Bestiaria Latina Blog: Round-Up: January 6

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: antediem octavum Idus 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, along with an easy-to-read prose presentation of the story:

Cervus et Cornua Eius, which is Alexander Nequam's account of the stag with the deluded body image.
Canes Famelici, Phaedrus's story of the greedy dogs who drank a river!
Leaena, Aper et Vultur, which tells how the vulture profited from the fight between the lioness and the boar.
Musca et Quadrigae, the story of a fly with a very inflated opinion of itself.
Gallina quae Aurea Ova Ponebat, the famous story of the chicken that laid the golden eggs.

I've picked out my favorite one, the story of the greedy dogs, Canes Famelici, to share with you here in the blog:

Stultum cōnsilium nōn modo effectū caret, sed quoque ad perniciem mortālēs dēvocat. Canēs corium in fluviō dēpressum vīdērunt. Ut id extractum facilius comēsse possent, aquam ēbibere coepēre: sed ruptī prius periēre quam contingerent quod petierant.

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 Proverbs: Today's tiny proverb is: Sobrie potandum. Drink in moderation (English: Drink soberly... which is not only good advice, but a very elegant use of the Latin "gerundive of necessity").

3-Word Mottoes Verb-less: Today's 3-word verb-less motto is Robur atque fides (English: Strength unshakable and faith - the Latin robus literally means a hard oak tree, which by metonymy then stands for "robust" strength itself).

Latin Animal Proverb: Today's animal proverb is Sus magis in caeno gaudet quam in fonte sereno (English: A pig delights more in filth than in a shining fountain... and, in the pig's defense, I'll add: cuique suum).

Proverbs of Polydorus: Today's proverb from Polydorus is: Melius modicum iusto, super divitias peccatorum multas (English: Better is a righteous man's little bit than the many riches of sinners).

Proper Name Proverb from Erasmus: Today's proper name proverb from Erasmus is Rhodiorum oraculum (English: A Rhodian oracle; from Adagia 2.6.44 - This refers to seeking guidance about a trivial matter; when the people of Rhodes asked an oracle of Athena whether to use bronzeware or stoneware in their rituals, along with other such questions, the divine oracle became indignant and answered: neither).

Greek Proverb of the Day: Today's proverb is Τὸν τετελευτηκότα μὴ κακολόγει, ἀλλὰ μακάριζε (English: Do not speak ill of a dead man, but rather wish him well).

Today's image is an illustration by Aractingy for the fable of Gallina quae Aurea Ova Ponebat, the chicken that laid golden eggs: