Monday, February 22, 2010

Round-Up: February 22

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.

HODIE: ante diem octavum Kalendas Martias. 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:
  • Securis et Lignator, the story of the trees who turned out to be their own worst enemies.
  • Corvus et Lupi, the story of the crow who feigned friendship with a pack of wolves.
  • Taurus et Vitulus, the story of a bovine generation gap.
  • Lepus et Vulpes, the story of the rabbit and the fox asking Jupiter for presents.
  • Asinus et Cicadae, the story of a donkey who wanted to chirp like a cricket instead of braying like a donkey.
I've picked out my favorite one, the story of the poor donkey, Asinus et Cicadae, to share with you here in the blog:
Asinus, cum cicādās canentēs audīvisset, et concentūs suāvitātem mīrātus esset, interrogābat eās quō victū ūterentur, ut vōcem adeō dulcem clāramque ēmitterent. Cumque illae rēspondērent sē rōre vescī, asinus, dum aberrat, expectāns rōrem quī noctibus fit, famē interiit.
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: Nosce teipsum (English: Know yourself).

3-Word Mottoes Verb-less: Today's 3-word verb-less motto is In libertate labor (English: In freedom, hard work - but the work of a free man is very different from the work of a slave).

Latin Animal Proverb: Today's animal proverb is Asinus gestat mysteria (English: The donkey is carrying the religious icons - an allusion to the famous fable of the donkey who thought the people were worshiping him, rather than the divine icon he carried on his back).

Proverbs of Polydorus: Today's proverb from Polydorus is: Qui arat olivetum, rogat fructum; qui stercorat, exorat; qui caedit, cogit (English: He who plows the olive yard asks for the harvest; he who uses fertilizer, demands it; he who prunes, compels it - a great agriculture metaphor that can stand for all kinds of life's endeavors where persistence and hard work are required).

Proper Name Proverb from Erasmus: Today's proper name proverb from Erasmus is Ulysseum commentum (English: A contrivance worthy of Odysseus; from Adagia 2.8.79 - and this Latin word commentum has all those connotations of fabrication and fictitiousness which suit Odysseus perfectly!).

Greek Proverb of the Day: Today's proverb is Ἀνόητος νεοττὸς ἑκὼν δείκνυσι τὴν αὐτοῦ νοσσιάν (English: The foolish chick exposes himself by sticking outside of the nest… it's a dangerous world for the little chicks: staying in the nest is best!).

For an image today, here is an illustration for the story of the trees and the woodcutter's axe, Securis et Lignator:




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