Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Round-Up: April 14

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.

HODIE: ante diem duodevicesimum Kalendas Maias. You can add a Roman calendar as a widget in your blog or webpage, or display it as a Google Calendar: here's how.

MORE 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:
  • Feles et Gallus, a variation on the famous "wolf and lamb" fable, but this time with a cat and a rooster!
  • Oves et Lupi, the story of the fatal treaty between the wolves and the sheep.
  • Abies et Dumeta, the story of the fir tree and the humble thorn-bushes.
  • Simia et Nucleus, the story of the monkey, the nut and its shell.
  • Hercules et Pulicis Morsus, the story of a man who implores Hercules in a matter of trifling importance.
I've picked out my favorite one, Feles et Gallus, to share with you here in the blog - it's a long one, but that's actually the point: the cat will never run out of excuses for behaving badly!
Cattus cum Gallum cēpisset, crīmināre coepit quod esset animal turbulentum, quī noctū clāmitandō nōn permitteret hominēs quiescere. Gallus sē excūsābat, quod id ageret ad eōrum voluptātem, cum ad opera facienda illōs excitāret. Rursum Cattus ait, Impius es quī nec ā mātre nec ā sorōribus tē abstineās, sed per incontinentiam illīs tē commisceās. Gallus sē dēfendēbat dīxitque quod ex huiusmodī coitū, Gallīnae pariunt ōva. Tunc inquit Cattus, Quamvīs excūsātiōnibus abundēs, egō tamen tē missum facere nōn intendō.
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: Ardua vinco (English: I overcome difficulties).

3-Word Proverbs Verb-less: Today's 3-word verb-less proverb is Omnium rerum vicissitudo (English: There is change in all things)

Audio Latin Proverb: Today's audio Latin proverb is Nullum magnum ingenium sine mixtura dementiae (English: There is no great talent without an admixture of madness). 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: Heu, quam miserum est discere servire, ubi dominari doctus es (English: Oh, how wretched it is to learn to serve, when you were schooled in rule).

Animal Proverb from Erasmus: Today's animal proverb from Erasmus is Simia simia est, etiam si aurea gestet insignia (English: A monkey is a monkey, even if it's wearing gold medals; from Adagia 1.7.11 - a proverb that goes very nicely with the fable about the king of the monkeys).

For an image today, here is Francis Barlow's illustration for the story of the savage cat, Feles et Gallus - it makes me wonder what kind of conversation my cat might have had with the skink he caught this morning, just as firmly as the cat has caught the rooster here:



Aesop's Fables in Latin now available at Amazon.com.