Friday, January 7, 2011

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: