931, cited, in copyright)
- 13th–14th c.Late Middle Japanese (wakan konkōbun, recited)The Tale of the Heike (平家物語), the openingAnonymous; shaped by generations of blind reciters (biwa hōshi), whose text Kakuichi fixed in 1371 · chapter 1
Composed in the thirteenth century from the war of 1180–1185 and recited by biwa hōshi; Kakuichi fixed a text in 1371. This passage is printed from the later vulgate (rufubon) text, in a 1925 edition
kakuichi-1371, hepburn · A. L. Sadler (1918), Weft editorial translation (2026)
- 1486LatinOration on the Dignity of ManGiovanni Pico della Mirandola · 2 passages
Written in 1486 for a disputation in Rome that never took place; first printed in 1496
italian-humanist, classical · William Parr Greswell (1805), Weft editorial translation (draft) (2026), Elizabeth Livermore Forbes (1948, cited, in copyright), A. Robert Caponigri (1956, cited, in copyright)
- 1493Early Modern SpanishLetter announcing the first voyage (Carta a Luis de Santángel), openingChristopher Columbus (Cristóbal Colón, 1451–1506) · 3 passages
Dated on the caravel off the Canary Islands, 15 February 1493, with a postscript at Lisbon, 14 March; printed at Barcelona, probably by Pere Posa, by early April 1493
c1492, modern · R. H. Major (1870), Quaritch translation, revised by E. G. Bourne (1893)
- 1493Latin of the papal chanceryThe bull Inter caetera (4 May 1493)Pope Alexander VI (Rodrigo de Borja, pope 1492–1503) · 5 passages
Dated at Rome, 4 May 1493 (quarto nonas Maii), seven weeks after Columbus landed at Palos on his return; the chancery issued it in June and dated it back to May
italian-humanist, classical · Frances Gardiner Davenport (1917), Emma Helen Blair and James Alexander Robertson (eds.) (1903)
Early Modern1500 to 1800
- 1500Portuguese of 1500Pero Vaz de Caminha, letter to King Manuel on the finding of Brazil (1 May 1500): the opening, the first sight of land, and the people of the coastPero Vaz de Caminha (about 1450-1500), scrivener of Cabral's fleet · 5 folios
Written at Porto Seguro, Brazil, between 26 April and 1 May 1500, and sent to the king with the supply ship; the autograph is in the Torre do Tombo, Lisbon (gaveta 8, maço 2, no. 8), and was first printed in 1817
lisboa1540, europeu, brasileiro · Weft editorial translation, draft (2026), William Brooks Greenlee (1938, cited, in copyright)
- 1509–1511LatinThe Praise of FollyDesiderius Erasmus · 1 passage
Written 1509 in Thomas More's house, first printed in Paris in 1511
low-countries, classical · John Wilson (1668), White Kennett (attributed; the 1876 reprint names no translator) (1683)
- 1513Renaissance ItalianIl Principe, chapters 17 and 18: feared or loved; the fox and the lionNiccolò Machiavelli (1469–1527) · 3 passages
Written in 1513 and circulated in manuscript; first printed in 1532, after Machiavelli's death
florentine, modern · W. K. Marriott (1908), Luigi Ricci (1903)
- 1516LatinUtopiaThomas More · 1 passage
First printed at Louvain in 1516; this text follows the Basel edition of March 1518
tudor-english, classical · Ralph Robinson (1551), Gilbert Burnet (1684)
- 1517LatinThe Ninety-five ThesesMartin Luther · 2 parts
Dated 31 October 1517, Wittenberg; printed in Nuremberg, Leipzig and Basel before the end of 1517
german-humanist, ecclesiastical, classical · Adolph Spaeth, L. D. Reed, Henry Eyster Jacobs, et al. (1915)
- 1545Early New High GermanLuther's German Bible: John 1:1-14 and Psalm 23Martin Luther (1483–1546), translator · 2 passages
Biblia: das ist: Die gantze Heilige Schrifft: Deudsch, printed at Wittenberg by Hans Lufft in 1545, the last edition printed in Luther's lifetime; the New Testament first appeared in September 1522, the complete Bible in 1534
ecg1545, modern · William Tyndale (1534), Miles Coverdale (1535), King James Version (1611)
- 1572Portuguese of 1572Os Lusíadas, Canto I, stanzas 1-3: the propositionLuís Vaz de Camões (about 1524-1580) · 3 stanzas
Printed at Lisbon in 1572 by António Gonçalves, in two issues of the same year; composed over the two decades before, in Portugal and in the East
lisboa1540, europeu, brasileiro · Richard Francis Burton (1880), William Julius Mickle (1776, cited, in copyright)
- 1580Middle FrenchEssais (Au lecteur; Que philosopher c'est apprendre à mourir)Michel de Montaigne (1533–1592) · 2 passages
First published at Bordeaux in 1580; the preface is dated 1 March 1580. The text here is the posthumous edition of 1595
m1580, modern · John Florio (1603), Charles Cotton (1685), Unnamed translator, in W. C. Hazlitt's edition of Cotton (1877)
- 1596Early Modern DutchItinerario, chapter 26 (Van't Eylandt van Iapan)Jan Huygen van Linschoten (1563–1611) · chapter 26
