Σ Scriptorium Press

The Plainspoken Classics

The ancient world's library, translated anew from the Greek into one clear modern voice — the first openly AI-translated classics series.

See the proof — the originality & accuracy numbers →
How these books are made, in full: Every Plainspoken Classic is an original translation made in 2026 by fleets of AI translators working directly from the public-domain Greek text — never from any English translation. Every batch is spot-reviewed against the Greek by an independent AI referee, and the finished text is mechanically scanned to verify it shares no extended wording with any previous translation. We publish the method because it is the product: one consistent, contemporary voice across the entire ancient library. Errors are possible, as in any translation; the Greek always remains the authority. As AI improves, editions may be updated to match — intended, not guaranteed; what you buy is always the complete book in hand.
Read the colophon — the whole method, step by step →
Homer The Iliad Σ · PLAINSPOKEN CLASSICS

Homer: The Iliad

A New Plain-English Prose Translation

Homer's war epic in clear, vivid modern prose — all 24 books, translated directly from the Greek. No archaisms, no verse gymnastics: the story, at full speed.

24 books · 162,047 words · First Edition (2026)

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Homer The Odyssey Σ · PLAINSPOKEN CLASSICS

Homer: The Odyssey

A New Plain-English Prose Translation

The homecoming of Odysseus in fresh contemporary prose — all 24 books from the Greek. Read it like the page-turner it always was.

24 books · 125,066 words · First Edition (2026)

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Plutarch The Moralia Σ · PLAINSPOKEN CLASSICS

Plutarch: The Moralia

71 Essays — The First Complete Plain-English Edition

On Superstition, On Isis and Osiris, On the Decline of Oracles, the Table Talk, and 67 more — most have never had an affordable modern English translation. 690,000 words from the Greek.

71 books · 690,352 words · First Edition (2026)

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Josephus The Complete Works Σ · PLAINSPOKEN CLASSICS

Josephus: The Complete Works

Jewish War · Antiquities · Against Apion · The Life

The indispensable historian of the New Testament era — all four works, 628,000 words, newly translated from Niese's Greek. The only cheap alternative was made in 1737.

30 books · 627,957 words · First Edition (2026)

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Philo of Alexandria The Complete Works Σ · PLAINSPOKEN CLASSICS

Philo of Alexandria: The Complete Works

37 Treatises — The First New Complete English Philo Since 1855

The philosopher who taught the New Testament its vocabulary — every surviving Greek treatise in clear modern English, keyed to the scholarly section numbers.

37 books · 603,305 words · First Edition (2026)

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Why read the Plainspoken version?

Because the free classics are 130–300 years old

The public-domain translations are monuments — and they read like it. Hear the same lines side by side:

Butcher & Lang, 1879“Verily a bitter word is this, lady, that thou hast spoken.”
Plainspoken, 2026“Woman, this is a painful thing you have said.”
Yonge, 1854“…investing their ideas with an abundance of amplification, have sought to bewilder the people…”
Plainspoken, 2026“…wrapping their ideas in a great deal of padding, befuddled the masses…”

Because the accuracy is audited, not assumed

Independent AI referees re-read the Greek behind random batches hunting for errors; an outside comparative review of six famous passages found our accuracy “never beaten, occasionally sharper” than the classic versions. Every number is published on the proof page.

Because it’s one voice across the whole library

Read Philo beside Josephus beside Plutarch without time-traveling between translators from 1737, 1854 and 1919. One consistent register means when the authors sound different, that difference is real — which is exactly what comparative readers and researchers need.

Because much of this simply isn’t sold anywhere

A complete modern-English Philo does not exist at any price. Most of Plutarch’s Moralia has never had an affordable modern translation. Complete-works Josephus in current English costs a shelf of Loebs. This library fills gaps, not shelves.

And if you already love your translation — read ours beside it

A second, independent, modern rendering is a lens: wherever two honest translations diverge, the Greek is telling you something. That’s why we publish the sample of every volume free.

🎧 Audiobooks are coming

Every Plainspoken volume is being narrated — a clear, unhurried voice, made with the same openly-AI craft as the translations. Sample players are on each book above. Waitlist members get the full audiobooks with their purchase when we launch.

Join the audiobook waitlist

Free while in early access

Right now, every book above is free to read and download in full — we are a new press earning its readers. That won't be true forever: as the library grows (audiobooks, new volumes, improved editions), the full books will become paid editions. Join the list and you'll hear before anything changes — early readers will always get the best deal we ever offer.

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Scriptorium Press · translations made from public-domain Greek texts (Perseus · Niese · Cohn) · the Greek is always the authority · the proof · the colophon