Round-Up: May 3

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.

HODIE: ante diem quintum Nonas 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:

• Simplices et Lepus cum Censu, a funny story about some people who use a rabbit for "express delivery."
• Ova Aurea, the famous story of the golden eggs - in iambic verse.
• Pastor et Grex Timidus, the story of how the shepherd wanted to inspire a sense of "self-defense" among the sheep of his flock.
• Agricola et Filii, a story of how a father taught his sons the power of unity.
• Vir, Compater et Thesaurus, a story of how a man out-tricked his tricky friend.

I've picked out my favorite one today to share with you here in the blog, the story of the fools and their rabbit, Simplices et Lepus:

Quīdam simplicēs fuērunt ad terminum quō dēbuērunt solvere redditūs dominō, et nōn habuērunt nuntium quī ita cito posset negōtium peragere. Dīxērunt ad invicem: Quid faciēmus, quod terminus adest? Dīxērunt quīdam: Lepus est animal scīlicet vēlox; suspendāmus in collō eius bursam cum cēnsū et iniungāmus eī quod cito dēferat ad cūriam dominī nostrī. Sīc fēcērunt, et Lepus cum bursā et cēnsū cucurrit ad nemus quantum potuit, quod hominēs nesciēbant quō dēvēnerit.

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.

3-Word Mottoes: Today's 3-word motto is Recte agens, confido (English: By acting rightly, I am confident).

3-Word Proverbs: Today's 3-word proverb is Necessitati parendum est (English: Necessity must be obeyed).

Rhyming Proverbs: Today's proverb with rhyme is: Plus quam divitias scire valere scias (English: You should know that knowledge is worth more than wealth - note the nice use of the infinitive scire here as a noun, the accusative subject of valere in indirect statement).

Vulgate Verse: Today's verse is Si sitit inimicus tuus, potum da illi (Romans 12:20). For a translation, check out the polyglot Bible, in English, Hebrew, Latin and Greek, at the Sacred Texts Archive online.

Elizabethan Proverb Commentary: Here is today's proverb commentary, this time by Taverner: Vino vendibili suspensa hedera nihil opus: Wine that is saleable and good needeth no bushe or garlande of yvie to be hanged before. Like as men wil loke out good wine, thoughe there be no signe at al to directe and appointe them where it is to be solde, so all good thinges neede no commendacion of any outwarde badget or token. Good marchaundise, and also pure and substanciall thinges of what kinde, so ever they be, do prayse them selves. The English Proverbe is this, Good wine neadeth no signe.

Today's Poem: Today's poem is one of Owen's elegant little epigrams (1.101), with a word list at NoDictionaries.com:

Mors quid sit, rogitas? Si scirem, mortuus essem.
Ad me, cum fuero || mortuus, ergo veni.

English: "You keep asking me what death is. If I knew, I'd be dead - so come back and ask me after I'm dead." Very nice uses of the Latin subjunctive there!

For an image today, here is an illustration for the story of the chicken that laid the golden eggs, Ova Aurea: