I'll be starting the regular blog up again tomorrow, on Tuesday, December 1, but I thought I would share some of the work I got done over Thanksgiving week! I've been working very hard on the Latin motto and proverb widgets, trying to add in the English translations for the widgets that previously had only the Latin. Personally, I would hope everybody would read and enjoy the proverbs in Latin - but if the English can help people to do that, fiat Anglice!
Some of the widgets listed below are new ones that I created over the past week; others have been available before, but without English translations as part of the widget. My favorite is the new Elizabethan English proverb commentary (a combination of Conybeare and Taverner) which you will find at the bottom of this post!
For those of you reading this blog post via email, you will be able to see the widgets in action by visiting the blog post, or you can click on the link to one of the widget titles and see both the date-based version and the random version of that particular widget.
NEW!!! 2-Word Mottoes: These are Latin mottoes, just one or two words in length.
NEW!!! 3-Word Mottoes: Nouns: Here you have mottoes that are three words in length, but with no verbs!
NEW!!! 3-Word Mottoes: Verbs: These are three-word mottoes that do contain some kind of verb form.
2-Word Proverbs: These are proverbs - some of which can serve as mottoes, of course - which are just one or two words long.
3-Word Proverbs: These are proverbs that are three words long, with no verbs - I'll be coming up with a three-word widget soon that has proverbs with verbs.
Audio Proverbs: For each of these proverbs there is a link to a blog post with audio and a brief essay in English about the proverb.
Rhymes: These are rhyming proverbs, often in Leonine verse, as collected by Wegeler.
Animals: Here you have some of my favorite animal proverbs.
Vulgate Verses: These are verses, or parts of verses, from the Vulgate Bible, with a link to the New Advent Vulgate Latin Bible online.
Polydorus: These are sayings, both "sacred and profane" from Polydorus's Adagia.
Publilius Syrus: These are some of the proverbs found in the writings of the Roman Publilius Syrus.
Erasmus: Animals: Here you have more animal sayings, this time taken from the Adagia of Erasmus:
Erasmus: Names: These are sayings from Erasmus which feature a proper name, either of a person or a place or a god.
NEW!!! Elizabethan Proverb Commentary: I found these 16th-century English commentaries on Erasmus by Conybeare and by Taverner - the Elizabethan style English is delightful, I think!
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Round-up: November 21 - November 30
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.
This will be my last blog post until after the Thanksgiving holiday - I'll be back online on Monday, November 30... and among the various tasks I've set myself during the break, one of them is sprucing up the Latin Christmas Carol blog for 2009, so that it will be all ready to go starting on December 1 this year! :-)
TODAY'S POEM: Here is today's little poem, from the Poetry Widget. This one is another of the elegant little epigrams from Owen, with a word list at NoDictionaries.com as usual:
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 continues Plutarch's praise of Caesar accomplishments to come in Gaul: alio ob multitudinem deuictorum hostium et robur, alio ob insolentiam et perfidiam morum cum quibus ipsi communicandum erat, alio ob clementiam qua aduersus domitos usus est, alio ob liberalitatem et beneficia in commilitones, omnibus uero ob multitudinem depugnatorum proeliorum occisorumque hostium (all those comparisons are to the other men, alio...alio...alio, who were also military commanders of ancient Rome).
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 that expresses how I feel at the end of the semester, ha ha: Post tot naufragia portum (English: After so many shipwrecks, the harbor).
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 Fortuna amicos parat, inopia amicos probat (English: Prosperity obtains friends, poverty puts them to the test). 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: Verum est, quod pro salute fit, mendacium (English: A lie told to save yourself is true… I guess you could call it a Darwinian truth: the lie of the survivor!).
Rhyming Proverbs: Today's proverb in Leonine verse form is: Temporibus brumae iuxta ignem pocula sume (English: In winter time, sit by the fire and raise your glass - a nice saying for the season, and note the medieval rhyme of brumae and sume).
Proverbs of Polydorus: Today's proverb from Polydorus is: Totidem nobis hostes esse, quot servos (English: We have as many enemies as we have servants).
Proverbium Perbreve of the Day: Today's two-word proverb is: Scientia potentia (English: Knowledge is power… a motto I wish I could persuade my students to adopt!).
Proverbium Breve of the Day: Today's three-word proverb is: Tempus edax rerum (English: Time is the eater of things).
Vulgate Verse of the Day: Today's verse is Qui reddit mala pro bonis, non recedet malum de domo eius (Proverbs 17:13). 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 Cicada cicadae cara, formicae formica (English: One cricked is dear to another, and ant is dear to ant… kind of like "birds of a feather," but in the insect world).
Latin Animal Proverb of the Day from Erasmus: Today's animal proverb is Minervae felem (English: You're comparing a cat to Minerva; from Adagia 1.10.22 - which is a poor comparison, as Erasmus explains that while a cat and Minerva might have eyes that are supposedly the same color, that's about all they can be said to share!).
Proper Name Proverb of the Day from Erasmus: Today's proper name proverb is Fortes Fortuna adiuvat (English: Fortune helps those with fortitude; from Adagia 1.2.45 - as you can see, the Latin offers possibilities for alliteration here that the English cannot match, alas).
Greek Proverb of the Day: Today's proverb is Βραχεῖα τέρψις ἡδονῆς τίκτει λύπην. (English: A brief pleasurable delight gives birth to grief).
TODAY'S FABLES:
Fable of the Day: Today's fable of the day from Barlow is DE LEPORE ET TESTUDINE, the famous story of the tortoise and the hare.
Ictibus Felicibus: Today's fable with macrons and accent marks is Agricola et Filii, a story of family quarrels overcome by a simple lesson - perhaps a good fable to keep in mind for the holidays when family quarrels might be looming! The fable offers good advice for parents who despair of their quarreling children, and for those of you who might squabble with your parents, remember the advice in one of Cato's monostichs: Parentes patientia vince. Meanwhile, here is an illustration for the fable of the father and his sons (image source) by Walter Crane:
This will be my last blog post until after the Thanksgiving holiday - I'll be back online on Monday, November 30... and among the various tasks I've set myself during the break, one of them is sprucing up the Latin Christmas Carol blog for 2009, so that it will be all ready to go starting on December 1 this year! :-)
Cunctis lectoribus quam laetissimum "Diem Cornucopiae" exopto!
HODIE: ante diem undecimum Kalendas Decembres. 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. This one is another of the elegant little epigrams from Owen, with a word list at NoDictionaries.com as usual:
Sanctorum vitas legere et non vivere frustra est.English: "To read the lives of the saints and not to live them is useless; lead the lives of the saints; don't just read them." I'm not going to claim to be living the life of a saint by any means... but I do like to think that some of these fables and proverbs have saved me from making even more mistakes in my life than I would have otherwise!
Sanctorum vitas || degite, non legite.
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 continues Plutarch's praise of Caesar accomplishments to come in Gaul: alio ob multitudinem deuictorum hostium et robur, alio ob insolentiam et perfidiam morum cum quibus ipsi communicandum erat, alio ob clementiam qua aduersus domitos usus est, alio ob liberalitatem et beneficia in commilitones, omnibus uero ob multitudinem depugnatorum proeliorum occisorumque hostium (all those comparisons are to the other men, alio...alio...alio, who were also military commanders of ancient Rome).
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 that expresses how I feel at the end of the semester, ha ha: Post tot naufragia portum (English: After so many shipwrecks, the harbor).
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 Fortuna amicos parat, inopia amicos probat (English: Prosperity obtains friends, poverty puts them to the test). 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: Verum est, quod pro salute fit, mendacium (English: A lie told to save yourself is true… I guess you could call it a Darwinian truth: the lie of the survivor!).
Rhyming Proverbs: Today's proverb in Leonine verse form is: Temporibus brumae iuxta ignem pocula sume (English: In winter time, sit by the fire and raise your glass - a nice saying for the season, and note the medieval rhyme of brumae and sume).
Proverbs of Polydorus: Today's proverb from Polydorus is: Totidem nobis hostes esse, quot servos (English: We have as many enemies as we have servants).
Proverbium Perbreve of the Day: Today's two-word proverb is: Scientia potentia (English: Knowledge is power… a motto I wish I could persuade my students to adopt!).
Proverbium Breve of the Day: Today's three-word proverb is: Tempus edax rerum (English: Time is the eater of things).
Vulgate Verse of the Day: Today's verse is Qui reddit mala pro bonis, non recedet malum de domo eius (Proverbs 17:13). 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 Cicada cicadae cara, formicae formica (English: One cricked is dear to another, and ant is dear to ant… kind of like "birds of a feather," but in the insect world).
Latin Animal Proverb of the Day from Erasmus: Today's animal proverb is Minervae felem (English: You're comparing a cat to Minerva; from Adagia 1.10.22 - which is a poor comparison, as Erasmus explains that while a cat and Minerva might have eyes that are supposedly the same color, that's about all they can be said to share!).
Proper Name Proverb of the Day from Erasmus: Today's proper name proverb is Fortes Fortuna adiuvat (English: Fortune helps those with fortitude; from Adagia 1.2.45 - as you can see, the Latin offers possibilities for alliteration here that the English cannot match, alas).
Greek Proverb of the Day: Today's proverb is Βραχεῖα τέρψις ἡδονῆς τίκτει λύπην. (English: A brief pleasurable delight gives birth to grief).
TODAY'S FABLES:
Fable of the Day: Today's fable of the day from Barlow is DE LEPORE ET TESTUDINE, the famous story of the tortoise and the hare.
Ictibus Felicibus: Today's fable with macrons and accent marks is Agricola et Filii, a story of family quarrels overcome by a simple lesson - perhaps a good fable to keep in mind for the holidays when family quarrels might be looming! The fable offers good advice for parents who despair of their quarreling children, and for those of you who might squabble with your parents, remember the advice in one of Cato's monostichs: Parentes patientia vince. Meanwhile, here is an illustration for the fable of the father and his sons (image source) by Walter Crane:
Friday, November 20, 2009
Round-Up: November 20
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 duodecimum Kalendas Decembres. 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. It's another one of the iambic fables by Desbillons, with a word list at NoDictionaries.com as usual:
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 continues the favorable comparison of Caesar's achievements as superior to those of Romans both past and contemporary: Imo siue Fabios, Scipiones, Metellos, siue qui aequales eius aut aetate paulo superiores fuerunt, Syllam, Marium, utrumque Lucullum, ipsumque adeo, cuius ad caelum usque omnigenarum bellicarum uirtutum gloria se efferebat, Pompeium conferas, rebus eorum gestis facta Caesaris palmam praeripiunt. Alio enim maiorem laudem consecutus est ob iniquitatem locorum in quibus bellum gessit, alio ob magnitudinem regionis quam in potestatem redegit.
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: Avarus aurum deum habet (English: The greedy person regards gold as a god - although the etymology of avarus is not certain, it does have a nice echo with aurum).
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 Di lanatos pedes habent (English: The gods have woollen feet). 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: Ubi libertas cecidit, audet libere nemo loqui (English: When freedom has fallen, no one dares to speak freely).
Rhyming Proverbs: Today's proverb in Leonine verse form is: Spes laqueo volucres, spes captat arundine pisces (English: Hope captures birds with a net, and fish with a rod).
Proverbs of Polydorus: Today's proverb from Polydorus is: Non omnibus dormio (English: I'm not asleep to everything).
Proverbium Perbreve of the Day: Today's two-word proverb is: Iusiurandum serva (English: Keep your sworn word).
Proverbium Breve of the Day: Today's three-word proverb is: Ut migraturus habita (English: Live as if you were about to move).
Vulgate Verse of the Day: Today's verse is Qui non est mecum, contra me est (Matt. 12:30). 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 Enumerat miles vulnera, pastor oves (English: The soldier counts his wounds, the shepherd counts his sheep).
Latin Animal Proverb of the Day from Erasmus: Today's animal proverb is Asinum sub freno currere doces (English: You're teaching a donkey to run with a bridle; from Adagia 1.4.40 - this is another one of those fool's tasks; you're supposed to use a horse, not a donkey, if you're running a race).
Proper Name Proverb of the Day from Erasmus: Today's proper name proverb is Colophonia ferocitas (English: Fierce as the the people of Colophon; from Adagia 2.1.13 - the people of Colophon in Ionia were proverbial for their aggressive behavior).
Greek Proverb of the Day: Today's proverb is Πολλοί τοι ναρθηκοφόροι, παῦροι δὲ Βάκχοι (English: Many are those who carry the thyrsus, but few are the worshippers of Bacchus).
TODAY'S FABLES:
Ictibus Felicibus: Today's fable with macrons and accent marks is Agricola et Ciconia, the story of the stork who begged the farmer to spare her life on the basis of her good reputation.
Fable of the Day: Today's fable of the day from Barlow is DE ANU ET ANSERE, the famous story of the goose that laid the golden eggs.
The image today illustrates the little fable about the bird-catcher who stepped on a snake (see above), taken from a Tar Heel Reader:
HODIE: ante diem duodecimum Kalendas Decembres. 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. It's another one of the iambic fables by Desbillons, with a word list at NoDictionaries.com as usual:
Dolum Palumbo incautus Auceps dum struit,English: "A reckless bird-catcher, as he sets out a trap for a dove, steps on a snake; wounded by the snake's fang, he dies: it is right that, preparing evil for another, you will suffer that evil yourself." For an illustration to accompany this story, see the page from a Tar Heel Reader below!
Premit anguem, cuius dente violatus perit.
Malum iure feres, quod parabis alteri.
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 continues the favorable comparison of Caesar's achievements as superior to those of Romans both past and contemporary: Imo siue Fabios, Scipiones, Metellos, siue qui aequales eius aut aetate paulo superiores fuerunt, Syllam, Marium, utrumque Lucullum, ipsumque adeo, cuius ad caelum usque omnigenarum bellicarum uirtutum gloria se efferebat, Pompeium conferas, rebus eorum gestis facta Caesaris palmam praeripiunt. Alio enim maiorem laudem consecutus est ob iniquitatem locorum in quibus bellum gessit, alio ob magnitudinem regionis quam in potestatem redegit.
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: Avarus aurum deum habet (English: The greedy person regards gold as a god - although the etymology of avarus is not certain, it does have a nice echo with aurum).
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 Di lanatos pedes habent (English: The gods have woollen feet). 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: Ubi libertas cecidit, audet libere nemo loqui (English: When freedom has fallen, no one dares to speak freely).
Rhyming Proverbs: Today's proverb in Leonine verse form is: Spes laqueo volucres, spes captat arundine pisces (English: Hope captures birds with a net, and fish with a rod).
Proverbs of Polydorus: Today's proverb from Polydorus is: Non omnibus dormio (English: I'm not asleep to everything).
Proverbium Perbreve of the Day: Today's two-word proverb is: Iusiurandum serva (English: Keep your sworn word).
Proverbium Breve of the Day: Today's three-word proverb is: Ut migraturus habita (English: Live as if you were about to move).
Vulgate Verse of the Day: Today's verse is Qui non est mecum, contra me est (Matt. 12:30). 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 Enumerat miles vulnera, pastor oves (English: The soldier counts his wounds, the shepherd counts his sheep).
Latin Animal Proverb of the Day from Erasmus: Today's animal proverb is Asinum sub freno currere doces (English: You're teaching a donkey to run with a bridle; from Adagia 1.4.40 - this is another one of those fool's tasks; you're supposed to use a horse, not a donkey, if you're running a race).
Proper Name Proverb of the Day from Erasmus: Today's proper name proverb is Colophonia ferocitas (English: Fierce as the the people of Colophon; from Adagia 2.1.13 - the people of Colophon in Ionia were proverbial for their aggressive behavior).
Greek Proverb of the Day: Today's proverb is Πολλοί τοι ναρθηκοφόροι, παῦροι δὲ Βάκχοι (English: Many are those who carry the thyrsus, but few are the worshippers of Bacchus).
TODAY'S FABLES:
Ictibus Felicibus: Today's fable with macrons and accent marks is Agricola et Ciconia, the story of the stork who begged the farmer to spare her life on the basis of her good reputation.
Fable of the Day: Today's fable of the day from Barlow is DE ANU ET ANSERE, the famous story of the goose that laid the golden eggs.
The image today illustrates the little fable about the bird-catcher who stepped on a snake (see above), taken from a Tar Heel Reader:
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Round-Up: November 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 tertium decimum Kalendas Decembres. 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. The lines today come again from the collection of distichs attributed to "Cato," with a word list at NoDictionaries.com as usual:
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 is full of praise for Caesar's efforts in Gaul: Bellorum autem quae deinceps gessit et expeditionum quibus Galliam domuit tempus eum, quasi alio exorsum initio aliaque uiuendi atque agendi ingressum uia, non ullo eorum qui summi et maxime apud omnes in admiratione habentur ducum inferiorem commonstrauit et pugnandi laude et imperandi. (watch out for the negative non which is so far away from the verb: it really is praising Caesar for NOT being inferior!)
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: Graculus a graculo, fur a fure cognoscitur, lupus a lupo (English: One daw knows another, as thief knows thief and wolf knows wolf - a saying posted in reply to passer_invenit's marvelous Twitter picture of a graculus).
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 Mons parturibat, deinde murem prodidit (English: The mountain was giving birth; it finally brought forth a mouse). 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 one of my personal favorites! Discipulus est prioris posterior dies (English: The day after is the student of the day before… in other words: lifelong learning!).
Rhyming Proverbs: Today's proverb in Leonine verse form is: Et semel emissum volat irrevocabile verbum (English: As soon as it is let loose, a word flies forth and cannot be recalled… so: think before you speak!).
Proverbs of Polydorus: Today's proverb from Polydorus is: Acti labores iucundi sunt (English: Work, once done, is pleasant… which is a great thought to have in mind at almost-the-end of the semester).
Proverbium Perbreve of the Day: Today's two-word proverb is: Moderata durant. (English: Things in moderation endure - as oppose to the precarious status of things at either extreme).
Proverbium Breve of the Day: Today's three-word proverb is: Dura domina cupiditas (English: Desire is a harsh mistress… mainly because she is never satisfied!).
