VINCIATOR 0.2

The Vinciator can dynamically link any Latin or Greek texts to several online and offline morphological parsers and dictionaries.

Type or copy and paste your Latin and unicode Greek texts below.

Then click the button to link.

Herodotus est primus auctor historiae, quem novimus.

ca. 484 - ca. 428 	  	  	 
  	  	
    Ἱστοριῶν Α

Κλειώ
____________________________________

Κλέοβις καὶ Βίτων

[Πρόλογος]

Ἡροδότου Ἁλικαρνησσέος ἱστορίης ἀπόδεξις ἥδε, ὡς μήτε τὰ γενόμενα ἐξ ἀνθρώπων τῷ χρόνῳ ἐξίτηλα γένηται, μήτε ἔργα μεγάλα τε καὶ θωμαστά, τὰ μὲν Ἕλλησι τὰ δὲ βαρβάροισι ἀποδεχθέντα, ἀκλεᾶ γένηται, τά τε ἄλλα καὶ δι᾽ ἣν αἰτίην ἐπολέμησαν ἀλλήλοισι.

I. [1] Περσέων μέν νυν οἱ λόγιοι Φοίνικας αἰτίους φασί γενέσθαι τῆς διαφορῆς. τούτους γὰρ ἀπό τῆς Ἐρυθρῆς καλεομένης θαλάσσης ἀπικομένους ἐπὶ τήνδε τὴν θάλασσαν, καὶ οἰκήσαντας τοῦτον τὸν χῶρον τὸν καὶ νῦν οἰκέουσι, αὐτίκα ναυτιλίῃσι μακρῇσι ἐπιθέσθαι, ἀπαγινέοντας δὲ φορτία Αἰγύπτιά τε καὶ Ἀσσύρια τῇ τε ἄλλῃ ἐσαπικνέεσθαι καὶ δὴ καὶ ἐς Ἄργος. [2] τὸ δὲ Ἄργος τοῦτον τὸν χρόνον προεῖχε ἅπασι τῶν ἐν τῇ νῦν Ἑλλάδι καλεομένῃ χωρῇ. ἀπικομένους δὲ τούς Φοίνικας ἐς δὴ τὸ Ἄργος τοῦτο διατίθεσθαι τὸν φόρτον. [3] πέμπτῃ δὲ ἢ ἕκτῃ ἡμέρῃ ἀπ᾽ ἧς ἀπίκοντο, ἐξεμπολημένων σφι σχεδόν πάντων, ἐλθεῖν ἐπὶ τὴν θάλασσαν γυναῖκας ἄλλας τε πολλάς καὶ δὴ καὶ τοῦ βασιλέος θυγατέρα· τὸ δέ οἱ οὔνομα εἶναι, κατὰ τὠυτὸ τὸ καὶ Ἕλληνές λέγουσι, Ἰοῦν τὴν Ἰνάχου· [4] ταύτας στάσας κατά πρύμνην τῆς νεὸς ὠνέεσθαι τῶν φορτίων τῶν σφι ἦν θυμός μάλιστα· καὶ τοὺς Φοίνικας διακελευσαμένους ὁρμῆσαι ἐπ᾽ αὐτάς. τὰς μὲν δὴ πλεῦνας τῶν γυναικῶν ἀποφυγεῖν, τὴν δὲ Ἰοῦν σὺν ἄλλῃσι ἁρπασθῆναι. ἐσβαλομένους δὲ ἐς τὴν νέα οἴχεσθαι ἀποπλέοντας ἐπ᾽ Αἰγύπτου.

