Latin Proverbs and Fables Round-Up: July 2

Here is a round-up of today's proverbs and fables - and for previous posts, check out the Bestiaria Latina Blog archives. Now that summer is here (in fact, it's half over - eeek!), I'm working away on the English-language proverbs. You can see what's going on over there at my new blog, The Proverb Laboratory, and I'm also accumulating some good, simple stories in English for the Empirical Grammar project - including some Greek and Roman legends.

HODIE (Roman Calendar): ante diem sextum Nonas Iulias.

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

TODAY'S MOTTOES and PROVERBS:

3-WORD MOTTOES: Today's 3-word motto is Occasio capienda est (English: Seize the opportunity).

3-WORD PROVERBS: Today's 3-word proverb is Diversi diversa putant (English: Different people think different things).

RHYMING PROVERBS: Today's proverb with rhyme is: Transit ut aura levis vita caduca brevis (English: Life, fleeting and brief, passes by like a gentle breeze).

VULGATE VERSES: Today's verse is Ne derelinquas amicum antiquum; novus enim non erit similis illi (Sirach 9:10). For a translation, check out the polyglot Bible, in English, Hebrew, Latin and Greek, at the Sacred Texts Archive online.

ELIZABETHAN PROVERBS: Here is today's proverb commentary, this time by Taverner: Si crebro iacias, aliud alias ieceris: He that often casteth shall sometime through one chaunce and sometime another. By this is signified that wee ought to assay and tempt a thinge often, and not to be forthwith wery nor discouraged, though at one time the matter frame not accordinge to our minde and expectation.

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

And here are today's proverbial LOLcats:

TODAY'S FABLES:

FABULAE FACILES: The fable from the Fabulae Faciles widget is Canis in Praesepe et Bos, the famous story of the dog in the manger (this fable has a vocabulary list).

MILLE FABULAE: The fable from the Mille Fabulae et Una widget is Pisces, Magni et Minuti, in which it is good to be a little fish rather than a big one.

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: Αὐτομάτως ὁ θεὸς ἀνίησι τἀγαθά. Sponte Deus bona emittit. God freely sends forth good things.