Round-Up: May 18

Here is a round-up of today's proverbs and fables - and for previous posts, check out the Bestiaria Latina Blog archives. This is the first SUMMER edition of the round-up; I'm done with my summer travels so I should be able to have a solid couple of months now to spend on Latin! I'll be doing two kinds of posts on alternating days: I'll be doing the proverb and fable round-up post like this one, and I'll also be doing a distich round-up. Plus, if all goes well, I should have a "Latin Without Latin" essay each day also. I'll explain more tomorrow about just how things are looking for the great summer of Latin distichs - whoo-hoo!

HODIE: ante diem quintum decimum Kalendas Iunias.

MYTHS and LEGENDS: The art image for today's legend shows Perseus Rescuing Andromeda ; you can also see the legends for the current week listed together here.

TODAY'S MOTTOES and PROVERBS:

TINY MOTTOES: Today's tiny motto is: Veritas vincit (English: The truth is victorious).

3-WORD PROVERBS: Today's 3-word verb-less proverb is Tempus magistrorum optimus (English: Time is the best of teachers)

AUDIO PROVERBS: Today's audio Latin proverb is Nemo cum sarcinis enatat (English: No one swims away with his bundles). To read a brief essay about this proverb and to listen to the audio, visit the Latin Via Proverbs blog - I actually thought about this proverb on the plane when the stewardesses were giving the perfunctory little speech about how, in case of emergency, you must leave all personal belongings behind when exiting the airplane!

PUBLILIUS SYRUS: Today's proverb from Publilius Syrus is: Homo semper aliud, fortuna aliud cogitat (English: A person has one thing in mind, his luck something else).

ERASMUS' ANIMALS: Today's animal proverb from Erasmus is Ipsi testudines edite, qui cepistis (English: You who caught the turtles better eat them; from Adagia 1.1.87 - this is actually the punchline to a fable involving the god Mercury and some fishermen; you can read the Latin fable here).

TODAY'S FABLES and STORIES:

ANECDOTE OF THE DAY: Today's anecdote is Damon et Pythias, a famous story of exemplary friendship.

FABULAE FACILES WIDGET: The fable from the Fabulae Faciles widget is Sanctus Petrus et Rusticus, a Christian variation on the traditional fable involving the god Hercules (this fable has a vocabulary list).

MILLE FABULAE WIDGET: The fable from the Mille Fabulae et Una widget is Lupus Monachus, the story of an aged wolf and why he decided to become a monk.

AESOP IN ENGLISH VERSE: Today's fable from the English verse widget is The Hares and The Frogs, a fable about the comfort people can take in knowing that there is someone in even worse shape than they are.

MILLE FABULAE: The "chunk" of Mille Fabulae et Una today is Fable 831, Agricola Invidus et Vulpes , through Fable 840, Pastor et Rex, including Olitor et Canis, a story about how no good deed goes unpunished: Delapsum in puteum canem olitor servare et retrahere cupiens, demisit et eodem se ipse. Canis, veritus ne descendisset sibi nocendi gratia et ut suffocaret demersum, dentibus illum petebat et morsu lacerabat. Tum saucius olitor, cum dolore, “Iure mihi,” inquit, “hoc accidisse fateor. Cur enim auctorem ipsum sibi interitus ego servare volui?”