RIDDLE POSTS BY ARCHIVE DATE: SEP 2022

Symphosius Riddle 76: Silex

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Sat 10 Sep 2022
Original text:

Semper inest intus, sed raro cernitur ignis;
Intus enim latitat, sed solos prodit ad ictus;
Nec lignis ut vivat eget, nec ut occidat undis.

Translation:

Fire is always in me, though it is rarely seen;
For it lurks inside, but appears upon blows alone;
It does not need wood to live or water to die.

Click to show riddle solution?
Flint


Notes:

This edition is based on Raymond T. Ohl, ed. The Enigmas of Symphosius. PhD dissertation, University of Pennsylvania, 1928.



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Symphosius Riddle 77: Rotae

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Sat 10 Sep 2022
Original text:

Quattuor aequales currunt ex arte sorores
Sic quasi certantes, cum sit labor omnibus unus;
Et prope sunt pariter nec se contingere possunt.

Translation:

Four equal sisters run with skill
As if thus vying, though it be one work for all;
And they are equally close to one another, and they are not able to touch each other.

Click to show riddle solution?
Wheels


Notes:

This edition is based on Raymond T. Ohl, ed. The Enigmas of Symphosius. PhD dissertation, University of Pennsylvania, 1928.



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Symphosius Riddle 78: Scalae

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Sat 10 Sep 2022
Original text:

Nos sumus, ad caelum quae scandimus, alta petentes,
Concordi fabrica quas unus continet ordo,
Ut simul haerentes per nos comitentur  ad auras.

Translation:

We are they who ascend to heaven, seeking the heights,
Which one row contains in a harmonious structure,
Such that they, clinging together, are advanced to the sky.

Click to show riddle solution?
Stairs


Notes:

This edition is based on Raymond T. Ohl, ed. The Enigmas of Symphosius. PhD dissertation, University of Pennsylvania, 1928.

If you're researching/studying this collection, you should also consult this excellent new edition: T. J. Leary, ed. Symphosius: The Aenigmata, An Introduction, Text and Commentary. London: Bloomsbury, 2014. Textual differences in that edition include:

  • line 3: comitentur > comitemur
  • Translation is different (see also the long note in his commentary): “I am what climbs to the sky, seeking the heavens, something which a single series holds in a unified structure so that clinging together I am accompanied to the heights by means of myself.”


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Symphosius Riddle 79: Scopa

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Sat 10 Sep 2022
Original text:

Mundi magna parens, laqueo conexa tenaci,
Vincta solo plano, manibus conpressa duabus
Ducor ubique sequens et me quoque cuncta sequuntur.

Translation:

Great mother of the world, fastened by a tenacious knot,
Bound on the flat ground, held in two hands,
Following, I am led everywhere, and all things also follow me.

Click to show riddle solution?
Broom


Notes:

This edition is based on Raymond T. Ohl, ed. The Enigmas of Symphosius. PhD dissertation, University of Pennsylvania, 1928.

If you're researching/studying this collection, you should also consult this excellent new edition: T. J. Leary, ed. Symphosius: The Aenigmata, An Introduction, Text and Commentary. London: Bloomsbury, 2014. Textual differences in that edition include:

  • line 2: Vincta > iuncta


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Symphosius Riddle 80: Tintinnabulum

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Sat 10 Sep 2022
Original text:

Aere rigens curvo patulum conponor in orbem.
Mobilis est intus linguae crepitantis imago.
Non resono positus, motus quoque saepe resulto.

Translation:

Rigid with curved bronze, I am formed in a wide circle.
Inside is the moving likeness of a murmuring tongue.
Set down, I do not resound, but moved, I often ring out.

Click to show riddle solution?
Bell


Notes:

This edition is based on Raymond T. Ohl, ed. The Enigmas of Symphosius. PhD dissertation, University of Pennsylvania, 1928.



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Symphosius Riddle 81: Lagena

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Sat 10 Sep 2022
Original text:

Mater erat Tellus, genitor est ipse Prometheus;
Auriculaeque regunt redimitam ventre cavato.
Dum misere cecidi, mater mea me laniavit.

Translation:

My mother was the Earth, my father is Prometheus himself;
And my little ears guide (as handles), crowned with hollow belly;
When I fell miserably, my mother butchered me.

Click to show riddle solution?
Ceramic Jar


Notes:

This edition is based on Raymond T. Ohl, ed. The Enigmas of Symphosius. PhD dissertation, University of Pennsylvania, 1928.

