Round-Up: January 5

Here is a round-up of today's blog posts - and for previous posts, check out the Bestiaria Latina Blog archives. You can keep up with the latest posts by using the RSS feed, or you might prefer to subscribe by email. Plus, you can find some Latin "pipilationes" at my Proverbia Latina feed and at the IVLIVS CAESAR feed (Plutarch's Life of Caesar twittered trilingually).

HODIE: Nonae Ianuariae - the Nones of January. You can add a Roman calendar as a widget in your blog or webpage, or display it as a Google Calendar: here's how.

TODAY'S FABLES: Here are today's fables from the Ictibus Felicibus project. These fables ALL have long marks, plus stress marks for easy reading, and the poems have meter marks, too, along with an easy-to-read prose presentation of the story:

• Pisces in Sartagine, a wonderful little story by Abstemius based on the motif of "out of the frying pan, into the fire."
• Corvus et Vulpes, how the fox tricked the crow with flattery - in an adaptation of LaFontaine's version.
• Formica et Cicada, the story of what happened when the cicada went hungry in winter and begged the ant for food, in a verse fable by Nequam.
• Canis Parturiens, the story of a canine houesguest who outstays her welcome, as told by Phaedrus.
• Pythagoras et Grues, a story of wisdom learned from the flight of the cranes from the emblems of Alciato.
  

I've picked out my favorite one, Pisces in Sartagine, to share with you here in the blog:

Piscēs adhuc vīvī in sartāgine ferventī oleō coquēbantur, quōrum ūnus "Fugiāmus hinc, frātrēs (inquit), nē pereāmus." Tunc omnēs pariter ē sartāgine exsilientēs, in ardentēs prūnās dēcidērunt. Māiōrī igitur dolōre affectī, damnābant cōnsilium quod cēperant, dīcentēs: "Quantō ātrōciōrī nunc morte perimus." Haec nōs admonet fābula ut ita praesentia vītēmus perīcula, nē incidāmus in graviōra.

TODAY'S MOTTOES & PROVERBS: You can get access to ALL the "proverb of the day scripts" (also available as random proverb scripts) at the SchoolhouseWidgets.com website.

Tiny Mottoes: Today's tiny motto is: Depressus extollor (English: Pushed down, I rise up - which can work for both physical and spiritual "depression").

3-Word Proverbs Verb-less: Today's 3-word verb-less proverb is Virtutis fortuna comes (English: Luck is the companion of excellence - so, work on your excellent, and good luck will follow!)

Audio Latin Proverb: Today's audio Latin proverb is Leges sine moribus vanae (English: Laws without character are worthless). 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: Malefacere qui vult, numquam non causam invenit (English: Someone who wants to do wrong never fails to find a reason).

Animal Proverb from Erasmus: Today's animal proverb from Erasmus is Cervus canes trahit (English: The stag is dragging the dogs - when, of course, the stag should be shaking the dogs loose, or trying to; this proverb comes from Adagia 4.4.11).

Today's image is an illustration for the fable Canis Parturiens, from a 15th-century edition of Aesop's fables:

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Aesop's Fables in Latin now available at Amazon.com.

Myths and Legends: The Corpse of Hector

Achilles and Hector's Corpse. To find out more about Achilles and Hector, see this Wikipedia article: link; for information about the image: image source.

This beautiful fifth-century cup shows Achilles guarding the body of the dead hero Hector in his tent. The cup is signed with the names of the painter and the potter, Macron and Hieron respectively. If you have read The Iliad, you know that after Achilles killed Hector, the Trojan prince, he brought Hector's body back to his tent and refused to allow a funeral. Finally, Hector's father, King Priam came into the Greek camp and begged Achilles to surrender Hector's body for burial. Achilles agreed and gave Hector's body to Priam; the story of the Iliad ends with the funeral rites for Hector. You can read William Cowper's English translation of the Iliad online at Project Gutenberg; here is a direct link to Book 24, the final book of the epic.

You can also find more myths and legends for the week of January 1-7 here. For more information and links to the actual javascript code, see the Myths & Legends Widget Reference Page.

Round-Up: January 4

Here is a round-up of today's blog posts - and for previous posts, check out the Bestiaria Latina Blog archives. You can keep up with the latest posts by using the RSS feed, or you might prefer to subscribe by email. I haven't Twittered much over the holidays, but I will be back at work on Monday - and the pipilationes will start again, too! :-)

HODIE: pridie Nonas Ianuarias. You can add a Roman calendar as a widget in your blog or webpage, or display it as a Google Calendar: here's how.

TODAY'S FABLES: Here are today's fables from the Ictibus Felicibus project. These fables ALL have long marks, plus stress marks for easy reading, and the poems have meter marks, too.

Tubicen captivus, the story of a trumpeter taken prisoner in wartime.

Vulpes et Aquila, the story of what happened when the eagle stole the fox's cubs.

Gallus et Margarita, the story of a rooster who found a precious gem in the manure pile.

Fiber, the story of what the beaver does to escape the hunters.

Ovis, Cervus et Lupus, the story of the stag and the wolf trying to pressure the sheep into loaning them some grain.

I've picked out my favorite one, Fiber, to share with you here in the blog - this is one of Alciato's emblems, and you can see the emblem image below:

Fiber, et pedibus segnis et alvō tumidā prōpendulus, īnsidiās tamen hāc arte effugit: mordicus ipse medicāta virīlia sibī vellit, atque abicit, gnārus sēsē ob illa petī. Ab hūius exemplō discās rēbus nōn parcere, et hostibus aera dare, ut vītam redimās.

TODAY'S MOTTOES & PROVERBS: You can get access to ALL the "proverb of the day scripts" (also available as random proverb scripts) at the SchoolhouseWidgets.com website.

3-Word Mottoes: Today's 3-word motto is Ut migraturus habita (English: Dwell as if you were about to move - great advice for those of you dealing with post-holiday clutter!).

3-Word Proverbs: Today's 3-word proverb is Hospitalitatem nolite oblivisci (English: Don't forget hospitality... if someone offered you hospitality during the holidays, don't forget to return the favor).

Rhyming Proverbs: Today's proverb with rhyme is: Ut pax servetur, legis moderamen habetur (English: In order to keep the peace, we keep hold of the rudder of the law).

Vulgate Verse: Today's verse is Interrogate de semitis antiquis, quae sit via bona, et ambulate in ea (Jer. 6:16). For a translation, check out the polyglot Bible, in English, Hebrew, Latin and Greek, at the Sacred Texts Archive online.

Elizabethan Proverb Commentary: Here is today's proverb commentary, this time by Taverner: Tuo te pede metire: Measure your selfe by your owne fote. The painters and carvers of images holde opinion, that the iust measure of everie man consisteht in seven of his owne fete. By this Proverbe wee be therfore warned, that wee dilate not oure selves beyonde our condition and state, neither yet esteme our selves by the prayses of flatterours, or opinion of the people or by favour of false fortune, but only by oure propre and true qualities.

Today's Poem: Today's poem is from the rhyming couplets collected by Wegeler, with a word list at NoDictionaries.com:

Vultus fortunae mutatur imagine lunae:
Crescit, decrescit, in eodem sistere nescit.

English: "Fortune's face changes like the moon: it gets bigger, it gets smaller, and doesn't know how to stay the same."

Meanwhile, here's an illustration for the fable of the beaver (image source) from a 1621 edition of Alciato's emblems:

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Aesop's Fables in Latin now available at Amazon.com.

Myths and Legends: Pygmalion

Venus and Pygmalion's Statue. To find out more about Pygmalion and his statue, see this Wikipedia article: link; for information about the image: image source.

The artist Pygmalion has, naturally enough, been a great source of inspiration for artists over the years. In this painting by Sir Edward Burne-Jones you see an especially fantastic moment in the story, when the goddess Venus, on the left, brings Pygmalion's statue to life, on the right. This is just one in a series of paintings which Burne-Jones devoted to the Pygmalion story; this particular painting is called "The Godhead Fires." You can read a brief essay about the four paintings in Burne-Jones' Pygmalion series at The Victorian Web.

The first painting in the series is called "The Heart Desires."


The second painting is "The Hand Refrains."


The third painting is today's image, "The Godhead Fires."


The final painting in the series is "The Soul Attains."

You can also find more myths and legends for the week of January 1-7 here. For more information and links to the actual javascript code, see the Myths & Legends Widget Reference Page.

Round-Up: January 2

Here is a round-up of today's blog posts - and for previous posts, check out the Bestiaria Latina Blog archives. You can keep up with the latest posts by using the RSS feed, or you might prefer to subscribe by email. Plus, you can find some Latin "pipilationes" at my Proverbia Latina feed and at the IVLIVS CAESAR feed (Plutarch's Life of Caesar twittered trilingually).