Printed at Amsterdam by Cornelis Claesz in 1596; written after Linschoten's return from Goa in 1592
h1596, modern · William Phillip (1598)
- 1615Early Modern Japanese (kanbun read in Japanese)Laws for the Military Houses (武家諸法度), 1615Issued in the name of the shōgun Tokugawa Hidetada (1579–1632); drafted by the Zen monk Konchiin Sūden (1569–1633), under the direction of the retired shōgun Tokugawa Ieyasu · 14 articles
Read out to the daimyō assembled at Fushimi Castle in the seventh month of Keichō 20 (1615), weeks after the fall of Osaka Castle; dated 慶長二十年卯七月. The thirteen articles of this first issue were revised in 1629 and, at greater length, in 1635
keicho-1615, hepburn · Weft editorial translation (2026), James Murdoch (1903)
- 1644LatinDescartes, Principia philosophiae (1644), part 1, section 7René Descartes (1596–1650) · 1 text
Principia philosophiae, 1644: part 1, section 7, where the cogito is stated in Latin
as-first-read, classical · John Veitch (1853)
- 1680–1694Early modern JapaneseHaiku of Bashō (古池や and others)Matsuo Bashō (1644–1694) · 9 poems
Nine poems composed between 1680 and 1694, in order of composition; the old-pond poem was published in 1686, in the anthology Haru no Hi (Spring Days)
edo-1686, modern · Lafcadio Hearn (1898), Basil Hall Chamberlain (1902), William George Aston (1899), Lafcadio Hearn (1900), Yone Noguchi (1914), Nobuyuki Yuasa (1966, cited, in copyright)
- 1687LatinNewton, Principia (1687): the three laws of motionIsaac Newton (1642–1727) · 3 texts
Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica, first edition, London, 1687: the Axiomata, sive Leges Motus
as-first-read, classical · Andrew Motte (1729)
- 1703Early Modern Japanese (sōrōbun, epistolary style, read in Japanese)The Akō retainers' statement (淺野內匠頭家來口上), 1703The former retainers of Asano Takumi-no-kami Naganori, headed by Ōishi Kura-no-suke Yoshio; the drafting is attributed in later accounts to Hara Sōemon · 1 document
Dated Genroku 15, twelfth month (January 1703 in the Western calendar); carried into Kira Yoshinaka's Edo mansion on the night of the attack, the 14th day of that month, and left there in a box fixed to a bamboo pole
genroku-1703, hepburn · A. B. Mitford (1871), Weft editorial translation (2026)
- 1784German of the 1780sKant, Beantwortung der Frage: Was ist Aufklärung? (1784), the openingImmanuel Kant (1724–1804) · 1 passage
Dated Königsberg, 30 September 1784, and printed in the Berlinische Monatsschrift for December 1784
northern, modern · John Richardson (1798)
- 1786Italian of the opera houseDa Ponte and Mozart, Le nozze di Figaro (1786): Se vuol ballare, Non più andrai, Voi che sapete, Dove sonoLorenzo Da Ponte (1749-1838), librettist, for Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791), after Beaumarchais · 4 numbers
Libretto written in Vienna in the winter of 1785-86 after Beaumarchais's Le Mariage de Figaro (1784); first sung at the Burgtheater, Vienna, 1 May 1786
florentine, modern · Weft editorial translation, draft (2026), Natalia Macfarren (1870, cited, in copyright), Edward J. Dent (1937, cited, in copyright)
- 1788German of the 1780sKant, Critik der practischen Vernunft (1788): the starry heavensImmanuel Kant (1724–1804) · 1 passage
Printed at Riga by Johann Friedrich Hartknoch in 1788; the passage is the first paragraph of the Beschluß (Conclusion), pages 288-290
northern, modern · Thomas Kingsmill Abbott (1889)
- 1789French of 1789Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (1789): the preamble and the seventeen articlesThe National Constituent Assembly of France, 20-26 August 1789 · 18 articles
Voted by the National Constituent Assembly at Versailles between 20 and 26 August 1789 and accepted by Louis XVI on 5 October; printed as an extract of the Assembly's minutes; the model of the declarations of 1793 and 1795 and the text that de Gouges answered in 1791
fr1791, modern · Thomas Paine (1791)
- 1791French of 1791Declaration of the Rights of Woman and of the Female CitizenOlympe de Gouges (Marie Gouze, 1748-1793) · 18 articles
Written and printed in Paris in September 1791, two years after the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, whose seventeen articles it answers one by one; addressed to the queen. De Gouges was guillotined in November 1793
fr1791, modern · Weft editorial translation, draft (2026), Darline Gay Levy, Harriet Branson Applewhite and Mary Durham Johnson (1979, cited, in copyright)
- 1791German of the Vienna stage, 1791Schikaneder and Mozart, Die Zauberflöte (1791): Der Vogelfänger, Dies Bildniß, Der Hölle Rache, In diesen heil'gen Hallen, Ein Mädchen oder WeibchenEmanuel Schikaneder (1751-1812), librettist, for Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) · 5 numbers