If you're researching/studying this collection, you should also consult this excellent new edition: T. J. Leary, ed. Symphosius: The Aenigmata, An Introduction, Text and Commentary. London: Bloomsbury, 2014. Textual differences in that edition include:

  • line 2: regunt redimitam > rigent redimitae
  • line 3 is different: dum cecidi subito laniavit


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Symphosius Riddle 82: Conditum

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Sat 10 Sep 2022
Original text:

Tres olim fuimus, qui nomine iungimur uno;
Ex tribus est unus, et tres miscentur in uno;
Quisque bonus per se: melior, qui continet omnes.

Translation:

Once we were three, who are joined by one name;
One is from three, and three are mixed in one;
Each is good in itself: better, that which contains all of them.

Click to show riddle solution?
Spiced Wine


Notes:

This edition is based on Raymond T. Ohl, ed. The Enigmas of Symphosius. PhD dissertation, University of Pennsylvania, 1928.



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Symphosius Riddle 83: Vinum in acetum conversum

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Sat 10 Sep 2022
Original text:

Sublatum nihil est, nihil est extrinsecus auctum;
Nec tamen invenio, quicquid prius ipse reliqui.
Quod fueram, non sum; coepi, quod non eram.

Translation:

Nothing was taken away, nothing extrinsic was added;
And yet I do not find what I left before;
What I had been, I am not; I begin to be what I was not.

Click to show riddle solution?
Wine turned to vinegar


Notes:

This edition is based on Raymond T. Ohl, ed. The Enigmas of Symphosius. PhD dissertation, University of Pennsylvania, 1928.

If you're researching/studying this collection, you should also consult this excellent new edition: T. J. Leary, ed. Symphosius: The Aenigmata, An Introduction, Text and Commentary. London: Bloomsbury, 2014. Textual differences in that edition include:

  • line 3: in the third- rather than first-person, drawing on a manuscript family that smoothes out grammatical issues and perhaps addresses the confusion here over whether the speaker is the wine itself or someone who left the wine


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Symphosius Riddle 84: Malum

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Sat 10 Sep 2022
Original text:

Nomen ovis Graecum, contentio magna dearum
Fraus iuvenis cincti, multarum cura sororum
Excidio Troiae vel bella cruenta peregi.

Translation:

The name for a sheep in Greek, the great contest among the goddesses,
The fraud of the belted youth, the care of many sisters,
The fall of Troy or cruel wars—I completed all this.

Click to show riddle solution?
Apple


Notes:

This edition is based on Raymond T. Ohl, ed. The Enigmas of Symphosius. PhD dissertation, University of Pennsylvania, 1928.

If you're researching/studying this collection, you should also consult this excellent new edition: T. J. Leary, ed. Symphosius: The Aenigmata, An Introduction, Text and Commentary. London: Bloomsbury, 2014. Textual differences in that edition include:

  • line 2: cincti > functi
  • line 3 is different, drawing on another manuscript family: hoc volo ne breviter mihi syllaba prima legatur (Leary notes that the version above may stem from a gloss of this line, p. 215)


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Symphosius Riddle 85: Perna

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Sat 10 Sep 2022
Original text:

Nobile duco genus magni de gente Catonis.
Una mihi soror est, plures licet esse putentur.
De fumo facies, sapientia de mare nata est.

Translation:

I lead a noble line, from the great Cato’s kind;
I have one sister, even if there are thought to be more;
My face is from smoke, my taste is born from the sea.

Click to show riddle solution?
Ham


Notes:

This edition is based on Raymond T. Ohl, ed. The Enigmas of Symphosius. PhD dissertation, University of Pennsylvania, 1928.



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Symphosius Riddle 86: Malleus

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Sat 10 Sep 2022
Original text:

Non ego de toto mihi corpore vindico vires,
Sed capitis pugna nulli certare recuso:
Grande mihi caput est, totum quoque pondus in illo.

Translation:

I do not claim strength with my whole body,
But in a fight of heads I do not refuse to compete against anyone:
My head is big, also all my weight is in it.

Click to show riddle solution?
Hammer


Notes:

This edition is based on Raymond T. Ohl, ed. The Enigmas of Symphosius. PhD dissertation, University of Pennsylvania, 1928.