HODIE: ante diem quartum Nonas Ianuarias. You can add a Roman calendar as a widget in your blog or webpage, or display it as a Google Calendar: here's how.

TODAY'S FABLES: Here are today's fables from the Ictibus Felicibus project. These fables ALL have long marks, plus stress marks for easy reading, and the poems have meter marks, too.

Gallus et Vulpes, the story of the fox who proclaimed peace among all the animals, hoping to fool the rooster.

Ex Sutore Medicus, the story of a cobbler who pretended to be a physician.

Volpes et Corvus, the story of how the fox used flattery to fool the crow (volpes being an alternate spelling for our friend the fox, vulpes).

Leo et Socii Eius, the famous story of the "lion's share."

Gallus Gallinaceus, the story of the rooster who found a gem in the dung heap.

I've picked out my favorite one, Volpes et Corvus, to share with you here in the blog - and see infra for an illustration.

Quī verbīs subdolīs sē laudārī gaudet, paenitentiā sērā poenās turpēs dat. Cum corvus cāseum, dē fenēstrā raptum, comēsse vellet, celsā arbore residēns, volpēs hunc vīdit, deinde sīc loquī coepit: "Ō corve, tuārum pinnārum quī nitor est! Quantum decōris corpore et vultū geris! Sī vōcem habērēs, nūlla āles prior foret." At ille stultus, dum vōcem ostendere vult, ōre cāseum ēmīsit, quem dolōsa volpēs dentibus avidīs celeriter rapuit. Tum dēmum corvī dēceptus stupor ingemuit.

TODAY'S MOTTOES & PROVERBS: You can get access to ALL the "proverb of the day scripts" (also available as random proverb scripts) at the SchoolhouseWidgets.com website.

Tiny Proverbs: Today's tiny proverb is: Salomone sapientior (English: Wiser than Solomon - which is to say, wiser than King Solomon in the Bible, which would be very wise indeed).

3-Word Mottoes Verb-less: Today's 3-word verb-less motto is In omnia promptus (English: Eager for all things - a great motto for the beginning of the new year!).

Latin Animal Proverb: Today's animal proverb is Viscum fugiens, avis in laqueos incidit (English: Fleeing the snare, the bird falls into the net - like "out of the frying pan, into the fish," bird-style).

Proverbs of Polydorus: Today's proverb from Polydorus is: Gratis accepistis, gratis date (English: You have taken freely; give freely - this would make a good "Creative Commons" motto).

Proper Name Proverb from Erasmus: Today's proper name proverb from Erasmus is Thraces foedera nesciunt (English: The Thracians acknowledge no treaties; from Adagia 2.6.89 - with Thrace located in the "wilds" of the north, it is no surprise that the wild Thracians were considered untrustworthy).

Greek Proverb of the Day: Today's proverb is Νεκρὸς οὐ δάκνει (English: A dead man does not bite).

Here's an illustration for the fable of the fox and the crow, supra, (image source) by Felix Lorioux:

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Aesop's Fables in Latin now available at Amazon.com.

Myths & Legends: January 1-7

Dec. 25-31 - Jan. 1-7 - Jan. 8-14

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For more information and links to the actual javascript code, see the Myths & Legends Reference Page.

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Britomartis. To find out more about the Minoan goddess Britomartis, "Lady of the Nets," see this Wikipedia article: link; for information about the image: image source.

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Venus and Pygmalion's Statue. To find out more about Pygmalion and his statue, see this Wikipedia article: link; for information about the image: image source. There's also a post here.

I've put up some additional notes about Pygmalion here.

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Perseus Slays Medusa. To find out more about Medusa, see this Wikipedia article: link; for information about the image: image source.

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Achilles and Hector's Corpse. To find out more about Achilles and Hector, see this Wikipedia article: link; for information about the image: image source. There's also a post here.

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Deucalion and Pyrrha. To find out more about the great Flood, see this Wikipedia article: link; for information about the image: image source.

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Odysseus and the Suitors. To find out more about Odysseus and his journey home, see this Wikipedia article: link; for information about the image: image source. There's also a post here.

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Aristotle and Phyllis. To find out more about Aristotle and Phyllis, see this Latin-English exemplum: link; for information about the image: image source.

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