Round-Up: January 9

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'm Twittering again now at Aesopus and AesopusEnglish.

HODIE: antediem quintum Idus Ianuarias (and yes, you can have your own Roman Google Calendar).

VERBUM HODIERNUM: Today's word is COMEDO - read a brief essay about the word at the Verbosum blog. Here's one of the sayings you can find in the essay: Comedamus et bibamus, cras enim moriemur, "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we will die" (that being your metaphorical tomorrow, thank goodness).

BESTIARIA PROVERBS: There are some new animal proverbs today for OLOR, the swan, and CANCER, the crab.

FABULAE FACILES: The new easy-to-read fable is Luscinia et Accipiter, the story of the hawk and the nightingale, one of the most ancient of Aesop's fables, attested already in the poetry of Hesiod..

MILLE FABULAE: FABLE OF THE DAY: The fable for today is Mors et Pauper, the story of the man who was not as ready to die as he originally thought. (You can also a free PDF copy of the Mille Fabulae et Una book.)

MILLE FABULAE: ILLUSTRATIONS: The latest fables with images are Corvus Medicus et Aquila, the story of the wicked crow playing doctor, and Monedula Esuriens et Vulpes, the story of the jackdaw and the unripe fits, with some advice from a fox.

ENGLISH AESOP: The latest new fables are The Dog and the Lamb and Simonides Shipwrecked. (Plus, there's an English "fable of the day" each day, too.)

GOOGLE BOOKS: Today's Google Books are Otto's Die Sprichwörter und sprichwörtlichen Redensarten der Römer and Sutphen's supplement to Otto.

ROMAN HISTORY: I'm making my way now through Mommsen's History of Rome, having reached Mommsen's review of the Etruscans and Greeks in Italy. (If you are interested in joining in this Roman history project, you can find the reading schedule and all the books online, too - just visit that blog for more information).

TODAY'S MOTTOES & PROVERBS: Widgets available at SchoolhouseWidgets.com.

3-Word Mottoes: Today's 3-word motto is Sumus filii Dei (English: We are God's children).

3-Word Proverbs: Today's 3-word proverb is Auribus lupum teneo (English: I'm holding the wolf by the ears - too dangerous to let go, and too dangerous to hold!).

Rhyming Proverbs: Today's proverb with rhyme is: Non domus est pacis, ubi regnat lingua loquacis (English: The house where the tongue of a talkative person rules is not a house of peace).

Vulgate Verse: Today's verse is Non potestis Deo servire et mamonae (Matt. 6:24). 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 Conybeare: Ilias malorum: A proverbe used, when many and great mischiefes and mysfortunes happen to a man togeather. .

For an image today, here is the story of the old man and death, 816. Mors et Pauper. Pauper quidam lignorum fasciculum portabat humeris. Longo deinde itinere fatigatus, onere se levavit, consedit humi, et flebili voce advocavit Mortem. Illa continuo adest, interrogans quid se velit. Respondet pauper, “Humi ut tolleres hunc fascem mihi, huc ego te vocavi.” Adeo in miseris etiam vitae amantes sunt mortales. (source)

Round-Up: January 7

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'm Twittering again now at Aesopus and AesopusEnglish.

HODIE: antediem septimum Idus Ianuarias (and yes, you can have your own Roman Google Calendar).

VERBUM HODIERNUM: Today's word is the lovely GRATIA - read a brief essay about the word at the Verbosum blog. Here's one of the sayings you can find in the essay: Gratia referenda, "A favor should be repaid."

BESTIARIA PROVERBS: There are some new animal proverbs today for SCARABAEUS, the beetle, and ECHINUS, the hedgehog.

FABULAE FACILES: The new easy-to-read fable is Camelus et Iuppiter, the story of the camel who wanted to have horns.

MILLE FABULAE: FABLE OF THE DAY: The fable for today is Rana et Leo, the story of the lion and the noisy frog. (You can also a free PDF copy of the Mille Fabulae et Una book.)