Vulgate Verse of the Day: Today's verse is Durum est tibi contra stimulum calcitrare (Acts 26:14). 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 Falco meis sed talpa tuis erroribus exstas (English: You turn out to be a falcon in detecting my mistakes, but (blind as) a mole in detecting your own!).
Latin Animal Proverb of the Day from Erasmus: Today's animal proverb is Aesopicus graculus (English: Aesop's jackdaw; from Adagia 3.6.91 - referring to the fable of the jackdaw in borrowed feathers… what a funny coincidence that is the "day of the graculus" here at the blog).
Proper Name Proverb of the Day from Erasmus: Today's proper name proverb is Battologia (English: Speaking like Battus; from Adagia 2.1.92 - this idea of "Battology" refers to a proverbially inept poet named Battus who wrote long hymns that repeated the same thing over and over. ).
Greek Proverb of the Day: Today's proverb is Καὶ φιλεῖν δεῖ, ὡς καὶ μισήσοντας· καὶ μισεῖν, ὡς καὶ φιλήσοντας. (English: You should both love as if it would turn to hate, and hate, as if it would turn to love).
TODAY'S FABLES:
Fable of the Day: Today's fable of the day from Barlow is DE CANE ET UMBRA, the famous story of the dog who was fooled by his own reflection in the water.
Ictibus Felicibus: Today's fable with macrons and accent marks is Ranae et Rex Earum, the story of the frogs who foolishly thought they needed a king. Here is an illustration for the story by Walter Crane (image source).
HODIE: ante diem tertium decimum Kalendas Decembres. 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. The lines today come again from the collection of distichs attributed to "Cato," with a word list at NoDictionaries.com as usual:
Quod vile est, carum, quod carum, vile putato:English: Regard what is worthless as if it were precious, and what is precious as if it were worthless: in this way no one will think you either greedy or selfish." What a great little paradoxical saying! If you can count what is worthless as if it were precious, you will be satisfied with your possessions, no matter how worthless, and thus escape the danger of cupiditas, and if you can count something precious as if it were worthless, you will be able to gladly give your possessions away, even your precious ones, avoiding the danger of avaritia.
Sic tu nec cupidus nec avarus nosceris ulli.
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 is full of praise for Caesar's efforts in Gaul: Bellorum autem quae deinceps gessit et expeditionum quibus Galliam domuit tempus eum, quasi alio exorsum initio aliaque uiuendi atque agendi ingressum uia, non ullo eorum qui summi et maxime apud omnes in admiratione habentur ducum inferiorem commonstrauit et pugnandi laude et imperandi. (watch out for the negative non which is so far away from the verb: it really is praising Caesar for NOT being inferior!)
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: Graculus a graculo, fur a fure cognoscitur, lupus a lupo (English: One daw knows another, as thief knows thief and wolf knows wolf - a saying posted in reply to passer_invenit's marvelous Twitter picture of a graculus).
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 Mons parturibat, deinde murem prodidit (English: The mountain was giving birth; it finally brought forth a mouse). 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 one of my personal favorites! Discipulus est prioris posterior dies (English: The day after is the student of the day before… in other words: lifelong learning!).
Rhyming Proverbs: Today's proverb in Leonine verse form is: Et semel emissum volat irrevocabile verbum (English: As soon as it is let loose, a word flies forth and cannot be recalled… so: think before you speak!).
Proverbs of Polydorus: Today's proverb from Polydorus is: Acti labores iucundi sunt (English: Work, once done, is pleasant… which is a great thought to have in mind at almost-the-end of the semester).
Proverbium Perbreve of the Day: Today's two-word proverb is: Moderata durant. (English: Things in moderation endure - as oppose to the precarious status of things at either extreme).
Proverbium Breve of the Day: Today's three-word proverb is: Dura domina cupiditas (English: Desire is a harsh mistress… mainly because she is never satisfied!).
Vulgate Verse of the Day: Today's verse is Durum est tibi contra stimulum calcitrare (Acts 26:14). 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 Falco meis sed talpa tuis erroribus exstas (English: You turn out to be a falcon in detecting my mistakes, but (blind as) a mole in detecting your own!).
Latin Animal Proverb of the Day from Erasmus: Today's animal proverb is Aesopicus graculus (English: Aesop's jackdaw; from Adagia 3.6.91 - referring to the fable of the jackdaw in borrowed feathers… what a funny coincidence that is the "day of the graculus" here at the blog).
Proper Name Proverb of the Day from Erasmus: Today's proper name proverb is Battologia (English: Speaking like Battus; from Adagia 2.1.92 - this idea of "Battology" refers to a proverbially inept poet named Battus who wrote long hymns that repeated the same thing over and over. ).
Greek Proverb of the Day: Today's proverb is Καὶ φιλεῖν δεῖ, ὡς καὶ μισήσοντας· καὶ μισεῖν, ὡς καὶ φιλήσοντας. (English: You should both love as if it would turn to hate, and hate, as if it would turn to love).
TODAY'S FABLES:
Fable of the Day: Today's fable of the day from Barlow is DE CANE ET UMBRA, the famous story of the dog who was fooled by his own reflection in the water.
Ictibus Felicibus: Today's fable with macrons and accent marks is Ranae et Rex Earum, the story of the frogs who foolishly thought they needed a king. Here is an illustration for the story by Walter Crane (image source).
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Round-Up: November 18
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 Decembres. 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's verses are from the wondering little rhymes and word-games collected by Wegeler, with a word list at NoDictionaries.com as usual:
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 is a bit of a pause before launching into the next phase of Caesar's life: Talia eius ante Gallicum bellum facta fuerunt.
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: Ad opus manum admovendo Fortunam invoca (English: Invoke Fortune by setting your hand to the work).
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 Non gladio, sed gratia (English: Not with the sword, but with kindness). 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: Etiam sine lege poena est conscientia (English: Even without law, conscience is a punishment).
Rhyming Proverbs: Today's proverb in Leonine verse form is: Communis sors est, quod cunctis debita mors est. (English: It is our common lot that death is an obligation to all).
Proverbs of Polydorus: Today's proverb from Polydorus is: Egregia musica quae sit abscondita, nulli rei est (English: Outstanding music, if it is hidden, is of no account… which always makes me think of those "mute inglorious Miltons" in Gray's country churchyard).
Proverbium Perbreve of the Day: Today's two-word proverb is: Pax vobiscum (English: Peace be with you… and the Latin, of course, can safely omit the "be").
Proverbium Breve of the Day: Today's three-word proverb is: Facilia sapientibus cuncta (English: All things are easy for those who are wise).
Vulgate Verse of the Day: Today's verse is Sol non occidat super iracundiam vestram (Eph. 4:26). 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 Etiam me meae latrant canes (English: My own dogs are even barking at me - a saying you can find in Plautus's Poenulus).
Latin Animal Proverb of the Day from Erasmus: Today's animal proverb is Sus acina dependet (English: The pig will pay the price for eating the grapes; from Adagia 3.4.23 - Erasmus actually cites a version where a farmer is speaking to the pig, telling the pig that it's going to pay the price for having eaten the grapes from the vine: Sus, acina dependes!, the idea being that for some small offense such as eating some grapes, you run the risk of a terrible penalty).
Proper Name Proverb of the Day from Erasmus: Today's proper name proverb is Atticus aspectus (English: The Attic look; from Adagia 1.9.42 - given the proverbial character of the people of Athens, this referred to someone whose facial expression showed self-confidence and boldness, before they even spoke a single word).
Greek Proverb of the Day: Today's proverb is Πρὸς σῆμα μητρυιᾶς κλαίει (English: He's weeping at the grave of his stepmother… so, to borrow another proverb, you could say he is crying crocodile tears!).
TODAY'S FABLES:
Fable of the Day: Today's fable of the day from Barlow is DE EQUO ET LEONE, the story of the horse and the lion, an example of the trickster tricked.
Ictibus Felicibus: Today's fable with macrons and accent marks is Auceps et Palumbes, the story of the man hunting a bird who fell victim to his own ambitions! This is one of the fables I adapted for Tar Heel Reader, in a "play" format where the lines are all spoken by the characters in the story. Here's an illustration from that reader:
HODIE: ante diem quartum decimum Kalendas Decembres. 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's verses are from the wondering little rhymes and word-games collected by Wegeler, with a word list at NoDictionaries.com as usual:
Vita evanescet, corpus mortale putrescet:English: "Life vanishes, and the mortal body decays: Smoke we are, dung we become." Of course, the charm of the thing is quite lost without the Latin play on words: fimus fimus, "dung we become." :-)
Fumus sumus, fimus fimus.
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 is a bit of a pause before launching into the next phase of Caesar's life: Talia eius ante Gallicum bellum facta fuerunt.
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: Ad opus manum admovendo Fortunam invoca (English: Invoke Fortune by setting your hand to the work).
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 Non gladio, sed gratia (English: Not with the sword, but with kindness). 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: Etiam sine lege poena est conscientia (English: Even without law, conscience is a punishment).
Rhyming Proverbs: Today's proverb in Leonine verse form is: Communis sors est, quod cunctis debita mors est. (English: It is our common lot that death is an obligation to all).