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Symphosius Riddle 87: Pistillus

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Sat 10 Sep 2022
Original text:

Contero cuncta simul virtutis robore magno.
Una mihi cervix, capitum sed forma duorum.
Pro pedibus caput est: nam cetera corpore non sunt.

Translation:

I grind all things together with great strength of power.
I have one neck, but the shape of two heads.
There is a head in the place of feet: for there are not other parts for my body.

Click to show riddle solution?
Pestle


Notes:

This edition is based on Raymond T. Ohl, ed. The Enigmas of Symphosius. PhD dissertation, University of Pennsylvania, 1928.

If you're researching/studying this collection, you should also consult this excellent new edition: T. J. Leary, ed. Symphosius: The Aenigmata, An Introduction, Text and Commentary. London: Bloomsbury, 2014. Textual differences in that edition include:

  • line 3: non sunt > absunt


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Symphosius Riddle 88: Strigilis aenea

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Sat 10 Sep 2022
Original text:

Rubida curva capax, alienis humida guttis,
Luminibus falsis auri mentita colorem,
Dedita sudori, modico subcumbo labori.

Translation:

Copper-coloured, curved, capacious, damp with foreign drops,
Counterfeiting through false lights the colour of gold,
Given over to sweat, I succumb to some effort.

Click to show riddle solution?
Bronze Strigil


Notes:

This edition is based on Raymond T. Ohl, ed. The Enigmas of Symphosius. PhD dissertation, University of Pennsylvania, 1928.



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Symphosius Riddle 89: Balneum

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Sat 10 Sep 2022
Original text:

Per totas aedes innoxius introit ignis;
Est calor in medio magnus quem nemo veretur.
Non est nuda domus, sed nudus convenit hospes.

Translation:

Through the whole house a harmless fire enters;
There is a great heat in the middle which no one fears.
The house is not bare, but a nude guest is appropriate.

Click to show riddle solution?
Bath-house


Notes:

This edition is based on Raymond T. Ohl, ed. The Enigmas of Symphosius. PhD dissertation, University of Pennsylvania, 1928.



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Symphosius Riddle 90: Tessera

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Sat 10 Sep 2022
Original text:

Dedita sum semper voto, non certa futuri.
Iactor in ancipites varia vertigine casus
Nunc ego maesta malis, nunc rebus laeta secundis.

Translation:

I am always dedicated to a vow, not certain of the future.
I am thrown into the varied whirling of twofold chance.
Now I am sorrowful because of misfortune, now I am happy because of good fortune.

Click to show riddle solution?
A die


Notes:

This edition is based on Raymond T. Ohl, ed. The Enigmas of Symphosius. PhD dissertation, University of Pennsylvania, 1928.



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Symphosius Riddle 91: Pecunia

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Sat 10 Sep 2022
Original text:

Terra fui primo, latebris abscondita terrae;
Nunc aliud pretium flammae nomenque dederunt,
Nec iam terra vocor, licet ex me terra paretur.

Translation:

First I was earth, concealed in the earth’s hiding places;
Now flames have given me another value and name,
I am not called earth now, although earth is obtained through me.

Click to show riddle solution?
Money


Notes:

This edition is based on Raymond T. Ohl, ed. The Enigmas of Symphosius. PhD dissertation, University of Pennsylvania, 1928.



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Symphosius Riddle 92: Mulier quae geminos pariebat

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Sat 10 Sep 2022
Original text:

Plus ego sustinui quam corpus debuit unum.
Tres animas habui, quas omnes intus habebam;
Discessere duae, sed tertia paene peregit.

Translation:

I have sustained more than one body should.
I had three souls, all of which I had inside;
Two left, but the third one almost finished too.

Click to show riddle solution?
Mother who had twins


Notes:

This edition is based on Raymond T. Ohl, ed. The Enigmas of Symphosius. PhD dissertation, University of Pennsylvania, 1928.



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Symphosius Riddle 93: Miles podagricus

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Sat 10 Sep 2022
Original text:

Bellipotens olim, saevis metuendus in armis,
Quinque pedes habui, quod numquam nemo negavit.
Nunc mihi vix duo sunt; inopem me copia reddit.

Translation:

I was once martial, ferocious and feared in arms,
I had five feet, which no one ever denied.
Now I barely have two: abundance has rendered me helpless.

Click to show riddle solution?
Soldier with gout


Notes:

This edition is based on Raymond T. Ohl, ed. The Enigmas of Symphosius. PhD dissertation, University of Pennsylvania, 1928.



