Please contact me at DrBillLong@gmail.com
Words, Stories and Sacred Texts--those three words or ideas capture the purposes of this site. I comment at length on influential or classic texts from a number of traditions around the world, with special emphasis on Virgil's Aeneid, The Septuagint (Greek Translation of the Old Testament), New Testament, Latin literature, historical subjects, and the meaning and evolution of words. I also have several essays on a vocabulary-driven method for learning Biblical Hebrew.
Since completing his Ph D in the History of Religions: Early Christianity (Brown, 1982) Dr Long has been a professor of religion and humanities, history and government, and a pastor. He also has a law degree, been a litigation attorney, law professor and legal consultant. He is an award-winning (read more. . .)
Bill's Recent Books
CBS Evening News Interview of Bill Long
From 2004-2011, I participated in a number of Senior (over 50) Spelling Events. CBS Evening News caught wind of this senior spelling movement and decided to come to my house to interview me. It was a lot of fun, as you can see.
Chinese Poetry-- These essays present dozens of classic Chinese poems, with text, translation and interpretation. Among the poems presented are the twenty-five in Eurydice Chen and William R Long, Twenty-Five Classic Chinese Love Poems: Translated and Interpreted (2019).
Book of Job-- The premier text from Western culture on the nature of suffering and its relationship to trust in a good God. These 423 essays complement my 2020 book, pictured above, on the Book of Job and how it may support or, more likely, undercut religious faith.
Biblical Hebrew Words-- Presents a method of mastering Biblical Hebrew through emphasis on vocabulary mastery in context. FIfty essays present all significant Hebrew Bible words.
Homer-- The classic epic writer of Western culture. I present here a close reading of Book I of Homer's Iliad and a detailed summary of Books I-IV of Homer's Odyssey.
Virgil's Aeneid--The classic epic of Roman civilization. On this page, I present more than 40 essays that give a detailed reading of the language of Books 1-2 of this work.
Septuagint-- The Septuagint (LXX) is the Greek Translation of the Hebrew Bible, done probably in the 3rd or 2nd century BCE. As such it was the Bible for Jews for more than a millennium and the Old Testament for Christians for hundreds of years. Dozens of essays consider this great work.
Greek New Testament-- More than 50 essays on the language of the Greek New Testament.
Historical and Miscellaneous Essays-- Covering a broad swath of materials from essays on American history, to love poems, to reflections on the origin, development and meaning of English words.