MILLE FABULAE: ILLUSTRATIONS: The latest fables with images are Aquila et Vultur Senex, the hilarious story of the vulture who pretended to be an eagle chick, and Corvus et Aquila, Contendentes, the debate between the crow and the eagle.

ENGLISH AESOP: The latest new fables are The Grasshopper and the Owl and The Fox and the Grapes. (Plus, there's an English "fable of the day" each day, too.)

GOOGLE BOOKS: Today's Google Books are Junius's Adagiorum (a delightful book, much like Erasmus's adages, but with a personality all its own) and Coornhert's Emblemata Moralia et OEconomica (a marvelous emblem collection by the Dutch humanist Cornhertius).

ROMAN HISTORY: I'm making my way now through Mommsen's History of Rome, having reached the Servian Constitution. (If you are interested in joining in this Roman history project, you can find the reading schedule and all the books online, too - just visit that blog for more information).

TODAY'S MOTTOES & PROVERBS: Widgets available at SchoolhouseWidgets.com.

Tiny Proverbs: Today's tiny proverb is: Diu delibera (English: Ponder at length).

3-Word Mottoes Verb-less: Today's 3-word verb-less motto is Iustitia et veritas (English: Justice and truth).

Latin Animal Proverb: Today's animal proverb is Noli esse sicut leo in domo tua, opprimens subiectos tibi (English: Be not a lion in your own home, oppressing those who are subject to you).

Proverbs of Polydorus: Today's proverb from Polydorus is: Novissimi primi, primi novissimi (English: The first are last, and the last first).

Greek Proverb of the Day: Today's proverb is Ἐδίδαξά σε κυβισᾷν, καὶ σὺ βυθίσαι με ζητεῖς (English: I taught you to piss, and you are trying to drown me).

Proper Name Proverb from Erasmus: Today's proper name proverb from Erasmus is Nudae Gratiae (English: The Graces are nude; from Adagia 2.7.50 - for more about Latin gratia, see the word of the day above; Erasmus understands the saying metaphorically as an endorsement of simplicity and straightforwardness: ne quid inter amicos fictum aut fucatum, verum nuda, simpliciaque omnia).

For an image today, in honor of Erasmus's Gratiae, here is Canova's famous statue of the three Graces:

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. I'm Twittering again now at Aesopus and AesopusEnglish.

HODIE: Nonae Ianuariae, the Nones of January (and yes, you can have your own Roman Google Calendar).

VERBUM HODIERNUM: Today's word is TAM - read a brief essay about the word at the Verbosum blog. Here's one of the sayings you can find in the essay: Diliges proximum tuum tamquam teipsum, "You will cherish your neighbor as your own self."

BESTIARIA PROVERBS: There are some new animal proverbs today for LOCUSTA, the lobster, and TESTUDO, the turtle.

FABULAE FACILES: The new easy-to-read fable is Mures Duo, the famous story of the city mouse and the country mouse.

MILLE FABULAE: FABLE OF THE DAY: The fable for today is Piscator Aquam Verberans, the fisherman who roiled the waters. (You can also a free PDF copy of the Mille Fabulae et Una book.)

MILLE FABULAE: ILLUSTRATIONS: The latest fables with images are Accipiter et Galli Duo, the roosters who chose the hawk as their judge, and Aquila, Pennis Avulsis, the story of the captured eagle who had her feathers torn out.

ENGLISH AESOP: The latest new fables are The Fox and the Dragon and The Trees Protected by the Gods. (Plus, there's an English "fable of the day" each day, too.)

GOOGLE BOOKS: Today's Google Books are two collections of Aesop in English - Pratt-Chadwick's Aesop's Fables and Boothby's Fables and Satires.

ROMAN HISTORY: I'm making my way now through Mommsen's History of Rome, having reached the very beginnings of the founding of Rome on the Tibur. (If you are interested in joining in this Roman history project, you can find the reading schedule and all the books online, too - just visit that blog for more information).

TODAY'S MOTTOES & PROVERBS: Widgets available at SchoolhouseWidgets.com.

Tiny Mottoes: Today's tiny motto is: Audeo (English: I dare).

