Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Round-Up: October 31

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, and you can also get a free PDF copy of Mille Fabulae et Una: 1001 Aesop's Fables in Latin. If you prefer the heft of a book in your hand, you can get the books in printed form from Lulu.com.

HODIE: pridie Kalendas Novembres. The day before the Kalends of November.

MYTHS and LEGENDS: The art image for today's legend shows Odysseus and the Sirens; 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: Diligamus invicem (English: Let us love one another).

3-WORD MOTTOES: Today's 3-word verb-less motto is Post nubila Phoebus (English: After the clouds, the sun - a good saying for stormy times!).

ANIMAL PROVERBS: Today's animal proverb is Ducito bovem volentem (English: Lead the ox that is willing).

POLYDORUS: Today's proverb from Polydorus is: Ubi amici ibi opes (English: Where there are friends, there is wealth).

PROPER NAME PROVERBS: Today's proper name proverb from Erasmus is Ne Iupiter quidem omnibus placet (English: Not even Jupiter can please everybody; from Adagia 2.7.55).

GREEK PROVERBS: Today's proverb is Βοῦν ἐπὶ γλώττης φέρει (English: He's carrying an ox on his tongue - which is to say, he's been bribed; the ox here stands by metonymy for the ancient Greek coins that were stamped with the image of an ox).

BREVISSIMA: The distich for today is Somnus: Dum nihil ipse vides, facio te multa videre; / Lumina ni claudat, me quoque nemo videt. (It's a riddle!)


And here is today's proverbial lolcat:



TODAY'S FABLES:

FABULAE FACILES: The fable from the Fabulae Faciles widget is Leo et Tauri Duo, a story illustrating the principle of "divide and conquer" (this fable has a vocabulary list).

AESOP IN ENGLISH VERSE: Today's fable from the English verse widget is The Widow and the Sheep, a fable about an unfortunate sheep.

MILLE FABULAE: The fable from the Mille Fabulae et Una widget is Struthiocamelus et Gallina, the story of a very foolish ostrich.


Struthiocamelus Volans