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Plaintext Classics

The great works of world literature, translated fresh into clear modern English — and free to read.

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Modern editions of the classics, in plain English — faithful to the original, in words that don't get in the way.

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The catalog

The Odyssey — cover
Homer

The Odyssey

Homer's epic of homecoming — monsters, gods, and one man's twenty-year fight to get home — translated directly from the Greek into plain modern English.

Read free → Translated fresh from the Greek
The Gospels — cover
according to Matthew, Mark, Luke & John

The Gospels

The four gospels in plain modern English — a new translation from the Koine Greek, machine-made and resting on the scholarship of thousands, with an introduction by Mark Scribe.

Read free → A new translation from the Greek
Notes to Himself — cover
Marcus Aurelius

Notes to Himself

The private journal of a Roman emperor — practical notes on how to live, likely never meant for publication.

Read free → The Meditations, in plain English
The Lost Gospel of Judas — cover
Anonymous

The Lost Gospel of Judas

A gospel suppressed for seventeen centuries, rediscovered and translated plainly.

Read free → The lost Gnostic gospel
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