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."
