# Latin Dictionaries Online



## Travis Fentiman (Jun 2, 2021)

85% of reformed theology, and the best of it, is still in Latin. Most of it will never be translated. If you desire the gold, you have to learn how to read Latin.

To help everyone to that end, we have compiled a collection of Latin dictionaries online. Digital meta-dictionaries are exponentially more efficient, powerful and valuable than anything in print, all upon a few clicks of the mouse.

This collection of dictionaries and parsing guides will be of great help to the beginner, and a resource second-to-none for the scholar.

Latin theological and philosophical dictionaries are included too, which will be invaluable to the student of reformed orthodoxy.

Latin Dictionaries​

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## deleteduser99 (Jun 3, 2021)

What is some of the "best of it" that is still locked up?

What other languages might be comparatively useful for unlocking untranslated Reformed works as well?


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## Reformed Covenanter (Jun 3, 2021)

RPEphesian said:


> What other languages might be comparatively useful for unlocking untranslated Reformed works as well?



Dutch and French.

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## deleteduser99 (Jun 3, 2021)

Reformed Covenanter said:


> Dutch and French.



I envisioned Dutch might be one; why French?


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## Travis Fentiman (Jun 3, 2021)

RPEphesian said:


> I envisioned Dutch might be one; why French?


Most of Calvin, in French and Latin, is still untranslated. Same with Beza. There was a whole world of French reformed theology, academies and Church culture in that era, especially as it competed with Romanism in France, works that don't appear in other languages, and are truly valuable and monumental on their subject.

Reformed theology is locked up in most of the European languages; one could add German and the the German reformed scene, especially in its intense competition with Lutheranism in Germany. There are likely good works in some of the Eastern European languages, but less known to us, and probably less prevalent insomuch as less of the universities there were reformed and outputs of that teaching and literature.


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## deleteduser99 (Jun 3, 2021)

Travis Fentiman said:


> Most of Calvin, in French and Latin, is still untranslated. Same with Beza. There was a whole world of French reformed theology, academies and Church culture in that era, especially as it competed with Romanism in France, works that don't appear in other languages, and are truly valuable and monumental on their subject.
> 
> Reformed theology is locked up in most of the European languages; one could add German and the the German reformed scene, especially in its intense competition with Lutheranism in Germany. There are likely good works in some of the Eastern European languages, but less known to us, and probably less prevalent insomuch as less of the universities there were reformed and outputs of that teaching and literature.



Good to know all of this. Didn't realize what wealth there was in the French language (I'm probably showing my green-ness in some places). If you know Latin, then French should be a skip and a hop away. And if you know Dutch, German isn't a far cry.

And if you're going to be a Christian academic, you'll probably have to war in German at least a little anyway.

Curious... any important works in Spanish?


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## Travis Fentiman (Jun 3, 2021)

RPEphesian said:


> What is some of the "best of it" that is still locked up?


All of Gisbert Voet's theological disputations (which plummet the depths of theology more than anything in English today) are in Latin, as well as his Ecclesiastical Politics, probably the most in-depth and useful work written on the Church, and every aspect of it conceivable, ever.

Girolamo Zanchi's On the Nature & Attributes of God is still in Latin.

Festus Hommius's work on Festival Days is still in Latin, as well as his 70 Disputations against Romanism, which covers the whole gamut of theology.

Rutherford has three or four tomes still in Latin, including his Examination of Arminianism, the closest thing to a systematic theology he wrote. You can get a sampling of it here:



https://reformedbooksonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Johnson-Fentiman-Rutherfords-Examination-of-Arminianism-the-Tables-of-Contents-with-Excerpts-from-Every-Chapter-1.pdf

​I am especially waiting for his Trestise on Providence. I hear Dr. Noe is translating all of these for the upcoming set of Rutherford's Works that is in the works. I recently translated a short section from it (from the Metaphysical Inquiries at the end of the book) on this page under Quotes:









On the Affections of God


“God is love.” 1 Jn. 4:16 “How shall I give thee up, Ephraim?… mine heart is turned within Me, my repentings are kindled together. I will not execute the fierceness of min…




reformedbooksonline.com




There really is too much to name, as this isn't even the tip of the iceberg.

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## Phil D. (Jun 3, 2021)

Travis Fentiman said:


> Most of Calvin, in French and Latin, is still untranslated


What exactly (?most?) of Calvin in Latin remains untranslated into English?