Proverbs of Polydorus: Today's proverb from Polydorus is: Egregia musica quae sit abscondita, nulli rei est (English: Outstanding music, if it is hidden, is of no account… which always makes me think of those "mute inglorious Miltons" in Gray's country churchyard).
Proverbium Perbreve of the Day: Today's two-word proverb is: Pax vobiscum (English: Peace be with you… and the Latin, of course, can safely omit the "be").
Proverbium Breve of the Day: Today's three-word proverb is: Facilia sapientibus cuncta (English: All things are easy for those who are wise).
Vulgate Verse of the Day: Today's verse is Sol non occidat super iracundiam vestram (Eph. 4:26). 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 Etiam me meae latrant canes (English: My own dogs are even barking at me - a saying you can find in Plautus's Poenulus).
Latin Animal Proverb of the Day from Erasmus: Today's animal proverb is Sus acina dependet (English: The pig will pay the price for eating the grapes; from Adagia 3.4.23 - Erasmus actually cites a version where a farmer is speaking to the pig, telling the pig that it's going to pay the price for having eaten the grapes from the vine: Sus, acina dependes!, the idea being that for some small offense such as eating some grapes, you run the risk of a terrible penalty).
Proper Name Proverb of the Day from Erasmus: Today's proper name proverb is Atticus aspectus (English: The Attic look; from Adagia 1.9.42 - given the proverbial character of the people of Athens, this referred to someone whose facial expression showed self-confidence and boldness, before they even spoke a single word).
Greek Proverb of the Day: Today's proverb is Πρὸς σῆμα μητρυιᾶς κλαίει (English: He's weeping at the grave of his stepmother… so, to borrow another proverb, you could say he is crying crocodile tears!).
TODAY'S FABLES:
Fable of the Day: Today's fable of the day from Barlow is DE EQUO ET LEONE, the story of the horse and the lion, an example of the trickster tricked.
Ictibus Felicibus: Today's fable with macrons and accent marks is Auceps et Palumbes, the story of the man hunting a bird who fell victim to his own ambitions! This is one of the fables I adapted for Tar Heel Reader, in a "play" format where the lines are all spoken by the characters in the story. Here's an illustration from that reader:
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Round-Up: November 17
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 quintum decimum Kalendas Decembres. 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's lines are a bit of dactylic verse from Horace, with a word list at NoDictionaries.com as usual:
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 features Caesar's enmity with Cicero: Ad eum autem magistratum promotus est, ut Ciceronem euerteret; neque prius Caesar ad exercitum abiit, quam opera Clodii Ciceronem oppressisset eumque Italia expulisset.
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: Tres res sunt quae omnes homines sollicitent: metus, cupiditas, aegritudo (English: There are three things which trouble all people: fear, desire, pain - although that Latin word aegritudo is hard to translate, since it can refer to the physical pains of sickness but also anguish of the soul).
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 Regnant qualibet urbe lupi (English: Wolves reign in every city). 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: Cotidie multatur, qui semper timet (English: If you are always afraid, you pay the price of fear every day).
Rhyming Proverbs: Today's proverb in Leonine verse form is: Decipiuntur aves per cantus saepe suaves (English: The birds are often deceived by sweet songs).
Proverbs of Polydorus: Today's proverb from Polydorus is: Davus sum, non Oedipus (English: I am Davus, not Oedipus - a famous line from Terence's Andria where a character insists that he is not able to solve riddles, as Oedipus so notoriously did).
Proverbium Perbreve of the Day: Today's two-word proverb is: Minori parce (English: Be sparing to your subordinate - one of the items in Cato's monostichs).
Proverbium Breve of the Day: Today's three-word proverb is: Condit fercla fames (English: Hunger seasons the food - much like the English saying, "hunger is the best sauce").
Vulgate Verse of the Day: Today's verse is In igne probatur aurum et argentum, homines vero in camino humiliationis (Sirach 2:5). 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 A fronte praecipitium, a tergo lupi (English: A cliff in front and wolves behind - an animal version of "between a rock and a hard place").
Latin Animal Proverb of the Day from Erasmus: Today's animal proverb is Lupus ante clamorem festinat (English: The wolf hurries away before a shout is raised; from Adagia 2.7.79).
Proper Name Proverb of the Day from Erasmus: Today's proper name proverb is Felix Corinthus, at ego sim Teneates (English: Corinth is a happy place, but I would rather be in Tenea; from Adagia 2.5.57 - Tenea was a village near Corinth, well-wooded and prosperous).
Greek Proverb of the Day: Today's proverb is Πόρρω Διός τε καὶ κεραυνοῦ (English: Far both from Zeus and from his thunderbolt).
TODAY'S FABLES:
Fable of the Day: Today's fable of the day from Barlow is DE VULPE SINE CAUDA, the story of a fox who had lost its tail and tried to persuade its fellow foxes to do the same.
Ictibus Felicibus: Today's fable with macrons and accent marks is Lupus et Grus, the story of the crane who foolishly did a favor for a wolf… this is definitely the day for wolf proverbs and fables! Here is an illustration for the story by Walter Crane (image source) - the story of the wolf and the crane is the one on the left:
HODIE: ante diem quintum decimum Kalendas Decembres. 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's lines are a bit of dactylic verse from Horace, with a word list at NoDictionaries.com as usual:
[...] Vitanda est inproba SirenEnglish: "You must avoid the wicked Siren that is sloth, or else set aside without regret whatever you have obtained in a better time of life." I love the idea of the Siren-song of sloth... I can always hear her calling loud and clear on Monday morning, luring me back to bed, ha ha. You can read the entire satire online in English here.
desidia, aut quidquid vita meliore parasti
ponendum aequo animo.
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 features Caesar's enmity with Cicero: Ad eum autem magistratum promotus est, ut Ciceronem euerteret; neque prius Caesar ad exercitum abiit, quam opera Clodii Ciceronem oppressisset eumque Italia expulisset.
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: Tres res sunt quae omnes homines sollicitent: metus, cupiditas, aegritudo (English: There are three things which trouble all people: fear, desire, pain - although that Latin word aegritudo is hard to translate, since it can refer to the physical pains of sickness but also anguish of the soul).
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 Regnant qualibet urbe lupi (English: Wolves reign in every city). 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: Cotidie multatur, qui semper timet (English: If you are always afraid, you pay the price of fear every day).
Rhyming Proverbs: Today's proverb in Leonine verse form is: Decipiuntur aves per cantus saepe suaves (English: The birds are often deceived by sweet songs).
Proverbs of Polydorus: Today's proverb from Polydorus is: Davus sum, non Oedipus (English: I am Davus, not Oedipus - a famous line from Terence's Andria where a character insists that he is not able to solve riddles, as Oedipus so notoriously did).
Proverbium Perbreve of the Day: Today's two-word proverb is: Minori parce (English: Be sparing to your subordinate - one of the items in Cato's monostichs).
Proverbium Breve of the Day: Today's three-word proverb is: Condit fercla fames (English: Hunger seasons the food - much like the English saying, "hunger is the best sauce").
Vulgate Verse of the Day: Today's verse is In igne probatur aurum et argentum, homines vero in camino humiliationis (Sirach 2:5). 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 A fronte praecipitium, a tergo lupi (English: A cliff in front and wolves behind - an animal version of "between a rock and a hard place").
Latin Animal Proverb of the Day from Erasmus: Today's animal proverb is Lupus ante clamorem festinat (English: The wolf hurries away before a shout is raised; from Adagia 2.7.79).
Proper Name Proverb of the Day from Erasmus: Today's proper name proverb is Felix Corinthus, at ego sim Teneates (English: Corinth is a happy place, but I would rather be in Tenea; from Adagia 2.5.57 - Tenea was a village near Corinth, well-wooded and prosperous).
Greek Proverb of the Day: Today's proverb is Πόρρω Διός τε καὶ κεραυνοῦ (English: Far both from Zeus and from his thunderbolt).
TODAY'S FABLES:
Fable of the Day: Today's fable of the day from Barlow is DE VULPE SINE CAUDA, the story of a fox who had lost its tail and tried to persuade its fellow foxes to do the same.
Ictibus Felicibus: Today's fable with macrons and accent marks is Lupus et Grus, the story of the crane who foolishly did a favor for a wolf… this is definitely the day for wolf proverbs and fables! Here is an illustration for the story by Walter Crane (image source) - the story of the wolf and the crane is the one on the left:
Monday, November 16, 2009
Round-Up: November 16
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 sextum decimum Kalendas Decembres. 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. It's another one of the distichs popularly attributed to Cato, with a word list at NoDictionaries.com as usual:
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 returns the scandalous Clodius to the forefront: Omnium autem factorum id turpissimum uidebatur, quod Caesare consule Clodius ille tribunus plebis est factus, qui coniugium Caesaris et arcana peruigilia polluerat.
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: Magnus liber magnum malum (English: A big book is a big evil - a saying made famous by the Greek poet and scholar Callimachus, μέγα βιβλίον μέγα κακόν).
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 Ditior Croeso (English: Richer than Croesus). 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: Late ignis lucere, ut nihil urat, non potest (English: A flame's light cannot be seen from afar without it burning something - a saying that always reminds me of Herostratus, who set fire to the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus in a quest to achieve fame, even if for a notorious crime).