II. [1] οὕτω μὲν Ἰοῦν ἐς Αἴγυπτον ἀπικέσθαι λέγουσι Πέρσαι, οὐκ ὡς Ἕλληνές, καὶ τῶν ἀδικημάτων πρῶτον τοῦτο ἄρξαι. μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα Ἑλλήνων τινάς (οὐ γὰρ ἔχουσι τοὔνομα ἀπηγήσασθαι) φασὶ τῆς Φοινίκης ἐς Τύρον προσσχόντας ἁρπάσαι τοῦ βασιλέος τὴν θυγατέρα Εὐρώπην. εἴησαν δ᾽ ἄν οὗτοι Κρῆτες. ταῦτα μὲν δὴ ἴσα πρὸς ἴσα σφι γενέσθαι, μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα Ἕλληνας αἰτίους τῆς δευτέρης ἀδικίης γενέσθαι· [2] καταπλώσαντας γὰρ μακρῇ νηί ἐς Αἶαν τε τὴν Κολχίδα καὶ ἐπὶ Φᾶσιν ποταμόν, ἐνθεῦτεν, διαπρηξαμένους καὶ τἄλλα τῶν εἵνεκεν ἀπίκατο, ἁρπάσαι τοῦ βασιλέος τὴν θυγατέρα Μηδείην. [3] πέμψαντά δὲ τὸν Κόλχων βασιλέα ἐς τὴν Ἑλλάδα κήρυκα αἰτέειν τε δίκας τῆς ἁρπαγῆς καὶ ἀπαιτέειν τὴν θυγατέρα. τοὺς δὲ ὑποκρίνασθαι ὡς οὐδὲ ἐκεῖνοι Ἰοῦς τῆς Ἀργείης ἔδοσάν σφι δίκας τῆς ἁρπαγῆς· οὐδὲ ὤν αὐτοὶ δώσειν ἐκείνοισι.

III. [1] δευτέρῃ δὲ λέγουσι γενεῇ μετὰ ταῦτα Ἀλέξανδρον τὸν Πριάμου, ἀκηκοότα ταῦτα, ἐθελῆσαί οἱ ἐκ τῆς Ἑλλάδος δι᾽ ἁρπαγῆς γενέσθαι γυναῖκα, ἐπιστάμενον πάντως ὅτι οὐ δώσει δίκας. οὐδὲ γὰρ ἐκείνους διδόναι. [2] οὕτω δὴ ἁρπάσαντος αὐτοῦ Ἑλένην, τοῖσι Ἕλλησι δόξαι πρῶτὸν πέμψαντας ἀγγέλους ἀπαιτέειν τε Ἑλένην καὶ δίκας τῆς ἁρπαγῆς αἰτέειν. τοὺς δέ, προϊσχομένων ταῦτα, προφέρειν σφι Μηδείης τὴν ἁρπαγήν, ὡς οὐ δόντες αὐτοὶ δίκας οὐδὲ ἐκδόντες ἀπαιτεόντων βουλοίατό σφι παρ᾽ ἄλλων δίκας γίνεσθαι.

IV. [1] μέχρι μὲν ὤν τούτου ἁρπαγάς μούνας εἶναι παρ᾽ ἀλλήλων, τὸ δὲ ἀπὸ τούτου Ἕλληνας δὴ μεγάλως αἰτίους γενέσθαι· προτέρους γὰρ ἄρξαι στρατεύεσθαι ἐς τὴν Ἀσίην ἢ σφέας ἐς τὴν Εὐρώπην. [2] τὸ μέν νυν ἁρπάζειν γυναῖκας ἀνδρῶν ἀδίκων νομίζειν ἔργον εἶναι, τὸ δὲ ἁρπασθεισέων σπουδήν ποιήσασθαι τιμωρέειν ἀνοήτων, τὸ δὲ μηδεμίαν ὤρην ἔχειν ἁρπασθεισέων σωφρόνων· δῆλα γὰρ δὴ ὅτι, εἰ μὴ αὐταὶ ἐβούλοντο, οὐκ ἂν ἡρπάζοντο. [3] σφέας μὲν δὴ τοὺς ἐκ τῆς Ἀσίης λέγουσι Πέρσαι ἁρπαζομενέων τῶν γυναικῶν λόγον οὐδένα ποιήσασθαι, Ἕλληνας δὲ Λακεδαιμονίης εἵνεκεν γυναικὸς στόλον μέγαν συναγεῖραι καὶ ἔπειτα ἐλθόντας ἐς τὴν Ἀσίην τὴν Πριάμου δύναμιν κατελεῖν. [4] ἀπὸ τούτου αἰεὶ ἡγήσασθαι τὸ Ἑλληνικὸν σφίσι εἶναι πολέμιον. τὴν γὰρ Ἀσίην καὶ τὰ ἐνοικέοντα ἔθνεα βάρβαρα οἰκηιεῦνται οἱ Πέρσαι, τὴν δὲ Εὐρώπην καὶ τὸ Ἑλληνικόν ἥγηνται κεχωρίσθαι.

