Sunday, June 2, 2013

Latin Proverbs and Fables Round-Up: June 2

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, as is 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 (Roman Calendar): ante diem quartum Nonas Iunias.

MYTHS and LEGENDS: The art image for today's legend shows Venus Trying to Detain Adonis; 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: Cui bono? (English: For whose benefit? - the question that you need to ask if you want to find the culprit in a crime).

3-WORD MOTTOES: Today's 3-word verb-less motto is Deus pastor meus (English: God is my shepherd).

ANIMAL PROVERBS: Today's animal proverb is Canis mortuus non mordet (English: A dead dog does not bite).

POLYDORUS: Today's proverb from Polydorus is: Noctuas Athenas portat (English: He's carrying owls to Athens - the Greek equivalent of carrying coals to Newcastle).

PROPER NAME PROVERBS: Today's proper name proverb from Erasmus is Romanus sedendo vincit (English: The Roman wins by staying put; from Adagia 1.10.29).

GREEK PROVERBS: Today's proverb is Ὄφις εἰ μὴ φάγοι ὄφιν, δράκων οὐ γενήσεται (English: If snake does not eat snake, it will not become a dragon).

BREVISSIMA: The distich poster for today is Parum Habere Cum Honore. Click here for a full-sized view; the poem has a vocabulary list and an English translation, too.


And here are today's proverbial LOLcats.




TODAY'S FABLES:

FABULAE FACILES: The fable from the Fabulae Faciles widget is Sorices, Mures, et Feles, a story of the cat-as-bishop (this fable has a vocabulary list).

MILLE FABULAE: The fable from the Mille Fabulae et Una widget is Hirundo et Corvus, a story of two mismatched friends.

Hirundo et Corvus

GreekLOLz - and Latin and English, too. Below is one of my GreekLOLz; for the individual Greek, Latin and English versions of the graphic, see the blog post: Αἴολος ἀνὴρ εἰς βόθρον ἐμπεσεῖται. Vir subdolus in foveam incidet. The sly man will fall into the pitfall.