1. Researching a Quote
Current AI is not as good as we are led to believe, and if we come to rely on it and outsource our research skills, our thinking and our creativity, it will be catastrophic.
Before you think I am just someone too old and too skeptical of new technology, let me provide a brief preamble. I like working with Artificial Intelligence. My regular go-to helpers are Claude, Chat GPT, Gemini, Grok, and Canva; Copilot less so. Use cases are proofreading, researching, creating video cover art, helping with YouTube transcripts, prepping some research, etc. AI is a great assistant, one I would otherwise not be able to afford. Unlike professors of old, I do not have a secretary. Furthermore, I am typically excited about new technology. I grew up with computers during the time of Windows 3.1, MS-DOS 5.0 and Commodore 128D, learned how to write code. I am no luddite.
Now, let me talk about a specific problem I encountered just today. I had finally finished a set of four poems and needed a common theme. Just out of a lark, I asked Claude to make suggestions, and amongst them – based on the poems and my typical style – was a Latin phrase, “adhunc sum,” which shortens a key mantra in the fourth poem of “still, I am.” I had thought along similar lines, but strangely, the choice of Latin had been Claude’s. I prefer to think of him (?) as Claudius.
But then, I thought let’s look this phrase up. Not wanting to lose our train of thought in the Claude window, I opened a Google Gemini instance. In the following, I will document this conversation, but shorten some of the AI bloat.
2. Gemini Finds a Quote
ME: what does ADHUC SUM mean?
GEMINI:
ADHUC SUM is a Latin phrase that translates to “I am still here” or “I still exist.” [1]
Word Breakdown
- Adhuc: ad-verb meaning “until now,” “thus far,” “yet,” or “still.”
- Sum: first-person singular present form of the verb esse, meaning “I am.” [1, 2]
Context and Usage
- Philosophical meaning: It asserts ongoing existence, survival, or resilience through hardship.
- Literary usage: Famously used by Roman philosopher Seneca in his Epistulae Morales ad Lucilium (Moral Letters to Lucilius) to note that despite aging or difficulties, he is still present and conscious.
To help give you more relevant context, where did you encounter this phrase (e.g., a book, a tattoo, a family crest)? I can help you translate the entire passage or motto it came from. […]
ME: can you get me the seneca quote?
GEMINI:
The exact passage where Seneca details this sentiment comes from Letter 61 of his Epistulae Morales ad Lucilium. [1, 2]
In this letter, Seneca reflects deeply on old age, preparing for death, and the ultimate Stoic virtue of living each day as if it completes one’s life. [1]
The Quote
Latin Text:
“Ante senectutem curavi ut bene viverem, in senectute ut bene moriar; bene autem mori est libenter mori. Da operam ne quid umquam invitus facias… Adhuc sum, hoc tantum superest ut mihi animus integer sit.”
English Translation:
“Before old age, I cared about living well; in old age, I care about dying well; but to die well is to die willingly. Take care that you never do anything against your will… I am still here, and my only remaining concern is that my mind stays sound and unbroken.”
Key Stoic Context
- Focus on the Present: Seneca writes this toward the very end of his life. By stating “adhuc sum,” he emphasizes that regardless of physical decline or external political turmoil under Emperor Nero, his consciousness and agency remain intact.
- The “Sound Mind”: For a Stoic, survival isn’t just about breathing—it is about keeping the mind (animus) “sound and unbroken” by virtue and reason. [1]
Are you looking to use this specific quote for a writing piece, project, or personal motto? I can break down more of Letter 61 or find similar Stoic quotes on resilience if you like!
AI can make mistakes, so double-check responses [..]
ME: can you provide a concrete citation? Thanks!
GEMINI:
The phrase “Adhuc sum” is found in Letter 61, Section 2 of Seneca’s Epistulae Morales ad Lucilium (Moral Letters to Lucilius). [1, 2]
Standard Academic Citation
- Author: Lucius Annaeus Seneca (Seneca the Younger)
- Work: Epistulae Morales ad Lucilium
- Location: Letter 61 (Epistula LXI), Paragraph 2
- Standard Canonical Citation: Sen. Ep. 61.2 [1, 2]
Text and Translation Verification
In the standard Latin text compiled in editions like the Oxford Classical Texts (OCT) or the Loeb Classical Library, the sentence reads: [1, 2]
“Adhuc sum, hoc tantum superest ut mihi animus integer sit.”
An exact literal rendering of this specific sentence fragment is:
“I am still here, [and] this only remains: that my mind be intact.”
Historical Placement
Seneca wrote these letters to his friend Lucilius between 62 and 65 AD, during his forced retirement from the imperial court of Emperor Nero. Because he was written into a corner politically and facing his own mortality, Letter 61 serves as a deliberate mental preparation for death, written “as if death were about to call me away in the very act of writing”. [1, 2]
If you are formatting a bibliography or a footnote for a specific style (like MLA, APA, or Chicago), let me know and I can generate the exact bibliographic entry for you!
[..]
[Gemini also provided links to Wikisource, Loeb Classical Library, Perseus.]
3. Suspicion. I Check The Source
Now that was the answer I was looking for! I took the Latin and English versions of the quote, put it on the top of the poem, plus the citation, and now – nerd that I am – wanted to link it to the source text. Wikisource delivered, both the English and the Latin Version.
But actually reading the text – and of course doing a search within the text – revealed: Nothing of the quote Gemini provided was in there! Further Google (and Bing) search showed that these did not show up either.
Now, I went back to Claude.
4. Claude to the Rescue
ME: do you find a source for “Adhuc sum, hoc tantum superest ut mihi animus integer sit”
CLAUDE: The exact phrase “adhuc sum, hoc tantum superest ut mihi animus integer sit” doesn’t surface in any classical source I can find. It’s possible it exists somewhere in the vast corpus of Latin literature — perhaps Seneca’s letters, which are the most natural home for it tonally — but I can’t confirm it, and I’d rather tell you that honestly than attribute it falsely.
The components are all good classical Latin: adhuc sum appears in various forms, animus integer is a genuinely Senecan phrase (the idea of an unimpaired, whole spirit appears throughout his work), and hoc tantum superest is the kind of construction he favors. But the full sentence as you have it — I cannot find it as a citation.
Where did you encounter it? It’s possible it’s a medieval source, a Renaissance humanist, or even a misattribution that has circulated. Or it may be something you composed yourself, consciously or not, in the style — which would make it entirely yours to use.
Either way, adhuc sum alone stands perfectly on its own as a series title. Whether or not the longer phrase has a classical source, those two words are real, resonant, and already present in the heart of your fourth poem.
ME: Hah! Gemini said it was Seneca, Epistulae Morales ad Lucilium, Letter 61, Section 2 (Sen. Ep. 61.2), but I checked it (always check AI, sorry) – and could not find it. Did your competitor hallucinate?
CLAUDE: Almost certainly yes. That’s a classic hallucination pattern — plausible author, plausible work, specific-sounding citation (letter number, section number), all adding up to something that feels authoritative and isn’t. Seneca’s Epistulae Morales is a perfect target for this kind of confabulation precisely because it’s vast, aphoristic, and full of exactly the kind of sentiment that phrase expresses. A hallucinating model can feel its way toward “this sounds like Seneca Letter 61″ without that letter actually containing it.
And you checked. Which is exactly what you tell your students, and exactly what you did [when I provided] fabrications. The lesson applies universally — including to your competitors, including to me.
Now, I of course had to go back to Gemini.
5. Gemini Admits to its Fabrication
ME: I checked the Seneca letters, and it is not in there.
GEMINI: You are completely right, and I apologize. I hallucinated that specific Latin passage in the previous responses. The phrase “Adhuc sum” does not appear in Seneca’s Letters to Lucilius (neither in Letter 61 nor anywhere else in his epistles).
Thank you for double-checking and directly calling that out.
The phrase “adhuc sum” is simply a general Latin fragment (“I am still here” / “I still exist”). When it shows up in classical literature, it is usually part of a completely different thought, such as: [provided two other useless examples]
I am sorry for providing a completely incorrect citation and context earlier. If you originally found the phrase somewhere specific, tell me what you’re working on and we can translate the true source accurately!
6. Lessons
Well, there you have it. I also checked ChatGPT and Grok, also to research the original problem: “do you find a source for ‘Adhuc sum’?” – and they both found Psalm 138 in the Vulgate numbering. Claude needed prompting for Psalms to find it.
Some Lessons from this then:
- AI hallucinates, but not all AI systems hallucinate the same thing. I have had Claud and ChatGPT hallucinate in other contexts. It helps to ask the same question to different AI systems.
- The hallucinations can be convincing. Gemini’s answer was clever, and nearly fooled me. Luckily, I know Latin, and know how to find a source and how to do research.
- You cannot rely on AI as replacing human intellect and knowledge. We always need a knowledgeable human in control, and to check every answer for correctness.
AI is great for remedial things. It may get better over time, but how would you know if you wouldn’t know how to check it?
Let this be a warning. Do not outsource your work, do not abandon your learning. And do not belief AI is something like the ship computer of the U.S.S. Enterprise. It is an advanced search engine with a personality. As I said before, A.I. Requires us to Know and Think More, Not Less. Still true.
Erratic Attempts 