V. [1] οὕτω μὲν Πέρσαι λέγουσι γενέσθαι, καὶ διὰ τὴν Ἰλίου ἅλωσιν εὑρίσκουσι σφίσι ἐοῦσαν τὴν ἀρχήν τῆς ἔχθρης τῆς ἐς τοὺς Ἕλληνας. [2] περὶ δὲ τῆς Ἰοῦς οὐκ ὁμολογέουσι Πέρσῃσι οὕτω Φοίνικες· οὐ γὰρ ἁρπαγῇ σφέας χρησαμένους λέγουσι ἀγαγεῖν αὐτήν ἐς Αἴγυπτον, ἀλλ᾽ ὡς ἐν τῷ Ἄργεϊ ἐμίσγετο τῷ ναυκλήρῳ τῆς νέος· ἐπεὶ δ᾽ ἔμαθε ἔγκυος ἐοῦσα, αἰδεομένη τοὺς τοκέας οὕτω δὴ ἐθελοντήν αὐτήν τοῖσι Φοίνιξι συνεκπλῶσαι, ὡς ἂν μὴ κατάδηλος γένηται. [3] ταῦτα μέν νυν Πέρσαι τε καὶ Φοίνικες λέγουσι· ἐγὼ δὲ περὶ μὲν τούτων οὐκ ἔρχομαι ἐρέων ὡς οὕτω ἢ ἄλλως κως ταῦτα ἐγένετο, τὸν δὲ οἶδα αὐτὸς πρῶτον ὑπάρξαντα ἀδίκων ἔργων ἐς τοὺς Ἕλληνας, τοῦτον σημήνας προβήσομαι ἐς τὸ πρόσω τοῦ λόγου, ὁμοίως σμικρὰ καὶ μεγάλα ἄστεα ἀνθρώπων ἐπεξιών. [4] τὰ γὰρ τὸ πάλαι μεγάλα ἦν, τὰ πολλὰ σμικρὰ αὐτῶν γέγονε· τὰ δὲ ἐπ᾽ ἐμεῦ ἦν μεγάλα, πρότερον ἦν σμικρά. τὴν ἀνθρωπηίην ὦν ἐπιστάμενος εὐδαιμονίην οὐδαμὰ ἐν τὠυτῷ μένουσαν, ἐπιμνήσομαι ἀμφοτέρων ὁμοίως.

HELP

What is Vinciator?

Vinciator is a program design to hotlink any unicode Greek or Latin text to any parser and dictionary. Once it links a file, you may save it somewhere on your computer (make sure to remember where you save it), and then use it again at any time by clicking the file to open it in your browser. Be sure to report any browser specific problems, as I use only Mozilla.

Why should I use Vinciator?

From my personal experience learning Anglo-Saxon with an electronic parser and lexical support (thanks to Peter Brown's Old English Aerobics), I found that I could read through texts without spending unnecessary time flipping through pages and managing multiple books. I spent more time with the texts themselves and could review my assignments more often which let me see the words in context more often. Personally contextual exposure helps me learn and retain meaning, and I believe that it does so for many if not all students of language.

Though I had used Perseus before, I found that it did not always have the texts that I wanted to read or that Perseus' version was from an outdated textual edition. I also found that Perseus' server was often overloaded and was sometimes down for maintenance. Thus I was spurred on to create LATNLINK, Lector Latinus, and now Vinciator in order to allow the user to link any Greek or Latin text and to change the link whenever a server was slow or down, simply by changing the dropdown menus at the top of the linked text. In fact, once the user installs Diogenes, it may be run in the background, and then the user may select to link their Latin and Greek texts to its parsers without the need for an internet connection.