Rhyming Proverbs: Today's proverb in Leonine verse form is: Casus dementis correctio fit sapientis (English: The downfall of the witless person becomes a lesson for the wise man).
Proverbs of Polydorus: Today's proverb from Polydorus is: Fallacia alia aliam trudit (English: One trick supplants another - in other words, turn-about is fair play!).
Proverbium Perbreve of the Day: Today's two-word proverb is: Veritas elucescit (English: The truth shines forth).
Proverbium Breve of the Day: Today's three-word proverb is: Divitiae pariunt curas (English: Riches give birth to worries - this is the negative sense of Latin cura, as concern, worry).
Vulgate Verse of the Day: Today's verse is Numquid potest caecus caecum ducere? Nonne ambo in foveam cadent? (Luke 6:39). 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 Lupi alas quaeris (English: You're looking for wings on a wolf… which is definitely a fool's errand, as you will not find any!).
Latin Animal Proverb of the Day from Erasmus: Today's animal proverb is Homo homini lupus (English: Man is a wolf to man; from Adagia 1.1.70 - and it is a saying famous enough to have its own Wikipedia article).
Proper Name Proverb of the Day from Erasmus: Today's proper name proverb is Midae divitiae (English: The wealth of Midas; from Adagia 1.6.24 - and it's a paradoxical proverb, of course, since wealth did not bring happiness to Midas; rather, as in the proverb cited above, it just brought him worries, as everything he touched turned to gold).
Greek Proverb of the Day: Today's proverb is Ἀιθίοψ οὐ λευκαίνεται (English: The Aethiopian does not turn white… as the leopard does not change his spots; you can find both sayings in the Bible).
TODAY'S FABLES:
Fable of the Day: Today's fable of the day from Barlow is DE PISCATORE ET PISCICULO, the story of the fisherman and the little fish.
Ictibus Felicibus: Today's fable with macrons and accent marks is Cervus in Aquas Inspiciens, the story of a stag with a serious body-image problem. Here's an image from one of the Tar Heel Readers I composed for this fable:
HODIE: ante diem sextum decimum Kalendas Decembres. 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. It's another one of the distichs popularly attributed to Cato, with a word list at NoDictionaries.com as usual:
Tempora longa tibi noli promittere vitae:English: "Do not count on having a long lifetime: wherever you go, your death follows you (like) the body's shadow." Of course, the metaphor of death as a shadow that never leaves you is a powerful one that has been used in proverbs and poetry throughout the ages - very brilliantly in Philip Pullman's Dark Materials trilogy, to take a modern example, where everyone has a death that comes into the world of the living with them, and follows behind them unseen, until finally it takes them away: "Your death taps you on the shoulder, or takes your hand, and says, Come along; it's time.'"
Quocumque incedis, sequitur mors corporis umbra.
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 returns the scandalous Clodius to the forefront: Omnium autem factorum id turpissimum uidebatur, quod Caesare consule Clodius ille tribunus plebis est factus, qui coniugium Caesaris et arcana peruigilia polluerat.
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: Magnus liber magnum malum (English: A big book is a big evil - a saying made famous by the Greek poet and scholar Callimachus, μέγα βιβλίον μέγα κακόν).
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 Ditior Croeso (English: Richer than Croesus). 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: Late ignis lucere, ut nihil urat, non potest (English: A flame's light cannot be seen from afar without it burning something - a saying that always reminds me of Herostratus, who set fire to the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus in a quest to achieve fame, even if for a notorious crime).
Rhyming Proverbs: Today's proverb in Leonine verse form is: Casus dementis correctio fit sapientis (English: The downfall of the witless person becomes a lesson for the wise man).
Proverbs of Polydorus: Today's proverb from Polydorus is: Fallacia alia aliam trudit (English: One trick supplants another - in other words, turn-about is fair play!).
Proverbium Perbreve of the Day: Today's two-word proverb is: Veritas elucescit (English: The truth shines forth).
Proverbium Breve of the Day: Today's three-word proverb is: Divitiae pariunt curas (English: Riches give birth to worries - this is the negative sense of Latin cura, as concern, worry).
Vulgate Verse of the Day: Today's verse is Numquid potest caecus caecum ducere? Nonne ambo in foveam cadent? (Luke 6:39). 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 Lupi alas quaeris (English: You're looking for wings on a wolf… which is definitely a fool's errand, as you will not find any!).
Latin Animal Proverb of the Day from Erasmus: Today's animal proverb is Homo homini lupus (English: Man is a wolf to man; from Adagia 1.1.70 - and it is a saying famous enough to have its own Wikipedia article).
Proper Name Proverb of the Day from Erasmus: Today's proper name proverb is Midae divitiae (English: The wealth of Midas; from Adagia 1.6.24 - and it's a paradoxical proverb, of course, since wealth did not bring happiness to Midas; rather, as in the proverb cited above, it just brought him worries, as everything he touched turned to gold).
Greek Proverb of the Day: Today's proverb is Ἀιθίοψ οὐ λευκαίνεται (English: The Aethiopian does not turn white… as the leopard does not change his spots; you can find both sayings in the Bible).
TODAY'S FABLES:
Fable of the Day: Today's fable of the day from Barlow is DE PISCATORE ET PISCICULO, the story of the fisherman and the little fish.
Ictibus Felicibus: Today's fable with macrons and accent marks is Cervus in Aquas Inspiciens, the story of a stag with a serious body-image problem. Here's an image from one of the Tar Heel Readers I composed for this fable:
Friday, November 13, 2009
Round-Up: November 13 - November 15
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: Idus Novembres, the Ides of November. 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. This is another one of the delightful little epigrams of Owen, with a word list at NoDictionaries.com as usual:
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 contains a stinging rebuke of Caesar by the senator Considius! Cuius rei cum causam Considius quidam admodum senex redderet, armorum et militum metu fieri ut non conueniretur dicens. Quid ergo, inquit Caesar, non tu quoque domi te contines, eadem timens? Et Considius: Metu me senectus liberat; quod enim reliquum est uitae, exiguum cum sit, non magna cura indiget.
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 about the best laid plans of mice and men: Quam miserum est, ubi consilium casu vincitur! (English: How wretched it is when a good plan is defeated by chance).
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 Nemo ante mortem beatus (English: No one [can be called] happy before his death.). 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: Quam miserum officium est, quod successum non habet (English: How wretched is the job which has no success!).
Rhyming Proverbs: Today's proverb in Leonine verse form is: Munera per gentes corrumpunt undique mentes (English: Among people everywhere, bribes corrupt judgments).
Proverbs of Polydorus: Today's proverb from Polydorus is: Percutiam pastorem, et dispergentur oves gregis (English: I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be dispersed).
Proverbium Perbreve of the Day: Today's two-word proverb is: Gratia referenda (English: A favor should be returned - a very nice example of the "gerundive of necessity" as it's sometimes called in Latin).
Proverbium Breve of the Day: Today's three-word proverb is: Misceo iocis seria (English: I blend serious things with humorous things... which is true indeed: the proverbs each day usually contain a mix of both!).
Vulgate Verse of the Day: Today's verse is Melior est qui dominatur animo suo expugnatore urbium (Proverbs 16:32). 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 Cautus metuit foveam lupus (English: The cautious wolf fears the pitfall).
Latin Animal Proverb of the Day from Erasmus: Today's animal proverb is Sine canibus et retibus (English: Without dogs or nets; from Adagia 4.8.78 - this refers to someone who is pursuing the deer at high speed, not being slowed by dogs or nets, ready to make the attack single-handed.).
Proper Name Proverb of the Day from Erasmus: Today's proper name proverb is Ne Hercules quidem adversus duos (English: Not even Hercules fights against two at once; from Adagia 1.5.39).
Greek Proverb of the Day: Today's proverb is Χαλεπὸν τὸ ἑαυτὸν γνῶναι, ἀλλὰ μακάριον (English: It is difficult to know oneself, but to do so is a thing of great happiness).
TODAY'S FABLES:
Ictibus Felicibus: Today's fable with macrons and accent marks is Puer Mendax, the famous story of the boy who cried "Wolf!"
Fable of the Day: Today's fable of the day from Barlow is DE FORMICA ET COLUMBA, the story of two little creatures, the ant and the dove, who came to one another's aid.
For an image today, in honor of Heracles taking on his opponents one at a time - Ne Hercules quidem adversus duos - I thought I would include this beautiful vase painting that shows Heracles battling Nereus, the "old man of the sea."
HODIE: Idus Novembres, the Ides of November. 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. This is another one of the delightful little epigrams of Owen, with a word list at NoDictionaries.com as usual:
Fit melior laudando bonus, peiorque malignus,English: "A good person becomes better by praise, but it makes a bad person worse; the clever person becomes more cautious, and the dullard becomes more stupid." I really like this one: it's the notion of "the rich get richer, and the poor get poorer" applied to personal qualities other than wealth. For an example of caution in the animal world, see the proverb about the cautus lupus below!
Cautior astutus, || simplicior stolidus.
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 contains a stinging rebuke of Caesar by the senator Considius! Cuius rei cum causam Considius quidam admodum senex redderet, armorum et militum metu fieri ut non conueniretur dicens. Quid ergo, inquit Caesar, non tu quoque domi te contines, eadem timens? Et Considius: Metu me senectus liberat; quod enim reliquum est uitae, exiguum cum sit, non magna cura indiget.
