HODIE: ante diem octavum Idus 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 elegant little epigrams by Owen, with a word list at NoDictionaries.com as usual:
Libertas, infanda loqui, tibi sola videtur.English: "You seem to think that the only freedom is the freedom to say abominable things, but a tongue is free enough when it is allowed to remain silent." That's an epigram that raises some of the same dilemmas we face with freedom of speech even today!
Libera lingua sat est || cui tacuisse licet.
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 portion finishes up the description of the exploits of Caesar's soldier Cassius Scaeva: accedentibusque duobus, alterius brachium gladio abscidit, alterum in faciem percussum auertit et ipse suorum auxilio saluus euasit.
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: Caudae pilos equinae paulatim vellere (English: Plucking the hairs of a horse's tail, one by one - you can't just grab the whole tail all at once and yank; you have to pull one hair at a time... and even so, I'm guessing the horse might object, ha ha).
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.
2-Word Mottoes: Today's 2-word motto is: Sicut quercus (English: Like the oak - it's left to you to supply the qualities of the oak that are implied here: stury, strong, lofty, etc.).
3-Word Mottoes: Nouns: Today's 3-word verb-less motto is Praemium, virtus, honor (English: Reward, excellence, and honor - whic is about as simple as a motto can be, just three nouns in a list; the key, of course, is that from all the fine nouns in Latin, you must select the three that mean the most to you).
3-Word Mottoes: Verbs: Today's 3-word motto with verb is Dum vivo, spero (English: While I live, I hope).
2-Word Proverbs: Today's 2-word proverb is: Roma aeterna (English: Rome is eternal).
3-Word Proverbs: Nouns: Today's 3-word verb-less proverb is Fortuna belli fluxa (English: The fortunes of war are slippery).
3-Word Proverbs: Nouns: Today's 3-word proverb with verb is Parentem patienter vince (English: Overcome your parent with patience).
Audio Latin Proverb: Today's audio Latin proverb is Plures necat crapula quam gladius (English: The hangover kills more than the sword). To read a brief essay about this proverb and to listen to the audio, visit the Latin Via Proverbs blog.
Latin Animal Proverb: Today's animal proverb is Qui me amat, amat et canem meum (English: He who loves me, he loves my dog also - a saying attributed to St. Bernard of Clairvaux, although I honestly don't know if that is a correct attribution or not; is anyone better informed about this one?).
Rhyming Proverbs: Today's proverb with rhyme is: Pauper ubique iacet, dum sua bursa tacet (English: The poor man lies anywhere he can when nothing jingles in his purse: iacet-tacet).
Maxims of Publilius Syrus: Today's proverb from Publilius Syrus is: Tarde, sed graviter vir sapiens irascitur (English: A wise man is slow to get angry, but when he does, it's serious).
Proverbs of Polydorus: Today's proverb from Polydorus is: Homo sapiens tacebit usque ad tempus (English: A man who is wise will be silent until the right time - a saying that resonates very nicely with Publilius Syrus's saying today, too).
Vulgate Verse: Today's verse is Qui invenit amicum, invenit thesaurum (Sirach 6:14). For a translation, check out the polyglot Bible, in English, Hebrew, Latin and Greek, at the Sacred Texts Archive online.
Animal Proverb from Erasmus: Today's animal proverb from Erasmus is Octipedem excitas (English: You're rousing the eight-legged scorpion; from Adagia 1.1.63 - the word could refer to any 8-footed creature, such as the octopus, a crab or - as Erasmus thinks here - the scorpion).
Proper Name Proverb from Erasmus: Today's proper name proverb from Erasmus is Aesopicus sanguis (English: The blood of Aesop; from Adagia 2.6.63 - This refers to the violent death of Aesop at the hands of the people of Delphi, who later suffered many disasters, as if Aesop's blood had put a curse on them).
Elizabethan Proverb Commentary: Here is today's proverb commentary, this time by Conybeare: Ede nasturtium: Is applied to a dull and a grosse person, and for as muche as Nasturtium called cresses being eaten doth make the nose tinckle, and thereby causeth the dull spirites to wake, therefore by this proverbe ys ment, pluck up thie spirites, or awake dullarde or luske. (so forget the caffeine; try a cress sandwich instead!).
Greek Proverb of the Day: Today's proverb is Μωμήσεται μᾶλλον ἢ μιμήσεται (English: To criticize rather than to imitate - which is indeed the tendency of the world!).
TODAY'S FABLES:
Ictibus Felicibus: Today's fable with macrons and accent marks is Vulpes et Caper, the story of the fox and the goat in the well.
Gaudium Mundo: Today's Latin holiday songs from the Gaudium Mundo blog are: O Viri, Este Hilares, a Latin version of "God Bless Ye, Merry Gentlemen," along with Dies est laetitiae, and also In oriente sidus, a Latin version of the Polish carol, "Jakaż to gwiazda?"
For those of you looking at this post at the blog, here is an audio performance of Dies est laetitiae:
