Help translate the
world's rarest books

5,017 texts from 112 languages, scanned from 13 digital archives. Open, translated by AI, and free forever. We need human eyes to make the translations good.

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5,017

rare books

1805.8k+

manuscript pages

373

books with translations

23.1k+

historical illustrations

The easiest way to start

Open any book. Read the AI translation next to the original page image. If something is wrong, click edit and fix it. That's it.

Every book has an edit button on every page. No account needed. The languages we most need help with: Latin, German, Arabic, Hebrew, and Ancient Greek.

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An elaborate allegorical engraving titled 'SCHOLÆ MAGICÆ TYPVS' (Type of the School of Magic). It features a central 'Invisible Mountain of the Magi' (Mons Magorum Invisibilis) topped with a cloud. Below the mountain, an angel on the left and a blindfolded man on the right flank an altar with a single candle labeled 'Lumen Naturæ' (Light of Nature). Surrounding this is an arch labeled 'Regio Phantastica' populated by monstrous creatures. At the bottom, a large dragon or Ouroboros encircles a child sitting on a heap of coins, with the legend 'Non nisi Parvulis' (Only for the little ones). Celestial bodies (Sun, Moon, and stars) appear in the upper corners.

Engraved portrait of the alchemist and physician Michael Maier at age 49. He is depicted in a ruff and doublet, holding a book, with his coat of arms in the background. The entire composition is enclosed within a decorative floral border and includes a Latin inscription at the bottom.

A complex theosophical emblem or diagram serving as the frontispiece/title illustration for Jacob Böhme's works. It consists of concentric circles containing numbers and an alphabet arranged like a clock face. At the center is the Eye of Providence within a triangle, with scrolls of text. Above the central wheel is a second eye within a radiant star-filled circle, topped by a crown. The composition is flanked by a lily on the left and a sword on the right. At the bottom, a trumpet extends from the central axis toward a representation of the globe (Earth).

The 'Mountain of the Adepts' or 'Gymnasium of Nature', a complex allegorical engraving from Heinrich Khunrath's 'Amphitheatrum Sapientiae Aeternae'. It depicts a landscape with a winding path leading to a hidden sanctuary (Precatio) inside a mountain, representing the difficult journey toward alchemical and spiritual enlightenment. The scene includes seekers at various stages of the path, a river with a boat, and a divine ray of light descending from the Tetragrammaton.

An elaborate engraving of Tycho Brahe seated at a desk, gesturing toward a large mural quadrant (a brass arc mounted on a wall) used for determining the positions of stars. The background depicts the interior of his observatory, Uraniborg, with multiple levels showing assistants at work with various scientific instruments, clocks, and chemical apparatus. The foreground shows assistants recording observations and a dog sleeping at Tycho's feet.

Other ways to help

Process pages

Use your own free Gemini API key to OCR or translate pages. Set your budget, pick a book, watch it come to life. Every page you process is permanently free for the world.

Suggest books

We import from 13 digital archives — Internet Archive, Gallica, the Bodleian, the Vatican, and more. If you know of a text that belongs here, tell us and we'll add it.

Write about the texts

Our blog features essays on the collection. A close reading, a thematic exploration, a translation commentary — it doesn't need to be formal, just thoughtful.

Get in touch

Want to help with translations? Have a text to suggest? Working on something related? I respond to everything.

derek@ancientwisdomtrust.org

Help translate theworld's rarest books