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 about the best laid plans of mice and men: Quam miserum est, ubi consilium casu vincitur! (English: How wretched it is when a good plan is defeated by chance).
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 Nemo ante mortem beatus (English: No one [can be called] happy before his death.). 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: Quam miserum officium est, quod successum non habet (English: How wretched is the job which has no success!).
Rhyming Proverbs: Today's proverb in Leonine verse form is: Munera per gentes corrumpunt undique mentes (English: Among people everywhere, bribes corrupt judgments).
Proverbs of Polydorus: Today's proverb from Polydorus is: Percutiam pastorem, et dispergentur oves gregis (English: I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be dispersed).
Proverbium Perbreve of the Day: Today's two-word proverb is: Gratia referenda (English: A favor should be returned - a very nice example of the "gerundive of necessity" as it's sometimes called in Latin).
Proverbium Breve of the Day: Today's three-word proverb is: Misceo iocis seria (English: I blend serious things with humorous things... which is true indeed: the proverbs each day usually contain a mix of both!).
Vulgate Verse of the Day: Today's verse is Melior est qui dominatur animo suo expugnatore urbium (Proverbs 16:32). 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 Cautus metuit foveam lupus (English: The cautious wolf fears the pitfall).
Latin Animal Proverb of the Day from Erasmus: Today's animal proverb is Sine canibus et retibus (English: Without dogs or nets; from Adagia 4.8.78 - this refers to someone who is pursuing the deer at high speed, not being slowed by dogs or nets, ready to make the attack single-handed.).
Proper Name Proverb of the Day from Erasmus: Today's proper name proverb is Ne Hercules quidem adversus duos (English: Not even Hercules fights against two at once; from Adagia 1.5.39).
Greek Proverb of the Day: Today's proverb is Χαλεπὸν τὸ ἑαυτὸν γνῶναι, ἀλλὰ μακάριον (English: It is difficult to know oneself, but to do so is a thing of great happiness).
TODAY'S FABLES:
Ictibus Felicibus: Today's fable with macrons and accent marks is Puer Mendax, the famous story of the boy who cried "Wolf!"
Fable of the Day: Today's fable of the day from Barlow is DE FORMICA ET COLUMBA, the story of two little creatures, the ant and the dove, who came to one another's aid.
For an image today, in honor of Heracles taking on his opponents one at a time - Ne Hercules quidem adversus duos - I thought I would include this beautiful vase painting that shows Heracles battling Nereus, the "old man of the sea."
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Round-Up: November 12
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: pridie Idus 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's poem is one of the rhyming verses collected by Wegeler, with a word list at NoDictionaries.com as usual:
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 continues a description of Caesar's alienation from the Senate: De reliquis senatoribus perpauci in Curiam exinde uentitabant; ceteri indignitate eorum quae fiebant moti publico abstinebant.
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 about wealth and wickedness: Pluit vitium ubi pluit aurum (English: When it rains gold, it rains wickedness).
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 Dat verba in ventos (English: He's pouring words out on the winds). 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: Ad paenitendum properat, cito qui iudicat (English: Someone who is quick to judge will soon regret it).
Rhyming Proverbs: Today's proverb in Leonine verse form is one of my very favorites! Dum canis os rodit, socium, quem diligit, odit (English: While the dog is gnawing a bone, he hates the companion whom he had loved).
Proverbs of Polydorus: Today's proverb from Polydorus is: Adulterinae plantae non dabunt radices altas (English: Hybrid plants will not produce deep roots).
Proverbium Perbreve of the Day: Today's two-word proverb is: Vero verius (English: Truer than truth... which sounds just as paradoxical in Latin as it does in English).
Proverbium Breve of the Day: Today's three-word proverb is: Post spinas palma (English: After thorns, the palm... which is to say, you have to be prepared to suffer in order to win the victory).
Vulgate Verse of the Day: Today's verse is Lingua inquietum malum, plena veneno mortifero (James 3:8). 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 Felibus domo absentibus, mures saltant. (English: When the cats are away from the house, the mice leap... much like the English, "when the cat's away, the mice play").
Latin Animal Proverb of the Day from Erasmus: Today's animal proverb is Capra nondum peperit, haedus autem ludit in tectis (English: The goat hasn't given birth yet, but the kid is already playing on the rooftops - a variation on the same notion as 'counting your chickens before they're hatched' - from Adagia 2.6.10).
Proper Name Proverb of the Day from Erasmus: Today's proper name proverb is Odium Vatinianum (English: Hatred as if for Vatinius; from Adagia 2.2.94 - Vatinius, a politician of Republican Rome, and a proverbial object of hatred; he was a particular enemy of Cicero, among others).
Greek Proverb of the Day: Today's proverb is Καθ' ἑαυτοῦ Βελλεροφόντης (English: Bellerophon against himself... an allusion to the famous "letter of Bellerophon" in which he brought the instructions for his own execution - a motif, by the way, which I saw used in a great film by Sam Mendes, Road to Perdition, which I watched this past weekend!).
TODAY'S FABLES:
Fable of the Day: Today's fable of the day from Barlow is DE IUVENE ET HIRUNDINE, a fable which proves the proverb that "one swallow does not make a summer."
Ictibus Felicibus: Today's fable with macrons and accent marks is Cicada et Formica, the famous story of the lazy cricket and the industrious ant.
For an image today, I thought I would grab one of the pages from the Tar Heel reader I created for the story of the ant and the cricket:
HODIE: pridie Idus 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's poem is one of the rhyming verses collected by Wegeler, with a word list at NoDictionaries.com as usual:
Fertur in conviviis Vinus, Vina, Vinum,English: "Vinus, Vina and Vinum are brought to the banquet; the masculine Vinus is not right, nor is the feminine Vina, but in the neuter form Vinum, good wine, makes a cleric speak the very finest Latinum." I was delighted to see that in addition to the version I found in Wegeler, there are all kinds of variations on this bit of medieval verse; you can see some of them here at the ChoralWiki, because they form part of a 16th-century composition by Orlando di Lasso.
Masculinum displicet atque femininum,
Sed in neutro genere vinum, bonum vinum
Loqui facit clericum optime Latinum.
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 continues a description of Caesar's alienation from the Senate: De reliquis senatoribus perpauci in Curiam exinde uentitabant; ceteri indignitate eorum quae fiebant moti publico abstinebant.
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 about wealth and wickedness: Pluit vitium ubi pluit aurum (English: When it rains gold, it rains wickedness).
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 Dat verba in ventos (English: He's pouring words out on the winds). 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: Ad paenitendum properat, cito qui iudicat (English: Someone who is quick to judge will soon regret it).
Rhyming Proverbs: Today's proverb in Leonine verse form is one of my very favorites! Dum canis os rodit, socium, quem diligit, odit (English: While the dog is gnawing a bone, he hates the companion whom he had loved).
Proverbs of Polydorus: Today's proverb from Polydorus is: Adulterinae plantae non dabunt radices altas (English: Hybrid plants will not produce deep roots).
Proverbium Perbreve of the Day: Today's two-word proverb is: Vero verius (English: Truer than truth... which sounds just as paradoxical in Latin as it does in English).
Proverbium Breve of the Day: Today's three-word proverb is: Post spinas palma (English: After thorns, the palm... which is to say, you have to be prepared to suffer in order to win the victory).
Vulgate Verse of the Day: Today's verse is Lingua inquietum malum, plena veneno mortifero (James 3:8). 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 Felibus domo absentibus, mures saltant. (English: When the cats are away from the house, the mice leap... much like the English, "when the cat's away, the mice play").
Latin Animal Proverb of the Day from Erasmus: Today's animal proverb is Capra nondum peperit, haedus autem ludit in tectis (English: The goat hasn't given birth yet, but the kid is already playing on the rooftops - a variation on the same notion as 'counting your chickens before they're hatched' - from Adagia 2.6.10).
Proper Name Proverb of the Day from Erasmus: Today's proper name proverb is Odium Vatinianum (English: Hatred as if for Vatinius; from Adagia 2.2.94 - Vatinius, a politician of Republican Rome, and a proverbial object of hatred; he was a particular enemy of Cicero, among others).
Greek Proverb of the Day: Today's proverb is Καθ' ἑαυτοῦ Βελλεροφόντης (English: Bellerophon against himself... an allusion to the famous "letter of Bellerophon" in which he brought the instructions for his own execution - a motif, by the way, which I saw used in a great film by Sam Mendes, Road to Perdition, which I watched this past weekend!).
TODAY'S FABLES:
Fable of the Day: Today's fable of the day from Barlow is DE IUVENE ET HIRUNDINE, a fable which proves the proverb that "one swallow does not make a summer."
Ictibus Felicibus: Today's fable with macrons and accent marks is Cicada et Formica, the famous story of the lazy cricket and the industrious ant.
For an image today, I thought I would grab one of the pages from the Tar Heel reader I created for the story of the ant and the cricket:
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Round-Up: November 11
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 tertium Idus 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's verses are from the distichs attributed to Cato, with a word list at NoDictionaries.com as usual:
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 describes the high regard in which Cato was held, forestalling Caesar's actions: sed cum tacitum ire, et non modo optimatibus id dolere factum, sed plebem etiam uerecundia uirtutis Catonis maestam uideret silentemque sequi, ipse clam unum de tribunis exorauit, ut Catonem eriperet.
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: Nemo cum diabolo iocatur impune (English: No one jokes around with the devil and escapes unharmed).
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 Tanti homo est sine amico, quanti corpus absque spiritu est (English: A person without a friend is worth as much as a body without breath). 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: Benignus etiam causam dandi cogitat (English: The generous man even invents reasons for giving).
Rhyming Proverbs: Today's proverb in Leonine verse form is: Non vult scire satur, quid ieiunus patiatur (English: The well-fed man does not want to know what the hungry man feels).
Proverbs of Polydorus: Today's proverb from Polydorus is: Pullus de nido avolat (English: The chick flies away from the nest... although in human terms, a lot of people sure are living with their parents these days!).
Proverbium Perbreve of the Day: Today's two-word proverb is: Cave paratus (English: Be ready and beware! - note the nice use of the participle together with the imperative; literally, "having readied yourself, beware").
Proverbium Breve of the Day: Today's three-word proverb is: Credula res amor (English: Love is a gullible thing - and thus quite different from the English truism that love is a "many-splendored thing").
Vulgate Verse of the Day: Today's verse is Laetare, iuvenis, in adulescentia tua (Ecc. 11:9). 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 Qui dat gallinam, aliquando recipit bovem (English: Someone who gives a hen every once in a while receives an ox ... and, of course, you probably don't literally want an ox, but metaphorically it's a fine very generous return!).
Latin Animal Proverb of the Day from Erasmus: Today's animal proverb is In saltu uno duos apros capere (English: To catch two boars in a single copse; from Adagia 3.6.63).
Proper Name Proverb of the Day from Erasmus: Today's proper name proverb is Cadmea victoria (English: A Cadmean victory; from Adagia 2.8.34 - this is a victory obtained at a great loss, referring to the men who sprang from the dragon teeth sown by Cadmus; they all attacked one another with savage ferocity so that in the end only a few were left to enjoy the victory).
Greek Proverb of the Day: Today's proverb is Μισῶ μνάμονα συμπόταν (English: I hate a drinking companion who has a good memory).
TODAY'S FABLES:
Fable of the Day: Today's fable of the day from Barlow is DE URSO ET ALVEARI, the story of a very angry bear and some equally angry bees.
Ictibus Felicibus: Today's fable with macrons and accent marks is Leo et Mus, a version of the story of the lion who did a favor for a mouse, and how the mouse returned the favor. Here is an illustration for the story (image source) by Aractingy:
HODIE: ante diem tertium Idus 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's verses are from the distichs attributed to Cato, with a word list at NoDictionaries.com as usual:
Successus nolito indigni ferre moleste:English: "Do not get upset by the successes enjoyed by an unworthy man; Fortune indulges the wicked in order to be able to conquer them." Note the use of that nice future imperative form, nolito. I wish they would give the future imperative a better name: I would happily call it the proverbial imperative, since it is a form you will find often in the proverbs. :-)
Indulget Fortuna malis, ut vincere possit.
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 describes the high regard in which Cato was held, forestalling Caesar's actions: sed cum tacitum ire, et non modo optimatibus id dolere factum, sed plebem etiam uerecundia uirtutis Catonis maestam uideret silentemque sequi, ipse clam unum de tribunis exorauit, ut Catonem eriperet.
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: Nemo cum diabolo iocatur impune (English: No one jokes around with the devil and escapes unharmed).
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 Tanti homo est sine amico, quanti corpus absque spiritu est (English: A person without a friend is worth as much as a body without breath). 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: Benignus etiam causam dandi cogitat (English: The generous man even invents reasons for giving).
Rhyming Proverbs: Today's proverb in Leonine verse form is: Non vult scire satur, quid ieiunus patiatur (English: The well-fed man does not want to know what the hungry man feels).
Proverbs of Polydorus: Today's proverb from Polydorus is: Pullus de nido avolat (English: The chick flies away from the nest... although in human terms, a lot of people sure are living with their parents these days!).
Proverbium Perbreve of the Day: Today's two-word proverb is: Cave paratus (English: Be ready and beware! - note the nice use of the participle together with the imperative; literally, "having readied yourself, beware").
Proverbium Breve of the Day: Today's three-word proverb is: Credula res amor (English: Love is a gullible thing - and thus quite different from the English truism that love is a "many-splendored thing").
Vulgate Verse of the Day: Today's verse is Laetare, iuvenis, in adulescentia tua (Ecc. 11:9). 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 Qui dat gallinam, aliquando recipit bovem (English: Someone who gives a hen every once in a while receives an ox ... and, of course, you probably don't literally want an ox, but metaphorically it's a fine very generous return!).
Latin Animal Proverb of the Day from Erasmus: Today's animal proverb is In saltu uno duos apros capere (English: To catch two boars in a single copse; from Adagia 3.6.63).
Proper Name Proverb of the Day from Erasmus: Today's proper name proverb is Cadmea victoria (English: A Cadmean victory; from Adagia 2.8.34 - this is a victory obtained at a great loss, referring to the men who sprang from the dragon teeth sown by Cadmus; they all attacked one another with savage ferocity so that in the end only a few were left to enjoy the victory).
Greek Proverb of the Day: Today's proverb is Μισῶ μνάμονα συμπόταν (English: I hate a drinking companion who has a good memory).
TODAY'S FABLES:
Fable of the Day: Today's fable of the day from Barlow is DE URSO ET ALVEARI, the story of a very angry bear and some equally angry bees.
Ictibus Felicibus: Today's fable with macrons and accent marks is Leo et Mus, a version of the story of the lion who did a favor for a mouse, and how the mouse returned the favor. Here is an illustration for the story (image source) by Aractingy:
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Round-Up: November 10
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 Idus 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's poem is one of the iambic fables by Desbillons, with a word list at NoDictionaries.com as usual:
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 explores the enmity between Caesar and Cato: Catonem his ausum contra contradicere, Caesar in carcerem abripuit, existimans eum tribunos plebis appellaturum.
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 about the dangers of the high life: Quo quisque est altior, eo est periculo proximior (English: The higher anyone is, the closer he is to danger).
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 Non mare transisset, pavidus si nauta fuisset (English: The sailor would not have crossed the sea, if he had been afraid). 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: Solet hora, quod multi anni abstulerunt, reddere (English: Often a single hour restores when many years had taken away).
Rhyming Proverbs: Today's proverb in Leonine verse form is: Nulla valet vita, nisi sit virtute polita (English: No life is worthwhile unless it is polished by virtue).
Proverbs of Polydorus: Today's proverb from Polydorus is: Homo ad laborem nascitur (English: Man is born to labor).
Proverbium Perbreve of the Day: Today's two-word proverb is: Aeternitatem cogita (English: Ponder what is eternal).
Proverbium Breve of the Day: Today's three-word proverb is: Florebo quocumque ferar (English: I will flourish wherever I am carried).
Vulgate Verse of the Day: Today's verse is Ne mittatis margaritas vestras ante porcos (Matt. 7:6). 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 Canes plurimum latrantes raro mordent (English: The dogs who bark most rarely bite).
Latin Animal Proverb of the Day from Erasmus: Today's animal proverb is Si vultur es, cadaver expecta (English: If you're a vulture, wait for the corpse; from Adagia 1.7.14 - a saying suited for those human "vultures" who are hoping to inherit from an old relative).
Proper Name Proverb of the Day from Erasmus: Today's proper name proverb is Thesssala mulier (English: A woman of Thessaly - in other words, a witch; from Adagia 1.3.12).
Greek Proverb of the Day: Today's proverb is Χαλεπὸν χορίου κύνα γεύειν (English: It is bad news when a dog has tasted the afterbirth... you want the dogs to herd the sheep, not eat them, after all; this is a saying you can find one of the idylls of Theocritus).
TODAY'S FABLES:
Ictibus Felicibus: Today's fable with macrons and accent marks is Rana et Bos, the story of the frog with a puffed-up sense of herself, so to speak.
Fable of the Day: Today's fable of the day from Barlow is DE GALLO GALLINACEO, the story of the rooster who found a precious gem in the dungheap.
In honor of Thessalian witches, I thought I would include this medieval image depicting the most famous of all Thessalian witches, Erichtho, from Lucan's Pharsalia:
HODIE: ante diem quartum Idus 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's poem is one of the iambic fables by Desbillons, with a word list at NoDictionaries.com as usual:
Ova Crocodili Gallina olim reperit,English: "A chicken once found the eggs of a crocodile and she sat on them until she hatched the chicks, but scarcely had the chicks begun to enjoy the gift of life when they killed their foster mother with gruesome bites." Ouch! For the story of the rooster who found something far less dangerous that crocodile eggs, see the fable of the day below. If you're interested in iambic meter, this little poem is a great one to practice with; the only line with anything unusual is that first line; just syncopate crocodili to make it three syllables and you'll be fine!
Et incubavit, dum fetus excluderet:
At illi vita vix incoeperunt frui,
Altricem diris enecarunt morsibus.
