Opening the Source...
To evaluate translation quality, we compare AI-generated translations against established scholarly editions. The process:
Why this approach? Using public domain scholarly editions (Loeb, Oxford Classical Texts, etc.) provides authoritative benchmarks. OCR from images ensures we're comparing against the actual published text, not corrupted digital copies.
A thought once arose in me concerning existing things, and my intellect, soaring greatly aloft, while my bodily senses were overcome by sleep—not, however, like those weighed down from satiety of food or from bodily fatigue...
Once on a time, when I had begun to think about the things that are, and my thoughts had soared high aloft, while my bodily senses had been put under restraint by sleep,—yet not such sleep as that of men weighed down by fullness of food or by bodily weariness...
I said: "And who are you?" He said: "I am Poimandres, the Mind of Sovereignty."
'Who are you?' I said. 'I,' said he, 'am Poimandres, the Mind of the Sovereignty.'
...I saw an infinite vision, a light which had become all things, both gentle and joyful. And I was amazed at the sight.
...I beheld a boundless view; all was changed into light, a mild and joyous light; and I marvelled when I saw it.
"That light," I said, "is Mind, the first God, who existed before the watery nature which appeared from the darkness; and the luminous Word is the Son of God."
'That Light,' he said, 'is I, even Mind, the first God, who was before the watery substance which appeared out of the darkness; and the Word which came forth from the Light is son of God.'
Core theological and philosophical concepts accurately rendered. Greek vocabulary (νοῦς → Mind, λόγος → Word) handled correctly.
Conclusion: The AI translation from Greek is semantically accurate and suitable for reference use. Scott's translation adds stylistic polish and scholarly apparatus, but the AI faithfully captures the meaning—appropriate for readers seeking access to the text without archaic language.
Source: Scott, Hermetica Vol. I (Internet Archive: ScottHermeticaVolOne)
Study conducted: December 30, 2025
"Therefore, Plato, when he divided the soul into two parts, namely, mind and senses, assigned joy and gladness to the mind, and pleasure to the senses. But he thinks these first two differ from each other, because all gladness is worthy of praise, while joy is partly to be praised and partly to be blamed."
— AI Translation, De Voluptate Ch. 1
These benchmark translations use enhanced methodology compared to the standard library pipeline:
| Aspect | Benchmark Method | Standard Pipeline |
|---|---|---|
| Context | Named work, author, specific terminology | Generic "scholarly translator" |
| Terminology | Explicit guidance (laeticia=joy, etc.) | AI decides |
| Batch size | Full section as continuous text | 10 pages, parsed separately |
| Output | Continuous scholarly prose | Per-page fragments |
Implication: Benchmark translations with domain-specific prompts may outperform the standard pipeline. Future work: test whether adding work-specific context to the pipeline improves translation quality across the library.
Planned benchmark comparisons using public domain scholarly editions: