Monday, January 25, 2010

Round-Up: January 25

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).

In addition, I've published some NOTES ON IAMBIC METER - I'd really be interested in any feedback people might offer about that.

HODIE: ante diem octavum Kalendas Februarias. 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.
  • Arion, the story of Arion, rescued by a dolphin; see the emblem for this story below.
  • Vulpes et Ciconia, the famous story of the stork's revenge on the fox.
  • Asinus, Simia et Talpa, the mole's rebuke to the complaints of the donkey and the monkey.
  • E Pastore Mercator, the storyof the shepherd who wanted to get rich in the import-export business.
  • Senex et Mors, the story of the old man who thought he was ready to die… but changed his mind.
I've picked out my favorite one, Abstemius's little story of the wise mole, Asinus, Simia et Talpa, to share with you here in the blog:
Conquerentī Asinō quod cornibus carēret, Sīmiae vērō quod cauda sibi dēesset, "Tacēte (inquit Talpa) cum mē oculīs captam esse videātis." Haec fābula ad eōs pertinet, quī nōn sunt suā sorte contentī; quī, sī aliōrum infortūniam cōnsīderārent, aequiōrī animō tolerārent suā.
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 Vincam malum bono (English: I will overcome evil with good).

3-Word Proverbs: Today's 3-word proverb is Tempus omnia sanat (English: Time heals all things).

Rhyming Proverbs: Today's proverb with rhyme is: Qui nunquam dubitat, se studuisse negat (English: Someone who never has doubts confesses he has never studied: in other words, learning is all about resolving your doubts, and never being afraid to ask questions!).

Vulgate Verse: Today's verse is Pascua sunt divitum pauperes (Sirach 13:19). 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: Ne Hercules quidem contra duos: Not Hercules against two, that is to saye: Though a man never so muche excelleth other in strengthe, yet it will be hard for him to matche two at ones. And one man may lawfully give place to a multitude.

Today's Poem: Today's poem is from Cato's Distichs, with a word list at NoDictionaries.com as usual:
Quod potes, id tempta; nam litus carpere remis
Utilius multo est quam velum tendere in altum.
English: "Whatever you can do, give it a try; for it is more productive by far to scrape the shore with your oars than to left the sail on high." I really like the way the raising of the sails seems almost like a prayer to the sky gods to do the sailing for us, instead of working by our own efforts! (Although from having gone sailing, taking care of the sails is plenty of work, too!).

Today's image is the emblem for Arion:




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