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 explores the enmity between Caesar and Cato: Catonem his ausum contra contradicere, Caesar in carcerem abripuit, existimans eum tribunos plebis appellaturum.
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 about the dangers of the high life: Quo quisque est altior, eo est periculo proximior (English: The higher anyone is, the closer he is to danger).
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 Non mare transisset, pavidus si nauta fuisset (English: The sailor would not have crossed the sea, if he had been afraid). 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: Solet hora, quod multi anni abstulerunt, reddere (English: Often a single hour restores when many years had taken away).
Rhyming Proverbs: Today's proverb in Leonine verse form is: Nulla valet vita, nisi sit virtute polita (English: No life is worthwhile unless it is polished by virtue).
Proverbs of Polydorus: Today's proverb from Polydorus is: Homo ad laborem nascitur (English: Man is born to labor).
Proverbium Perbreve of the Day: Today's two-word proverb is: Aeternitatem cogita (English: Ponder what is eternal).
Proverbium Breve of the Day: Today's three-word proverb is: Florebo quocumque ferar (English: I will flourish wherever I am carried).
Vulgate Verse of the Day: Today's verse is Ne mittatis margaritas vestras ante porcos (Matt. 7:6). 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 Canes plurimum latrantes raro mordent (English: The dogs who bark most rarely bite).
Latin Animal Proverb of the Day from Erasmus: Today's animal proverb is Si vultur es, cadaver expecta (English: If you're a vulture, wait for the corpse; from Adagia 1.7.14 - a saying suited for those human "vultures" who are hoping to inherit from an old relative).
Proper Name Proverb of the Day from Erasmus: Today's proper name proverb is Thesssala mulier (English: A woman of Thessaly - in other words, a witch; from Adagia 1.3.12).
Greek Proverb of the Day: Today's proverb is Χαλεπὸν χορίου κύνα γεύειν (English: It is bad news when a dog has tasted the afterbirth... you want the dogs to herd the sheep, not eat them, after all; this is a saying you can find one of the idylls of Theocritus).
TODAY'S FABLES:
Ictibus Felicibus: Today's fable with macrons and accent marks is Rana et Bos, the story of the frog with a puffed-up sense of herself, so to speak.
Fable of the Day: Today's fable of the day from Barlow is DE GALLO GALLINACEO, the story of the rooster who found a precious gem in the dungheap.
In honor of Thessalian witches, I thought I would include this medieval image depicting the most famous of all Thessalian witches, Erichtho, from Lucan's Pharsalia:
Monday, November 9, 2009
Round-Up: November 9
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 quintum Idus 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. It's one of the epigrams of Owen, with a word list at NoDictionaries.com, as usual:
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 tells us more about Caesar's alliance with Pompey: Pompeius nuptiis peractis statim armatis forum oppleuit, et in perferendis legibus populum adiuuit; Caesari Gallia omnis cis et trans Alpes lllyricumque decretum cum quatuor legionibus in quinquennium.
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 of my favorite proverbs about diversity and unity: Manus digiti coaequales non sunt, omnes tamen usui (English: The fingers of the hand are not equal to one another, but they are all useful).
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 Suam quisque pellem portat (English: Each carries his own skin). 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: Nil agere semper infelici est optimum (English: If you're unlucky, the best thing is always to do nothing... in other words: some days it really is better just not even get out of bed, ha ha).
Rhyming Proverbs: Today's rhyming proverb is: Quam brevis est hora, quae labat absque mora! (English: How brief is the hour which slips by without tarrying).
Proverbs of Polydorus: Today's proverb from Polydorus is: Labores manuum tuarum manducabis (English: You will eat the works of your hands).
Proverbium Perbreve of the Day: Today's two-word proverb is: Vitrea fortuna (English: Fortune is glass - which is to say it both sparkles and shatters).
Proverbium Breve of the Day: Today's three-word proverb is: In libertate labor (English: In freedom, there is work... most of all, of course, there is the work required to keep your freedom!).
Vulgate Verse of the Day: Today's verse is Comedamus et bibamus; cras enim moriemur. (Isaiah 22:13). 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 Quem taurum metuis, vitulum mulcere solebas (English: The bull whom you know fear you used to pet when it was a calf).
Latin Animal Proverb of the Day from Erasmus: Today's animal proverb is Phoenice rarior (English: More rare than a phoenix; from Adagia More rare than a phoenix - according to at least some ancient accounts, there was only one phoenix at a time in the world, so to be more rare than the phoenix, well, that would be most rare indeed!).
Proper Name Proverb of the Day from Erasmus: Today's proper name proverb is Phani ostium (English: The door of Phanus; from Adagia 2.7.70 - the saying alludes to a certain blind man named Phanus, who made sure his door creaked so no one could sneak in, but his wife's lover simply entered the house by climbing up on the roof - the door of Phanus refers to some sort of precaution that fails in its purpose utterly).
Greek Proverb of the Day: Today's proverb is Γέρων βοῦς ἀπένθητος δόμοισι (English: The old ox has no mourners in the household - you can find many sayings about the ungrateful attitude of people towards old oxen, old horses, old dogs, and so on... with the obvious metaphorical implications for the old of the human species as well!).
TODAY'S FABLES:
Fable of the Day: Today's fable of the day from Barlow is DE LEONE ET MURE, the hilarious story of the mouse who wanted to marry a lion.
Ictibus Felicibus: Today's fable with macrons and accent marks is Leo et Socii Eius, the famous fable of the lion's share. Here is an illustration for the story (image source) by Aractingy:
HODIE: ante diem quintum Idus 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. It's one of the epigrams of Owen, with a word list at NoDictionaries.com, as usual:
Nemo repente bonus: lente properare memento,English: "No one is good by acting quickly; remember to hurry at a slow pace, even if it is the path of virtue you are walking. A useful plan becomes useless when you're in a rush. First focus your mind, then point it in the right direction." What great advice! As you can see, the epigram amplifies the advice to Festina lente, "Make haste slowly." My favorite part is the last bit about Collige animum tuum, and then Corrige - it reminds me of one of my husband's remarks when someone does something foolish: "Ready, fire, aim." This proverb is more optimistic, and assumes we can be reminded to take things slowly, step by step.
Virtutis quamvis || ingrediare viam.
Utile consilium fit inutile festinanti.
Collige primo animum, || corrige deinde tuum.
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 tells us more about Caesar's alliance with Pompey: Pompeius nuptiis peractis statim armatis forum oppleuit, et in perferendis legibus populum adiuuit; Caesari Gallia omnis cis et trans Alpes lllyricumque decretum cum quatuor legionibus in quinquennium.
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 of my favorite proverbs about diversity and unity: Manus digiti coaequales non sunt, omnes tamen usui (English: The fingers of the hand are not equal to one another, but they are all useful).
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 Suam quisque pellem portat (English: Each carries his own skin). 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: Nil agere semper infelici est optimum (English: If you're unlucky, the best thing is always to do nothing... in other words: some days it really is better just not even get out of bed, ha ha).
Rhyming Proverbs: Today's rhyming proverb is: Quam brevis est hora, quae labat absque mora! (English: How brief is the hour which slips by without tarrying).
Proverbs of Polydorus: Today's proverb from Polydorus is: Labores manuum tuarum manducabis (English: You will eat the works of your hands).
Proverbium Perbreve of the Day: Today's two-word proverb is: Vitrea fortuna (English: Fortune is glass - which is to say it both sparkles and shatters).
Proverbium Breve of the Day: Today's three-word proverb is: In libertate labor (English: In freedom, there is work... most of all, of course, there is the work required to keep your freedom!).
Vulgate Verse of the Day: Today's verse is Comedamus et bibamus; cras enim moriemur. (Isaiah 22:13). 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 Quem taurum metuis, vitulum mulcere solebas (English: The bull whom you know fear you used to pet when it was a calf).
Latin Animal Proverb of the Day from Erasmus: Today's animal proverb is Phoenice rarior (English: More rare than a phoenix; from Adagia More rare than a phoenix - according to at least some ancient accounts, there was only one phoenix at a time in the world, so to be more rare than the phoenix, well, that would be most rare indeed!).
Proper Name Proverb of the Day from Erasmus: Today's proper name proverb is Phani ostium (English: The door of Phanus; from Adagia 2.7.70 - the saying alludes to a certain blind man named Phanus, who made sure his door creaked so no one could sneak in, but his wife's lover simply entered the house by climbing up on the roof - the door of Phanus refers to some sort of precaution that fails in its purpose utterly).
Greek Proverb of the Day: Today's proverb is Γέρων βοῦς ἀπένθητος δόμοισι (English: The old ox has no mourners in the household - you can find many sayings about the ungrateful attitude of people towards old oxen, old horses, old dogs, and so on... with the obvious metaphorical implications for the old of the human species as well!).
TODAY'S FABLES:
Fable of the Day: Today's fable of the day from Barlow is DE LEONE ET MURE, the hilarious story of the mouse who wanted to marry a lion.
Ictibus Felicibus: Today's fable with macrons and accent marks is Leo et Socii Eius, the famous fable of the lion's share. Here is an illustration for the story (image source) by Aractingy:
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