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## NaphtaliPress (Jun 3, 2021)

Of Scottish Presbyterian classics that remain and likely will remain untranslated, are Boyd's commentary on Ephesians, a systematic theology built around Ephesians (said to be resigned to obscurity due to being burdened down by the author's own erudition--bad case of going on and on), Brown of Wamphray's two volumes on the fourth commandment (with so many puritan era works, the impetus to put work into translating Brown is not there), and Calderwood's work against the Articles of Perth, _Altare Damascenum Seu Ecclesiae Anglicanae Politia_ (largely eclipsed by Gillespie's English Popish Ceremonies covering the same grounds but already in English). Having Rutherford's Latin works down will be a huge achievement as far as shortening the list of Scottish works needing translating.


RPEphesian said:


> What is some of the "best of it" that is still locked up?

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## Charles Johnson (Jun 3, 2021)

Phil D. said:


> What exactly (?most?) of Calvin in Latin remains untranslated into English?


His letters, his defense of the Trinity against Servetus, and certain sermons.

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## Phil D. (Jun 3, 2021)

Charles Johnson said:


> His letters, his defense of the Trinity against Servetus, and certain sermons.


Sure. Yet I'm having a little trouble with the descriptor "most". Works of Calvin in English


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## Gwallard (Jun 3, 2021)

Not a latin dictionary online, but while we're on the subject of dictionaries that are helpful for translation, Muller's Dictionary of Latin and Greek Theological Terms is absolutely gold. 






Dictionary of Latin and Greek Theological Terms: Drawn Principally from Protestant Scholastic Theology - Kindle edition by Muller, Richard A.. Religion & Spirituality Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.


Dictionary of Latin and Greek Theological Terms: Drawn Principally from Protestant Scholastic Theology - Kindle edition by Muller, Richard A.. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading...



www.amazon.com





Less of a literal dictionary, but one that describes the theological background to terms. Very helpful.


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## deleteduser99 (Jun 3, 2021)

Travis Fentiman said:


> All of Gisbert Voet's theological disputations (which plummet the depths of theology more than anything in English today) are in Latin, as well as his Ecclesiastical Politics, probably the most in-depth and useful work written on the Church, and every aspect of it conceivable, ever.
> 
> Girolamo Zanchi's On the Nature & Attributes of God is still in Latin.
> 
> ...



I've heard immense good about Voetius, some saying he's better than Owen. That's an extraordinary compliment, considering Owen's devoted fanbase.

This all itself is good reason not to relegate Latin education to the past.

Isn't there a translation of Owen's Biblical Theology coming out?

Has anything good in the Reformed age ever come to us in Spanish?



NaphtaliPress said:


> Of Scottish Presbyterian classics that remain and likely will remain untranslated, are Boyd's commentary on Ephesians, a systematic theology built around Ephesians (said to be resigned to obscurity due to being burdened down by the author's own erudition--bad case of going on and on), Brown of Wamphray's two volumes on the fourth commandment (with so many puritan era works, the impetus to put work into translating Brown is not there), and Calderwood's work against the Articles of Perth, _Altare Damascenum Seu Ecclesiae Anglicanae Politia_ (largely eclipsed by Gillespie's English Popish Ceremonies covering the same grounds but already in English). Having Rutherford's Latin works down will be a huge achievement as far as shortening the list of Scottish works needing translating.



I can barely read Rutherford in English, so I won't even try Latin!

So there's a decent mass of Scottish Presbyterian works then yet to come to English. After Rutherford comes to English (the irony... translating a man's works into his own native language...), there's still a pretty decent list of other works besides the ones you mentioned, among whom Rutherford is probably one of the most eminently valuable?


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## Regi Addictissimus (Jun 3, 2021)

RPEphesian said:


> Isn't there a translation of Owen's Biblical Theology coming out?


Yes, Crossway is doing a new edition of Owen's works. I may or may not know the translator behind Owen's so-called Biblical Theology.


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## NaphtaliPress (Jun 3, 2021)

RPEphesian said:


> I can barely read Rutherford in English, so I won't even try Latin!
> 
> So there's a decent mass of Scottish Presbyterian works then yet to come to English. After Rutherford comes to English (the irony... translating a man's works into his own native language...), there's still a pretty decent list of other works besides the ones you mentioned, among whom Rutherford is probably one of the most eminently valuable?


Yes; but their number is considerably fewer and easily numbered compared to the mass of Continental works to which Travis references. They just happen to be dauntingly huge.
Here's the Altare. 1623 Latin ed. Later 1708. Shorter English 1621 predecessor to the larger Latin work.
Here's Brown, volume one, and volume two.
Here's Boyd. (1236 pages folio).


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## Charles Johnson (Jun 3, 2021)

As far as Scottish works go, I believe Rollock's Commentary on John is only available in Latin.


Phil D. said:


> Sure. Yet I'm having a little trouble with the descriptor "most". Works of Calvin in English


I'd venture to say it's about half. Calvin wrote hundreds of letters, often quite long. But that's just an estimate. Calvin is certainly the best-translated author though. Zwingli, Oecolampadius, Bucer, and Bullinger have all faired worse.