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Symphosius Riddle 94: Luscus alium vendens

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Sat 10 Sep 2022
Original text:

Cernere iam fas est quod vix tibi credere fas est:
Unus inest oculus, capitum sed milia multa.
Qui quod habet vendit, quod non habet unde parabit?

Translation:

Now it is possible to see what is scarcely possible to believe:
There is one eye, but many thousand heads.
From where will he, who sells what he has, acquire what he does not have?

Click to show riddle solution?
One-eyed garlic seller


Notes:

This edition is based on Raymond T. Ohl, ed. The Enigmas of Symphosius. PhD dissertation, University of Pennsylvania, 1928.



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Symphosius Riddle 95: Funambulus

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Sat 10 Sep 2022
Original text:

Inter luciferum caelum terrasque iacentes
Aera per medium docta meat arte viator.
Semita sed brevis est, pedibus nec sufficit ipsis.

Translation:

Between light-bearing heaven and the earth lying below
Through mid-air by learned skill the traveller goes.
But the path is narrow, and the feet themselves do not suffice.

Click to show riddle solution?
Tight-rope walker


Notes:

This edition is based on Raymond T. Ohl, ed. The Enigmas of Symphosius. PhD dissertation, University of Pennsylvania, 1928.



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Symphosius Riddle 96

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Sat 10 Sep 2022

There is no actual Riddle 96 attributed to Symphosius: there is a gap in the manuscripts, but this riddle has been inserted into four of the manuscripts, so it kind of counts!



Original text:

Nunc mihi iam credas, fieri quod posse negatur.
Octo tenes manibus, sed me monstrante magistro
Sublatis septem reliqui tibi sex remanebunt.

Translation:

Right now you should believe me that what is said to be impossible happens.
You hold eight in your hands, but with me showing you as teacher,
With seven taken away, six remaining will be left to you.

Click to show riddle solution?
Roman numerals formed with your hands? Words?


Notes:

This edition is based on Raymond T. Ohl, ed. The Enigmas of Symphosius. PhD dissertation, University of Pennsylvania, 1928.



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Symphosius Riddle 97: Umbra

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Sat 10 Sep 2022
Original text:

Insidias nullas vereor de fraude latenti;
Nam deus attribuit nobis haec munera formae,
Quod me nemo movet, nisi qui prius ipse movetur.

Translation:

I fear no traps from lurking fraud;
For God gave us these gifts of form,
That no one moves me unless he himself is moved first.

Click to show riddle solution?
Shadow


Notes:

This edition is based on Raymond T. Ohl, ed. The Enigmas of Symphosius. PhD dissertation, University of Pennsylvania, 1928.



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Symphosius Riddle 98: Echo

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Sat 10 Sep 2022
Original text:

Virgo modesta nimis legem bene servo pudoris:
Ore procax non sum, nec sum temeraria linguae;
Ultra nolo loqui, sed do responsa loquenti.

Translation:

A modest maid, I follow the law of modesty excessively well:
I am not shameless in speech nor am I reckless in language;
I do not speak of my own accord, but I give responses to the speaker.

Click to show riddle solution?
Echo


Notes:

This edition is based on Raymond T. Ohl, ed. The Enigmas of Symphosius. PhD dissertation, University of Pennsylvania, 1928.



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Symphosius Riddle 99: Somnus

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Sat 10 Sep 2022
Original text:

Sponte mea veniens varias ostendo figuras.
Fingo metus vanos nullo discrimine veri.
Sed me nemo videt, nisi qui sua lumina claudit.

Translation:

Coming of my own free will, I reveal various figures.
I form baseless fears with no distinction of truth.
But no one sees me unless they close their eyes.

Click to show riddle solution?
Sleep


Notes:

This edition is based on Raymond T. Ohl, ed. The Enigmas of Symphosius. PhD dissertation, University of Pennsylvania, 1928.



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Symphosius Riddle 100: Monumentum

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Sat 10 Sep 2022
Original text:

Nomen habens hominis post ultima fata relinquor.
Nomen inane manet, sed dulcis vita profugit.
Vita tamen superest morti post tempora vitae.

Translation:

I am left holding the name of a person after the last fate.
The useless name remains, but sweet life has fled.
Yet life survives death after a lifetime.

Click to show riddle solution?
Tombstone


Notes:

This edition is based on Raymond T. Ohl, ed. The Enigmas of Symphosius. PhD dissertation, University of Pennsylvania, 1928.



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