3-Word Proverbs Verb-less: Today's 3-word verb-less proverb is Senectus vitae hiems (English: Old age is the winter of life)

Audio Latin Proverb: Today's audio Latin proverb is Animum debes mutare, non caelum (English: You should change your state of mind, not the sky overhead). 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 Hydram secas (English: You're slashing a hydra - but, of course, since its heads grow back, you are not going to accomplish very much, unless you happen to be Hercules; from Adagia 1.10.9).

Here's an image to accompany that last proverb, with Hercules slaying the Lernean hydra (image source):

Blogging in 2011

I thought I would take this opportunity to provide an overview of the Bestiaria Latina blogs that will be active for 2011. Blog projects come and go (the flexibility of blogging is one of the things I like best about it), and for those of you who are curious just which blogs I am actively working on right now, I've made up a list below. Plus, I've also got a list of Latin and Classics-related blogs that appears in the lower far right side-bar of the main Bestiaria blog - do you have a Latin or Classics-related blog that is not on that list??? Let me know and I will add the link to the list!

The Bestiaria Latina blogs for 2011:

Bestiaria Latina: This is the main Bestiaria blog,with round-ups of all the other blogs, 3-4 times weekly. You can also subscribe to this blog by email.

Mille Fabulae et Una: The blog that accompanies the Mille Fabulae et Una book; right now, I'm focusing on finding images for every fable. There is usually a new fable post with image every day.

Latin Via Fables: Right now I am focusing on easy versions of the fables from Mille Fabulae et Una. There are 3-4 new easy fables each week.

English Aesop: I'm gradually transcribing the different English Aesop collections that I have found online - right now, I'm working on Boothy's wonderful verse fables! There is usually a new Englsh fable every day.

Latin Via Proverbs: This is where I am compiling materials for the Latin animal proverbs book I want to write this summer. I'm cycling through all the animals one by one, and then I will cycle back through them again with expanded lists of proverbs (I've found over 3000 animal proverbs in Latin so far, mirabile visu). There is usually an animal proverb post every day.

Verbosum: I'm working my way through the 366 most common Latin words, writing up notes on each word along with proverbs and sayings that illustrated its use. There are 3-4 new words each week.

I Love Google Books: This is where I am posting links to my favorite Latin-related books at GoogleBooks. I'm trying to post at least one book per day.

Reading Roman History: A brand-new blog for 2011, in response to Dennis's wonderful idea that it would be possible to read all of Mommsen, Merivale and Gibbon in a single year at the pace of about 30 pages per day. I am really excited about this new project; I am using this blog to record my own reading notes.

Round-Up: January 3

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'm Twittering again now at Aesopus and AesopusEnglish.

HODIE: ante diem tertium Nonas Ianuarias (and yes, you can have your own Roman Google Calendar for the year 2011).

VERBUM HODIERNUM: Today's word is VESPER - read a brief essay about the word at the Verbosum blog. Here's one of the sayings you can find in the essay: Vespere laudatur dies, "The day can be praised in the evening" (when you are sure that all has gone well!).

FABULAE FACILES: The new easy-to-read fable is Canis Vetulus et Magister, the story of an old hunting dog and his ungrateful master.

BESTIARIA PROVERBS: There are some new animal proverbs today for HIRUDO, the leech, and PASSER, the sparrow.

MILLE FABULAE: FABLE OF THE DAY: The fable for today is Cervus ad Stabulum Confugiens, the story of the stag hiding in the oxen's stall. (You can also a free PDF copy of the Mille Fabulae et Una book - and there's an English fable of the day, too.)

MILLE FABULAE: ILLUSTRATIONS: The latest fables with images are Corvi et Caseus, the crows fighting over the cheese, and Accipiter, Cuculus, et Sturnus, the story of the starling who boldly defies a hawk... fatally.

GOOGLE BOOKS: Today's Google Books are the Roman histories by Mommsen, Merivale and Gibbon, which I've collected to start a year-long reading project - you can read all about that at Dennis's blog! Maybe some readers of the Bestiaria blog will be interested in participating; I'll be recording my progress at this Roman History Reading blog.

