Latin Proverbs and Fables Round-Up: February 20

Here is a round-up of today's proverbs and fables - and for previous posts, check out the Bestiaria Latina Blog archives. In a discussion about grimoires at Google+ today, someone shared with me a link to an online edition of the Liber Iuratus Honorii that has the Latin text (scroll on down at the link to find the Latin). If you're intrigued by this type of thing, there's a marvelous book by Richard Kieckhefer, Forbidden Rites: A Necromancer's Manual of the Fifteenth Century which contains the full - and very lengthy - Latin text of a similar magical handbook.

HODIE (Roman Calendar): ante diem decimum Kalendas Martias.

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

TODAY'S MOTTOES and PROVERBS:

TINY PROVERBS: Today's tiny proverb is: Nosce teipsum (English: Know yourself).

3-WORD MOTTOES: Today's 3-word verb-less motto is In libertate labor (English: In freedom, hard work).

ANIMAL PROVERBS: Today's animal proverb is Asinus balneatoris numquam particeps balnei (English: The bathhouse keeper's donkey never takes part in a bath - kind of like the shoemaker's children who go barefoot!).

POLYDORUS: Today's proverb from Polydorus is: Fatuus fatua loquetur (English: The fool will speak foolish things).

PROPER NAME PROVERBS: Today's proper name proverb from Erasmus is Alia Lacon, alia asinus illius portat (English: Lacon is carrying one thing, but his donkey is carrying something else; from Adagia 2.2.86 - Trying to avoid taxes, Lacon hid his honey underneath some barley, but the donkey slipped and fell, revealing the hidden honey).

GREEK PROVERBS: Today's proverb is Γέρων ἀλώπηξ οὐχ ἁλίσχεται πάγῃ (English: The old fox can't be caught in a snare).

BREVISSIMA: The distich poster for today is Felix Nemo Suo Iudicio. Click here for a full-sized view; the poem has a vocabulary list and an English translation, too.

And here is today's proverbial lolcat:

TODAY'S FABLES AND SONGS:

FABULAE FACILES: The fable from the Fabulae Faciles widget is Scarabaeus et Stercus, a funny little story about "home, sweet home" (this fable has a vocabulary list).

MILLE FABULAE: The fable from the Mille Fabulae et Una widget is Leo et Homo, Concertantes, a brilliant debate between a man and lion - one of my all-time favorite fables.

GreekLOLz - and Latin and English, too. Below is one of my GreekLOLz; for the individual Greek, Latin and English versions of the graphic, see the blog post: Ἐκ τῶν αὐτῶν τραγῳδία γίνεται καὶ κωμῳδία γραμμάτων. Ex iisdem tragedia fit et comedia litteris. Tragedy and comedy are composed of the same letters.