Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Round-Up: December 31

Cunctis lectoribus quam laetissimum Annum Novum exopto: omnia fausta et feliciter eveniant vobis!

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.

Sanctus Silvester: New Year's Eve. The saint's day celebrated on December 31 is Saint Silvester, and in some Catholic countries, the New Year's Eve celebrations are called by the saint's name (much as we celebrate "Valentine's Day" using the name of the saint for the holiday). In honor of Saint Silvester, I've published my favorite of the legends about Silvester: how he tamed a foul and deadly dragon! You can read the legend of Saint Silvester and the Dragon here, in Latin and in Caxton's English translation, too!

Ning Blog: I've posted something that might be of interest in my Ning Blog, "Sharing Materials at Quia.com" - an explanation of how the real power of Quia.com resides in sharing materials and adapting other people's materials for your own purposes!

Bestiaria Latina Podcasts: Today's audio podcast is Latin Via Proverbs: Group 8, which includes one of my favorite sayings: Ex granis acervus (I call this a proverb for bloggers: if you blog every day, slowly but surely you end up with a big heap of materials!).

Latin Proverb of the Day: Today's proverb is Eventus stultorum magister est (English: The outcome is the teacher of fools - in other words, if you do not use your ability to reason, you will learn only by suffering the consequences of your mistakes: ouch!). You can use the Javascript to include the Latin proverb of the day automatically each day on your webpage or blog. Meanwhile, to read a brief essay about this proverb, visit the AudioLatinProverbs.com website.

Greek Proverb of the Day: Today's proverb is Φιλεῖν ἀκαίρως ἴσον ἐστὶ τῷ μισεῖν (English: To love at the wrong time or in the wrong way is the same as to hate - a very profound saying! I cannot think of a single English phrase to do justice to the marvelous Greek word ἀκαίρως). You can use the Javascript to include the Greek proverb of the day automatically each day on your webpage or blog - and each Greek proverb also comes with a Latin version.

Fable of the Day: Today's fable of the day from Barlow's Aesop is DE RUSTICO ET COLUBRO (the instructive story of the man's foolish kindness towards a malicious snake!). You can use the Javascript to include the fable of the day automatically each day on your webpage or blog - meanwhile, to find out more about today's fable, visit the Ning Resource Page, where you will find links to the text, commentary, as well as a discussion board for questions and comments.

Latin Via Fables: Grammar Commentary: I'm presenting the "Barlow Aesop" collection, fable by fable, with my commentary on each (a more expanded commentary than is possible within the confines of the book). Today's grammar commentary is Fable 66: Leo et Quattuor Tauri, the story of the four bulls and how the lion managed to defeat them.

Latin Christmas Carols: Today's Christmas song in Latin is Auld Lang Syne (a version in Latin of the famous Scottish song by Robert Burns). You can use the Javascript to include the Christmas carol of the day automatically each day on your webpage or blog - meanwhile, to find out more about today's song, visit the Gaudium Mundo Christmas Carol website, where you will find the lyrics to the song in Latin, along with links to additional online information about the song:



Aesop's Fables in Latin now available for pre-order at Amazon.com!