RPEphesian said:


> Has anything good in the Reformed age ever come to us in Spanish?


Yes, about ten volumes, plus certain spirituali/nicodemite works with strong protestant leanings. The Spanish bible is the most important reformation-era protestant literary effort in the language, but the works of Juan Pérez de Pineda and Juan de Valdés are also worth reading.


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## Regi Addictissimus (Jun 3, 2021)

RPEphesian said:


> I've heard immense good about Voetius, some saying he's better than Owen. That's an extraordinary compliment, considering Owen's devoted fanbase.


While writing a bio on him for CPJ, I read everything of Voetius in English, which is not saying much. He was, indeed, a towering defender of Reformed orthodoxy in the Netherlands and shaped a generation of figures such as Witsius, Brakel, Hornbeek, VanderGroe, and so forth. Voetius was also the youngest delegate to be invited to the Synod of Dort. Sadly, his journals during the Synod have been lost to time. 

Also, as someone who has spent much time with Owen, the main difference is that Owen has an experiential richness to his writings. Voetius is deep, logical, and straightforward Reformed theology that lacks a devotional foundation. This is interesting as Voetius was deeply impacted by men such as Bernard of Clairvaux and Thomas à Kempis. 

Fun fact: On Voetius's deathbed, he quoted Bernard, _“_My merit...is nothing but the mercy of the Lord.”


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## Regi Addictissimus (Jun 3, 2021)

Travis Fentiman said:


> Rutherford has three or four tomes still in Latin, including his Examination of Arminianism, the closest thing to a systematic theology he wrote.


Fortunately, we are in the process of translating and publishing all of Rutherford's works. This project will follow a similar pattern as Perkins.


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## Reformed Covenanter (Jun 3, 2021)

RPEphesian said:


> I envisioned Dutch might be one; why French?



Because of the Huguenots. As Travis points out, there is so much material that remains largely a hidden world to most English-speaking Reformed people. I have tried to post as many extracts from French authors whose works were translated at the time and are now available on EEBO-TCP, yet, obviously, these translations are of limited usefulness. Still, even they are better than nothing.

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## Tom Hart (Jun 3, 2021)

RPEphesian said:


> why French


Pierre Viret, a Swiss colleague of Calvin, is one theologian whose enormous body of works have yet to be translated out of Latin and French. I'd love to get my hands on a French-language volume, but the price of one of those is prohibitive.


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## Regi Addictissimus (Jun 3, 2021)

Tom Hart said:


> Pierre Viret, a Swiss colleague of Calvin, is one theologian whose enormous body of works have yet to be translated out of Latin and French. I'd love to get my hands on a French-language volume, but the price of one of those is prohibitive.


That is not entirely accurate: 



Psalm 78 Ministries Pierre Viret



Sure, there is much more that needs to be translated, but the above is a start.


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## Tom Hart (Jun 3, 2021)

Regi Addictissimus said:


> That is not entirely accurate:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Wow! Thanks! I looked long and hard for translations of Viret! I couldn't find anything. This is great.


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## Regi Addictissimus (Jun 3, 2021)

Glad to help. Sadly, it seems most people aren't aware of their efforts in translating this giant.

We stock some of the translations. I recently reviewed a few of their new release and am currently working on picking up the rest of their catalog.


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## NaphtaliPress (Jun 3, 2021)

Travis Fentiman said:


> Festus Hommius's work on Festival Days is still in Latin, as well as his 70 Disputations against Romanism, which covers the whole gamut of theology.


Speaking of which, I am having a heart time finding what work by Hommius the below is; I'm thinking it is refering to a Dutch work and maybe his work on the Heidelberg but it is not at all clear to me that is the case.
Festus Hommius in Tabulis Catecheticis


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## Travis Fentiman (Jun 3, 2021)

NaphtaliPress said:


> Speaking of which, I am having a heart time finding what work by Hommius...


Sorry Chris, I spoke wrong, its by Rudolph Hospinian:









De festis Christianorum tractatus






books.google.com





I am not sure he takes as strong as a stance as Gillespie (he was in Geneva), but it is THE work documenting the historical rise of the Christian festivals and giving a full analysis to it, and the Scots thought well enough of it to sometimes quote from it for their position.

_“Not the day, but the Word of God… puts us in mind of the nativity, resurrection and ascension of Christ.'” – Ch. 2_


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## NaphtaliPress (Jun 3, 2021)

Travis Fentiman said:


> Sorry Chris, I spoke wrong, its by Rudolph Hospinian:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Okay; thanks. Gillespie cites Hospinian.


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