Cento Vergilianus de laudibus Christi is a fourth-century Latin poem
arranged by Faltonia Betitia Proba after her conversion to Christianity.
A cento rearranges verses written by other poets; this one repurposes
Virgil to tell stories from the Old and New Testament of the Christian
Bible. Much of the work focuses on the story of Jesus Christ. The poem
was widely circulated, eventually being used in schools to teach the
tenets of Christianity, often alongside Augustine of Hippo's De Doctrina
Christiana. Although the poem was popular, critical reception was mixed.
A pseudonymous work purportedly by Pope Gelasius I disparaged the poem,
deeming it apocryphal, and St. Jerome may have written disapprovingly of
it, and of Proba. Other thinkers like Isidore of Seville, Petrarch, and
Giovanni Boccaccio wrote highly of her, and many praised her ingenuity.
During the 19th and 20th centuries the poem was considered a work of
poor quality, but recent scholars have held it in higher regard.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cento_Vergilianus_de_laudibus_Christi>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1568:
Delegates of the Three Nations of Transylvania adopted the
Edict of Torda, allowing local communities to freely elect their
preachers in an unprecedented act of religious tolerance.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edict_of_Torda>
1813:
The novel Pride and Prejudice by English author Jane Austen was
published, using material from an unpublished manuscript that she
originally wrote between 1796 and 1797.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pride_and_Prejudice>
1933:
Choudhry Rahmat Ali published a pamphlet entitled "Now or
Never" in which he called for the creation of a Muslim state in
northwest India that he termed "Pakstan".
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pakistan_Declaration>
1958:
The Lego Group, a Danish toy company, patented the design of
Lego bricks (pictured).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lego>
1984:
Tropical Storm Domoina made landfall in southern Mozambique,
causing some of the most severe flooding recorded in the region.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropical_Storm_Domoina>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
if anything:
1. (idiomatic) Used after a negative statement to suggest the opposite is
true.
2. (idiomatic) Used to suggest or state tentatively that something may be
the case (often the opposite of something previously implied).
3. (idiomatic) Used in questions when the speaker does not know for sure if
the listener will have an answer.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/if_anything>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
One must have faith in the best in men and distrust the worst. One
must allow the best to be shown so that it reveals and prevails over the
worst. Nations should have a pillory for whoever stirs up useless hate,
and another for whoever fails to tell them the truth in time.
--José Martí
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Mart%C3%AD>