Finally, I have found myself using numerous electronic resources in my research and teaching and have therefore spent many long hours looking at screens, so I am very interested in making resources user-friendly through attention to details such as font styles and sizes, eye-friendly contrast between background and foreground, different default print style (without a colored background to use up your ink), versatility (Vinciator automatically links Greek to Greek parsers and Latin to Latin parsers without requiring the users to mark up the text), and adaptability (the multi-linking capability of Vinciator). If you have any suggestions for making Vinciator more user friendly, please send them my way.

What is Vinciator not?

Vinciator and similar electronic resources like Perseus and Diogenes are not a substitute for basic education in Greek and Latin vocabulary and grammar. I do not recommend that beginning students (e.g. 1st or 2nd year secondary students or 1st or 2nd semester college students) use this kind of resource until they have finished their basic grammar instruction. A possible exception would be for mature students who have a solid, masterful knowledge of grammatical concepts from previous study of another language.

Vinciator and similar tools will not tell you the answer; they help you maximize your time. They simply provide you with morphological analysis and lexical information: the first, in case you forget a rare form or some of the many possibilities for an ambiguous form, and the second, in case you encounter a new word or need to be reminded of the idioms or range of meanings for one you know. In the end, you make the intellectual choices based on your own very human understanding of the context in the passage you are reading. To use a technological metaphor, never turn your own central processor off!

What can I do with the texts?

Please feel free to use this portal for all your Greek and Latin linking needs, and you have permission to distribute or host the linked files anywhere you want, though I would ask you to not remove my authorial attribution and contact information.

What are the parsers and lexica to which Vinciator links?

Perseus and its mirrors at Chicago and Berlin provide a select corpus of Greek and Latin texts that are linked to online parsers and lexica.

Words by William Whitaker has a different parser and Latin dictionary (with late and ecclesiastic vocabulary) designed by the author, and it has been hosted by Notre Dame.

Diogenes is a free platform independent program that was designed to aid users in searching and browsing the TLG and PHI databases of Greek and Latin texts. Since the Perseus project has made most of their code public, Peter Heslin has incorporated their morphological parsers and lexica into Diogenes to provide offline linking for Greek and Latin. Diogenes itself is tied to the TLG and PHI databases, but Vinciator and the Hopperizer (see below) can link any texts to Diogenes' implementation of the parsers and lexica. Once you install Diogenes, you need only start it up and have it run in the background when you want to use it with the linked texts that Vinciator produces. Download it here and get installation help for MAC, Windows, or Linux.

Finding Greek and Latin Texts

See the following:
Bibliotheca Augustana (Latin and Greek)
Perseus
Forum Romanum
Greek and Latin authors on Lacus Curtius
Attalus

Unicode Greek Resources

TLG's page on Greek unicode is very helpful.

The Hopperizer is great for converting several other Greek text formats to precomposed unicode (NFC ), and it can link texts, though it produces texts with fixed links to either the Perseus site or Diogenes and does not handle mixed Greek and Latin texts as Vinciator does.

This unicode normalizer converts other unicode formats to standard NFC which is the best format for Vinciator.

TypeGreek allows you to type simplified beta code and converts it to unicode.

Here is an overview of some good unicode fonts for Greek.

Feedback

If you encounter any errors or have ideas for improvements, please let me know and give detailed information. If there is an error in the linked file, please attach it to your email.

Thanks

Thanks to all those who have given helpful feedback on my classics programs in the past: LATNLINK (now defunct), Lector Latinus, my Roman calendar, my Roman clock (not yet published), and now Vinciator.

Thanks especially to Zach Leh who helped me detect a coding error where Vinciator failed to treat grave accents properly.

Thanks also to the following coding projects and authors from whom I derive inspiration (and, in some cases, specific code):
Everyone at the Perseus project and its mirror sites, Peter Heslin author of Diogenes, everyone at the Stoa consortium, especially the Suda On Line crowd, Kata Biblon host of the Hopperizer, William Whitaker author of Words, Randy Hoyt of TypeGreek, and all the other Classical coders out there.