TODAY'S MOTTOES & PROVERBS: Widgets available at SchoolhouseWidgets.com.

3-Word Mottoes: Today's 3-word motto is Deficiam aut effciam (English: I will fail, or succeed - although the English lacks the nice word play of the Latin).

3-Word Proverbs: Today's 3-word proverb is Amor caecus est (English: Love is blind).

Rhyming Proverbs: Today's proverb with rhyme is: Ex gutta mellis generantur flumina fellis (English: From a drop of honey arise great floods of bile).

Vulgate Verse: Today's verse is Dum tempus habemus, operemur bonum ad omnes (Gal. 6:10). 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 Conybeare: Posthac occasio calva: A proverbe, take occasion when it commeth, for he that will not when he may, when he will he shall have naye. The tyde tarieth for no man.

For an image today, here is the stag hiding in the stable: 157. Cervus ad Stabulum Confugiens. Persecutus a canibus, cervus ad stabulum boum confugiebat et ibi totum corpus, praeterquam cornua, abscondebat. Adibat stabulum servus et ille, oscitanter et negligenter huc et illuc oculos circumferens, mox decessit. Fortunae suae nimis applausit laetabundus cervus et sese tutissimum autumabat. Sed statim, ipso hero ingrediente locum, et rebus curiosius perlustratis, cornua cervi detexit et fustibus cum vicinis adoriebatur. (source)

JANUARY 1 2011 ... !!!

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'm Twittering again now at Aesopus and AesopusEnglish.

HODIE: Kalendae Ianuariae, the Kalends of January (and yes, you can have your own Roman Google Calendar - I've updated it for the year 2011 now, too!).

VERBUM HODIERNUM: Today's word is ANNUS - a word in honor of the new year! Read a brief essay about the word at the Verbosum blog. Here's one of the sayings you can find in the essay: Eunt anni more fluentis aquae, "The years go by like flowing water."

FABULAE FACILES: The new easy-to-read fable is Aesopus et Arcus, a story with a great lesson about taking it easy... no matter how strict your New Year's Resolutions might be!

BESTIARIA PROVERBS: There are some new animal proverbs today for TALPA, the mole, and GRUS, the crane.

MILLE FABULAE: FABLE OF THE DAY: The fable for today is Boves et Trabs, the story of the oxen and the bossy log. (You can also a free PDF copy of the Mille Fabulae et Una book - and there's an English fable of the day, too.)

MILLE FABULAE: ILLUSTRATIONS: The latest fables with images are Milvus et Lampetra, the kite and the lamprey, and Prometheus et Satyrus, the story of the satyr who embraced the fire.

GOOGLE BOOKS: Today's Google Books are Kohler's Das Tierleben im Sprichwort der Griechen und Romer and Vaenius's Quinti Horatii Flacci Emblemata, an emblem book inspired by the poetry of Horace!

TODAY'S MOTTOES & PROVERBS: Widgets available at SchoolhouseWidgets.com.

Tiny Proverbs: Today's tiny proverb is: Salomone sapientior (English: Wiser than Solomon).

3-Word Mottoes Verb-less: Today's 3-word verb-less motto is In omnia promptus (English: Ready for everything).

Latin Animal Proverb: Today's animal proverb is Viscum fugiens, avis in laqueos incidit (English: Fleeing the snare, the bird falls into the net - a version of "out of the frying pan, into the fire," but with birds instead of fish).

Proverbs of Polydorus: Today's proverb from Polydorus is: Gratis accepistis, gratis date (English: You have taken freely; give freely).

Proper Name Proverb from Erasmus: Today's proper name proverb from Erasmus is Simonidis cantilenae (English: The songs of Simonides; from Adagia 2.9.12 - This refers to the tradition that Simonides of Ceos was the poet who first perfected the craft of writing poetry for money, on commission).

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

For an image today, here is Janus, the god of "January," shown here in one of the Alciato emblems: