Thursday, March 19, 2009

Round-Up: March 19

Here is a round-up of today's blog posts - and for previous posts, check out the Bestiaria Latina Blog archives. You can keep up with the latest posts by using the RSS feed, or you might prefer to subscribe by email.

HODIE: ante diem quartum decimum Kalendas Apriles. You can add a Roman calendar as a widget in your blog or webpage, or display it as a Google Calendar: here's how.

TODAY'S PODCAST:

Heri Hodie Cras Podcast: Today's audio podcast is Latin Via Proverbs: Group 32, which features this nice saying about learning through exempla (like Aesop's fables!): Longum iter est per praecepta, breve et efficax per exempla. (Long is the path through orders; short and effective is the path through examples.)

TODAY'S PROVERBS:

You can get access to all the proverb of the day scripts (also available as random proverb scripts) at the SchoolhouseWidgets.com website.

Proverbiis Pipilo: You can see my Twitter feed of Latin proverbs which I "tweet" while I am online each day (in English, too). Here's a recent one - the Latin equivalent of putting the cart before the horse: Plaustrum bovem trahit (English: The cart is pulling the ox).

Audio Latin Proverb of the Day: Today's audio Latin proverb is Stat lapis et nomen tantum, vestigia nulla (English: There stands only a stone and a name, no traces at all - a very somber inscription from a Latin tombstone). To read a brief essay about this proverb and to listen to the audio, visit the Latin Via Proverbs blog.

Proverbium Perbreve of the Day: Today's two-word proverb is Fumos vendit (English: He's selling smoke - a saying from Martial that prompted this essay by Erasmus).

Proverbium Breve of the Day: Today's three-word proverb is Factum stultus cognoscit (English: A fool knows something after it's done - in other words, he cannot anticipate problems and avoid them, as the wise person can).

Vulgate Verse of the Day: Today's verse is Tempus destruendi et tempus aedificandi (Ecc. 3:3). For a translation, check out the polyglot Bible, in English, Hebrew, Latin and Greek, at the Sacred Texts Archive online.

Latin Animal Proverb of the Day: Today's animal proverb is Ovem lupo commisisti (English: You've handed the sheep over to the wolf - in other words, you've entrusted something to someone who cannot be trusted!).

Proper Name Proverb of the Day: Today's proper name proverb is Vel arte vel Marte (English: Either by craft or by battle - although the English lacks the artful rhyme of the Latin, which provides the real pointedness of the proverb!).

Greek Proverb of the Day: Today's proverb is Πολλοί σε μισήσουσι, ἂν σαυτὸν φιλῇς (English: Many people will hate you, if you should love yourself - a saying with considerable psychological insight!). If you look at the Greek Proverb of the Day widget, you'll see it comes with a Latin translation, too.

TODAY'S FABLES:

Latin Via Fables: Simplified Fables: I'm now presenting the "Barlow Aesop" collection, fable by fable, in a SIMPLIFIED version (same story, but in simpler sentences) - with a SLIDESHOW presentation to go along with it, too. Today's Simplified fable is De Quercu et Arundine, the story of the oak and the reed, and the virtues of being flexible - literally and metaphorically.

Fable of the Day: Today's fable of the day from Barlow's Aesop is De Equo et Asello Onusto (the story of what happened when the horse refused to carry even a little bit of the donkey's load). You can use the Javascript to include the fable of the day automatically each day on your webpage or blog - meanwhile, to find out more about today's fable, visit the Ning Resource Page for this fable, where you will find links to the text, commentary, and a discussion board for questions and comments.




Aesop's Fables in Latin now available at Amazon.com.