Libretto written in Vienna in 1791 for Schikaneder's Theater auf der Wieden; first sung there on 30 September 1791, Mozart conducting, nine weeks before his death
northern, modern · Weft editorial translation, draft (2026), Natalia Macfarren (1870, cited, in copyright), Edward J. Dent (1911, cited, in copyright)
- 1792French of 1792La Marseillaise (1792): Rouget de Lisle's Chant de guerre pour l'Armée du Rhin, the six couplets and the refrainClaude Joseph Rouget de Lisle (1760-1836) · 8 couplets
Written at Strasbourg on the night of 25-26 April 1792 as the Chant de guerre pour l'Armée du Rhin; sung by the Marseille volunteers on their way to Paris that July, and named after them; decreed the national song in 1795
fr1791, modern · Weft editorial translation, draft (2026), attributed to Richard Brinsley Sheridan (1795)
Modernfrom 1800
- 1848German of 1848Manifest der Kommunistischen Partei (1848): the opening, the first lines of section I, the ten measures, and the closing callKarl Marx and Friedrich Engels · 4 passages
Written by Marx in Brussels in January 1848 on the commission of the Communist League, after drafts by Engels; printed anonymously in London in February 1848, days before the revolution in Paris
northern, modern · Samuel Moore, with Friedrich Engels (1888)
- 1853Italian of the opera houseVerdi, La traviata (1853): the Brindisi, Libiam ne' lieti caliciFrancesco Maria Piave (1810-1876), librettist, for Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901) · 8 speechs
Libretto by Piave after Dumas, first sung at La Fenice, Venice, 6 March 1853
florentine, modern · Weft editorial translation, draft (2026), Natalia Macfarren (1870, cited, in copyright)
- 1870Swahili (Zanzibar, 1870)The Kites and the Crows (Kisa cha mwewe na kunguru)told by Hamisi wa Kayi (Khamis bin Abubekr); taken down and translated by Edward Steere (1828–1882) · 11 paragraphs
Told at Zanzibar in the later 1860s and printed by Edward Steere in Swahili Tales, as told by Natives of Zanzibar (London, 1870), pages 364-367
z1870, modern · Edward Steere (1870)
- 1882German of the 1880sNietzsche, Die fröhliche Wissenschaft (1882), §125: Der tolle Mensch (The madman)Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900) · 1 passage
Printed at Chemnitz by Ernst Schmeitzner in 1882
northern, modern · Thomas Common (1910)
- 1883German of the 1880sNietzsche, Also sprach Zarathustra (1883): Zarathustra's Vorrede, section 1Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900) · 1 passage
The first part was printed at Chemnitz by Ernst Schmeitzner in 1883
northern, modern · Thomas Common (1909), Alexander Tille (1896)
- 1885French, diplomaticGeneral Act of the Berlin Conference (26 February 1885)The plenipotentiaries of fourteen states at the Berlin Conference (15 November 1884 to 26 February 1885) · 9 articles
Signed at Berlin on 26 February 1885 by the plenipotentiaries of fourteen states; ratified at Berlin on 19 April 1886. the Act was drawn up and signed in French; the English versions are translations
fr1885, modern · British Foreign Office translation, as printed by Sir Edward Hertslet (1909), Unnamed translator, in the Supplement to the American Journal of International Law (1909)
- 1887Italian of the opera houseVerdi, Otello (1887): Iago's Credo, Credo in un Dio crudelArrigo Boito (1842-1918), librettist, for Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901) · 2 speechs
Libretto by Boito after Shakespeare, first sung at La Scala, Milan, 5 February 1887
florentine, modern · Weft editorial translation, draft (2026), Francis Hueffer (1887, cited, in copyright)
- 1887Esperanto of 1887Dr. Esperanto's Unua Libro (1887): the specimen texts, Patr'o ni'a, Mi'a pens'o, El Heine and Ho, mi'a kor’L. L. Zamenhof, as Doktoro Esperanto (1859-1917) · 4 texts
Published at Warsaw on 26 July 1887 in Russian, the first book of the language; Polish, French and German editions the same year; the English edition by Geoghegan, whose text this is, in 1889
zamenhof · Weft editorial translation, draft (2026), King James Bible (1611)
- 1905German of 1905Einstein, Ist die Trägheit eines Körpers von seinem Energieinhalt abhängig? (1905): the whole paper, with its equationsAlbert Einstein (1879-1955) · 4 passages
Written at Bern in September 1905 and received by the Annalen der Physik on 27 September; printed in volume 18, pages 639-641, the last of the year's four papers on relativity and the quantum; Einstein's works entered the public domain in life-plus-seventy countries on 1 January 2026
northern, modern · Weft editorial translation, draft (2026), W. Perrett and G. B. Jeffery (1923, cited, in copyright)