Bestiaria Latina Blog: Round-Up: December 29

Hello, everybody - and I hope you all have had a very happy holiday season! You will see below the new format for the round-up in the coming months. My goal for the summer is to pull together the big book of Aesop's fables with macrons, so I will be focusing heavily on the Ictibus Felicibus blog in the coming months, publishing 4-5 fables per day there. I hope you will enjoy them! The new layout of the round-up reflects the emphasis on the fables, although the proverbs are still there, too! :-)

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. Plus, you can find some Latin "pipilationes" at my Proverbia Latina feed and at the IVLIVS CAESAR feed (Plutarch's Life of Caesar twittered trilingually).

HODIE: ante diem quartum Kalendas Ianuarias. 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 FABLES: Here are today's fables from the Ictibus Felicibus project. These fables ALL have long marks, plus stress marks for easy reading, and the poems have meter marks, too.

Mus et Rana, the story of the treacherous mouse and how he was punished in the end!

Taurus et Mus, a quite different story about a mouse where he teaches the bull a lesson about size.

Alius peccat, alius plectitur, a story about a dog who doesn't understand who his real enemy is.

Accipiter Columbam Insequens, the story of a hawk who learns the lesson of the "Golden Rule."

Vas Fictile et Vas Ferreum, the story of the dangerous friendship between two pots, one made of clay and the other of metal.

I've picked out my favorite one, Taurus et Mus, to share with you here in the blog:

Strātus humī fuerat Taurus; Mūs forte momordit
   Crūra: petēns hostem cornibus ille ruit.
Hic nusquam cernī potuit: bōs cornua frustrā
   Vībrat: dēnsa tamen, quem petit, herba tegit.
"Parvula nē spernās; tē Mūs impūne lacessō,
   Ā minimō laesus maximus," inquit," erās."

Here it is in prose order:

Taurus humi stratus fúerat; forte, Mus crura momórdit. Ille, hostem petens, córnibus ruit; hic nusquam cerni pótuit. Frustra, bos córnua vibrat; densa tamen herba tegit quem petit. Mus inquit: "Ne párvula spernas. Impúne Mus te lacésso! A mínimo máximus laesus eras."

Here's an illustration for the fable (image source) from a 15th-century edition of Aesop's fables:

TODAY'S MOTTOES & PROVERBS: You can get access to ALL the "proverb of the day scripts" (also available as random proverb scripts) at the SchoolhouseWidgets.com website.

Tiny Mottoes: Today's tiny motto is: Vincula temno (English: I scorn the chains - the chains of any kind of bondage, real or metaphorical!).

3-Word Proverbs Verb-less: Today's 3-word verb-less proverb is Dulcius ex asperis (English: The thing is sweeter from bitter experiences - in other words, the more bitter the fight, the sweeter the victory!)

Audio Latin Proverb: Today's audio Latin proverb is Unus lanius non timet multas oves (English: One butcher does not fear the many sheep). 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: Irritare est calamitatem, cum te felicem voces (English: To call yourself happy is to provoke disaster - so, don't boast; the jealous gods might be listening!).

Animal Proverb from Erasmus: Today's animal proverb from Erasmus is Simia in purpura (English: A monkey in royal robes - which is to say, a laughing-stock; from Adagia 1.7.10).

And for the holidays...

Gaudium Mundo: Today's Latin holiday songs from the Gaudium Mundo blog are: Tinnitus, Tinnitus, a Latin version of "Jingle Bells," along with Christe, Redemptor Omnium and also O praesepe vile, a Latin version of the Polish carol, "Ach, ubogi żłobie."