THE ONION: Did everybody see the hilarious article in The Onion??? Historians Admit To Inventing Ancient Greeks: "Honestly, we never meant for things to go this far," said Professor Gene Haddlebury, who has offered to resign his position as chair of Hellenic Studies at Georgetown University. "We were young and trying to advance our careers, so we just started making things up: Homer, Aristotle, Socrates, Hippocrates, the lever and fulcrum, rhetoric, ethics, all the different kinds of columns—everything." (read more)
HODIE: ante diem octavum Idus Octobres (and yes, you can have your own Roman Google Calendar).
VERBUM HODIERNUM: Today's word is NISI - read a brief essay about the word at the Verbosum blog. Here's one of the sayings you can find in the essay: Memoria minuitur, nisi eam exerceas, "Memory fails, unless you exercise it" (so, keep practicing your Latin, everybody!).
MILLE FABULAE: New materials at the blog include lots more illustrated fables, including this great illustration for the snake and the eel. This is also where you can download your free PDF copy of the Mille Fabulae et Una book.
FABULAE FACILES: The new easy-to-read fable is Arbor Secundum Viam, the sad story of the nut-tree by the side of the road (I bet some teachers can relate to the feelings of that poor tree!).
PODCASTS: Today's Latin audio fable is Gallina et Ova Serpentis , a barnyard version of "giving aid and comfort to the enemy."
ENGLISH AESOP: Today's English fables are from Sir Roger L'Estrange, Wright's translation of La Fontaine and the limericks for Walter Crane's Aesop illustrations.
TODAY'S MOTTOES & PROVERBS: Widgets available at SchoolhouseWidgets.com.
Tiny Mottoes: Today's tiny motto is: Defendendo vinco (English: By defending, I am victorious).
3-Word Proverbs Verb-less: Today's 3-word verb-less proverb is Rana gyrina sapientior (English: The frog is wiser than the tadpole)
Audio Latin Proverb: Today's audio Latin proverb is Stulti est compedes, licet aureas, amare (English: It is for a fool to love fetters, even though they be golden). 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: Necessitas quod poscit, nisi des, eripit (English: Unless you give Necessity what she demands, she will take it by force).
Animal Proverb from Erasmus: Today's animal proverb from Erasmus is Toto devorato bove, in cauda defecit (English: Having eaten the whole ox, he gave up at the tail; from Adagia 3.3.68 - and you can hardly blame him for that, ha ha).
The image today is the wonderful 16th-century illustration for the snake and the eel, 624. Anguilla et Serpens. Anguilla interrogabat serpentem quare, cum similes essent atque cognati, homines tamen se, potius quam illum, insequerentur. Cui serpens “Quia rarus,” inquit, “me laedit impune.” (source):
