RIDDLE POSTS BY CONTRIBUTOR: ALEXANDRAREIDER

Symphosius Riddle 6: Tegula

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Fri 01 Jul 2022
Original text:

Terra mihi corpus, vires mihi praestitit ignis;
De terra nascor, sedes est semper in alto;
Et me perfundit, sed me cito deserit, umor.

Translation:

Earth gave me body, fire gave me strength;
From the land I am born, my seat is always on high;
And moisture floods me, but quickly leaves me.

Click to show riddle solution?
Roof-tile


Notes:

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



Tags: riddles  solutions  latin  symphosius 

Eusebius Riddle 7: De littera

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Mon 27 Dec 2021
Original text:

Innumerae sumus, et simul omnes quaeque sonamus.
Una loqui nequit; nos tetrae ludimus albis,
Et licet alta loquemur, non sonus auribus instat.
Praeteritum loquimus, praesens, et multa futura.

Translation:

We are innumerable, and we all resound at the same time.
One cannot speak; black, we play on white,
And although we speak loudly, the sound does not reach the ears.
We speak of the past, the present, and many future things.

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On the letter


Tags: riddles  latin  Eusebius 

Tatwine Riddle 7: De tintinno

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Wed 05 Jan 2022
Original text:

Olim dictabar proprio sub nomine "Caesar,"
Optabantque meum proceres iam cernere vultum.
Nunc aliter versor superis, suspensus in auris,
Et, caesus, cogor late persolvere planctum
Cursibus haut tardis cum ad luctum turba recurrit.
Mordeo mordentem labris mox dentibus absque.

Translation:

Once I was called "Caesar" under my own name,
And princes then desired to behold my face.
Now I am occupied otherwise, suspended in the upper winds, 
And, beaten, I am forced to perform a lamentation far and wide
When the crowd resorts to mourning with not-at-all slow steps.
I soon bite the biter with lips without teeth.

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On the bell


Tags: riddles  latin  Tatwine 

Aldhelm Riddle 7: Fatum

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Thu 10 Mar 2022
Original text:

Facundum constat quondam cecinisse poetam:
“Quo Deus et quo dura vocat Fortuna; sequamur!”
Me veteres falso dominam vocitare solebant,
Sceptra regens mundi dum Christi gratia regnet.

Translation:

It is certain that an eloquent poet once sang: 
“Where God and where hard Fortune calls, let us follow!”
The ancients were erroneously accustomed to calling me mistress, 
The one ruling the sceptres of the world, until the grace of Christ shall reign.

Click to show riddle solution?
Fate


Notes:

This edition is based on Rudolf Ehwald, ed. Aldhelmi Opera Omnia. Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Auctores Antiquissimi, 15. Berlin: Weidmann, 1919, pages 59-150. Available online here.



Tags: riddles  latin  Aldhelm 

Symphosius Riddle 7: Fumus

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Fri 01 Jul 2022
Original text:

Sunt mihi, sunt lacrimae, sed non est causa doloris.
Est iter ad caelum, sed me gravis inpedit aer;
Et qui me genuit sine me non nascitur ipse.

Translation:

Tears are mine, but the cause is not sadness.
My path is toward the sky, but heavy air impedes me;
And he who birthed me, without me, is not himself born.

Click to show riddle solution?
Smoke


Notes:

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



Tags: riddles  solutions  latin  symphosius 

Eusebius Riddle 8: De vento et igne

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Mon 27 Dec 2021
Original text:

Dissimiles sumus, et mos non similis tenet ambos.
Unus contingi patitur, nec forte videri,
Sed prope aspicitur pulcher nec tangitur alter.
Subvolat unus per caelos; stat alter in imis.

Translation:

We are dissimilar, and unlike characters rule us both.
One allows itself to be touched, but not, as it happens, to be seen,
But the other, beautiful, is seen up close, but is not touched.
The one flies up through the heavens; the other stands in the depths.

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On the wind and fire


Tags: riddles  latin  Eusebius 

Tatwine Riddle 8: De ara

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Wed 05 Jan 2022
Original text:

Quadripedis pulchri quamvis constat mihi forma,
Sponte, tamen, nullus me usquam lustrare videbit.
Bis binis, certe, per quadrum cornibus armor,
Quosque meis dapibus dignos satiare solesco.
Indignis potumque cibumque referre negabo.
Ex alta clarum merui re nomen habere.

Translation:

Although my form is that of a beautiful quadruped, 
None will, however, see me walk anywhere on my own.
Certainly, I am armed with twice-two horns in a square,
And I am accustomed to satisfy those worthy with my feasts.
I deny to bring to the unworthy both food and drink.
I fittingly took my brilliant name from high things.

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On the altar


Tags: riddles  latin  Tatwine 

Aldhelm Riddle 8: Pliades

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Thu 10 Mar 2022
Original text:

Nos Athlante satas stolidi dixere priores;
Nam septena cohors est, sed vix cernitur una.
Arce poli gradimur nec non sub Tartara terrae;
Furvis conspicimur tenebris et luce latemus
Nomina de verno ducentes tempore prisca.

Translation:

Ignorant ancestors said that we were the children of Atlas.
Our cohort is seven-fold, but one can hardly be seen.
We walk at the top of the sky and under Tartarus in the earth;
We are seen in shadowy darkness and we hide in the light,
Drawing our former name from springtime. 

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Pleiades


Notes:

This edition is based on Rudolf Ehwald, ed. Aldhelmi Opera Omnia. Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Auctores Antiquissimi, 15. Berlin: Weidmann, 1919, pages 59-150. Available online here.



