HODIE: ante diem quartum Kalendas Novembres. 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 POEM: Here is today's little poem, from the Poetry Widget. Today features one of my favorite verses collected by Wegeler! The word list is at NoDictionaries.com as usual:
Multa rogare, rogata tenere, retenta docere:English: "Ask many things, keep in mind what you have asked, teach what you have kept in mind; these three things make the student exceed his teacher." Isn't that an absolutely fabulous bit of advice??? I hope all my students will do exactly that, and leave me far far far behind as they set out on their own ambitious learning paths!
Haec tria discipulum faciunt superare magistrum.
TODAY'S TWITTER:
Vita Caesaris: You can see my IVLIVS CAESAR feed with a sentence from Plutarch's Life of Caesar each day in Greek, Latin and English. Today's Latin portion shows Caesar making a very public declaration of his alliance with Crassus and Pompey: et a lateribus suis hinc Pompeium, inde Crassum collocans, quaesiuit ex iis, ecquid leges has probarent: affirmanteque utroque, hortatus est ut in eos opitularentur, qui gladiis se contra acturos minarentur.
Proverbiis Pipilo: You can see my Proverbia feed of Latin proverbs which I "tweet" while I am online each day (in English, too). Here's one from today which is a variation on the English saying about "once bitten, twice shy" - Tranquillas etiam naufragus horret aquas (English: A shipwrecked person shudders at the water, even when it is calm.).
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.
Audio Latin Proverb of the Day: Today's audio Latin proverb is Lepore timidior (English: More timid than a rabbit). To read a brief essay about this proverb and to listen to the audio, visit the Latin Via Proverbs blog.
Maxims of Publilius Syrus: Today's proverb from Publilius Syrus is: Mora omnis odio est, sed facit sapientiam (English: All delay is hateful, but it makes wisdom … I just wish I could convince my students that learning really does take time - something almost none of them have to spare, alas).
Rhyming Proverbs: Today's proverb in Leonine verse form is: Esto pius vere super his qui te genuere (English: Be truly respectful toward those who gave you birth).
Proverbs of Polydorus: Today's proverb from Polydorus is: Evenit illi quod Polluci. (English: He suffered the fate of Pollux - this is a saying derived from Suetonius's life of Julius Caesar, in fact, where Marcus Bibulus complains that just as the temple in the Forum for the brothers Castor and Pollux bore only the name of Castor, so his joint projects with Caesar were credited always to Caesar alone - so the saying refers to that all-too-common situation where a member of a famous pair gets neglected in favor of his partner).
Proverbium Perbreve of the Day: Today's two-word proverb is: Spectemur agendo (English: In the act of doing, let us be observed: in other words, let us be judged by our deeds, as Ajax demanded in Ovid's Metamorphoses).
Proverbium Breve of the Day: Today's three-word proverb is: Crambe recocta molestior (English: It is more tiresome than leftover cabbage… now, I personally don't object to leftover cabbage - but you get the idea!).
Vulgate Verse of the Day: Today's verse is Noli vinci a malo, sed vince in bono malum (Romans 12:21). 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 Ubi mel, ibi apes. (English: Where there is honey, there are also bees - so, watch out!).
Latin Animal Proverb of the Day from Erasmus: Today's animal proverb is Asinus ad lyram (English: Like a donkey to the lyre; from Adagia 1.4.35 - a saying that reflects the poor donkey's efforts to be a cultured sort of fellow, despite being a dimwit - is he listening to the lyre and failing to appreciate its music? …or has he picked up a lyre and tried to play it? Either way, the message comes through just the same: the donkey may pretend to be culturally refined, but the actual results are purely risible).
Proper Name Proverb of the Day from Erasmus: Today's proper name proverb is Herculei labores (English: The labors of Heracles; from Adagia 3.1.1 - and for the inclusion of this particular adage in a portrait of Erasmus, see the image below!)
Greek Proverb of the Day: Today's proverb is Ἀρχὴν ἰᾶσθαι πολὺ λώϊον ἢ τελευτήν (English: It's more desirable by far to remedy the beginning of something than the end).
TODAY'S FABLES:
Ictibus Felicibus: Today's fable with macrons and accent marks is Aves et Quadrupedes, the story of the role played by the bat in the battle of the beasts and the birds.
Fable of the Day: Today's fable of the day from Barlow is DE AUCUPE ET PERDICE, just like the bat, the bird in this story is willing to play a treacherous role to save her own life!
Below is a famous portrait of Erasmus by Hans Holbein the Younger; along the edge of the book facing the viewer the letters read "The Labors of Heracles" in Greek (ΗΡΑΚΛΕΙΟΙ ΠΟΝΟΙ = HERAKLEIOI PONOI), alluding to the amazing feats which Erasmus accomplished in his life as a scholar. Click here to see a larger view of the image, where the writing on the book is very clear
