Friday, May 2, 2014

Latin Proverbs and Fables Round-Up: May 2

Here is a round-up of today's proverbs and fables - and for previous posts, check out the Bestiaria Latina Blog archives. If you have not downloaded a free PDF copy of Brevissima: 1001 Tiny Latin Poems, it's ready and waiting.

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

MYTHS and LEGENDS: The art image for today's legend shows Echo and Narcissus; 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: Parum sufficit (English: A little bit is enough).

3-WORD MOTTOES: Today's 3-word verb-less motto is Post spinas palma (English: After thorns, the palm of victory).

ANIMAL PROVERBS: Today's animal proverb is Echinus partum procrastinat (English: The hedgehog delays giving birth - the problem is that her babies get more and more prickly the longer she delays!).

POLYDORUS: Today's proverb from Polydorus is: Vae terrae, cuius rex puer est (English: Woe to the land whose king is a boy).

PROPER NAME PROVERBS: Today's proper name proverb from Erasmus is Cave Thoracem (English: Beware of Mount Thorax; from Adagia 2.4.52 - This refers to Mount Thorax, where the notoriously rude poet Daphitas was supposedly crucified for having written some poetry mocking the kings).

GREEK PROVERBS: Today's proverb is Ἐξ ἴσου δίδου πᾶσιν (English: Give equally to all).

BREVISSIMA: The distich poster for today is Temporibus Suis. Click here for a full-sized view.


And here are today's proverbial LOLcats:




TODAY'S FABLES:

FABULAE FACILES: The fable from the Fabulae Faciles widget is Mus in Olla, the sad fate of the mouse in the soup pot (this fable has a vocabulary list).

MILLE FABULAE: The fable from the Mille Fabulae et Una widget is Gladius in Via Iacens, which is based on the various meanings of the Latin verb perdere.

gladius et viator

Words from Mythology. For more about MUSEUMS and THE MUSES, see this blog post.