Tags: riddles  latin  Aldhelm 

Symphosius Riddle 8: Nebula

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Fri 01 Jul 2022
Original text:

Nox ego sum facie, sed non sum nigra colore,
Inque die media tenebras tamen affero mecum;
Nec mihi dant stellae lucem nec Cynthia lumen.

Translation:

I am night on the face of it, but I am not the colour black,
And yet at midday I bring the shadows with me;
The stars do not give me light nor Cynthia her moon-beam.

Click to show riddle solution?
Cloud


Notes:

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



Tags: riddles  solutions  latin  symphosius 

Eusebius Riddle 9: De Alpha

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Mon 27 Dec 2021
Original text:

Dux ego linguarum, resonans et prima per orbem,
Dicor et unum, quingentos, vel mille figuro,
Atque vocari primus per me coepit Adamus.
Do, domina linguae, pueris me vim resonare.

Translation:

I am said to be the prince of speech, echoing and first throughout the world,
And I represent the numbers one, five hundred, even one thousand,
And Adam was the first who began to be called with me. 
Mistress of language, I give children the power to voice me.

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On Alpha, the first letter in the Greek alphabet


Tags: riddles  latin  Eusebius 

Tatwine Riddle 9: De cruce Christi

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Wed 05 Jan 2022
Original text:

Versiculor cernor nunc, nunc mihi forma nitescit.
Lege, fui quondam cunctis iam larbula servis,
Sed modo me, gaudens, orbis veneratur et ornat.
Quique meum gustat fructum iam sanus habetur,
Nam mihi concessum est insanis ferre salutem.
Propterea sapiens optat me in fronte tenere.

Translation:

Now I appear multicoloured, now my form shines.
Once, by law, I was then a terror to all slaves,
But now, rejoicing, the world venerates and decorates me.
He who tastes my fruit is now kept healthy,
For it is granted to me to bring health to the unwell.
Therefore the wise man wishes to hold me on his front.

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On Christ’s cross


Tags: riddles  latin  Tatwine 

Aldhelm Riddle 9: Adamas

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Sat 12 Mar 2022
Original text:

En ego non vereor rigidi discrimina ferri
Flammarum neu torre cremor, sed sanguine capri
Virtus indomiti mollescit dura rigoris.
Sic cruor exsuperat, quem ferrea massa pavescit.

Translation:

Behold, I do not fear separation through hard iron,
Nor am I burned in a furnace of flames, but by a goat’s blood
Is the hard strength of my indomitable firmness softened. 
Thus blood overcomes what an iron mass fears. 

Click to show riddle solution?
Adamant


Notes:

This edition is based on Rudolf Ehwald, ed. Aldhelmi Opera Omnia. Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Auctores Antiquissimi, 15. Berlin: Weidmann, 1919, pages 59-150. Available online here.



Tags: riddles  latin  Aldhelm 

Symphosius Riddle 9: Pluvia

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Fri 01 Jul 2022
Original text:

Ex alto venio longa delapsa ruina;
De caelo cecidi medias transmissa per auras;
Sed sinus excepit, qui me simul ipse recepit.

Translation:

From on high I come, a long, descended rushing-down;
I fell from the sky, sent through mid-air,
But the basin draws me out that at the same time receives me.

Click to show riddle solution?
Rain


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: transmissa > demissa


Tags: riddles  solutions  latin  symphosius 

Eusebius Riddle 10: De sole

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Mon 27 Dec 2021
Original text:

Omnis, quaque via pergit, venit ut requiescat.
Non mea sic via; non mihi sedes subditur ulla.
Sed iuge restat iter et semper non finitur in annis.
Non populi et reges cursum prohibere valebunt.

Translation:

Everyone, no matter the road they take, comes so that they may rest. 
My road is not thus; no seat is supplied for me.
Rather, the journey perpetually remains and is forever unfinished over the years. 
Neither nations nor kings will have the strength to prevent my course.

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On the sun


Tags: riddles  latin  Eusebius 

Tatwine Riddle 10: De recitabulo

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Wed 05 Jan 2022
Original text:

Angelicas populis epulas dispono frequenter,
Grandisonisque aures verbis cava guttura complent.
Succedit vox, sed mihi nulla aut lingua loquendi,
Et bina alarum fulci gestamine cernor,
Quis sed abest penitus virtus iam tota volandi,
Dum solus subter constat mihi pes sine passu.

Translation:

I frequently bequeath angelic food to the people,
And hollow throats fill ears with lofty words.
Voice follows, but I have no tongue for speaking,
And I am seen to be supported by conveyance of two wings,
Which, however, are now completely without the full strength to fly,
While below I have only one foot without a footprint.

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On the lectern


Tags: riddles  latin  Tatwine 

Aldhelm Riddle 10: Molosus

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Sat 12 Mar 2022
Original text:

Sic me iamdudum rerum veneranda potestas
Fecerat, ut domini truculentos persequar hostes;
Rictibus arma gerens bellorum praelia patro
Et tamen infantum fugiens mox verbera vito.

Translation:

Long ago a venerable power of things made me
Such that I will hunt my master’s cruel enemies;
Bearing arms in my mouth I effect war’s battles, 
Though I will immediately flee a child to escape beatings. 

Click to show riddle solution?
The Molossus Dog


Notes:

This edition is based on Rudolf Ehwald, ed. Aldhelmi Opera Omnia. Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Auctores Antiquissimi, 15. Berlin: Weidmann, 1919, pages 59-150. Available online here.



Tags: riddles  latin  Aldhelm 

Symphosius Riddle 10: Glacies

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Fri 01 Jul 2022
Original text:

Unda fui quondam, quod me cito credo futuram.
Nunc rigidi caeli duris conexa catenis
Nec calcata pati possum nec nuda teneri.

Translation:

I was once a wave, which I believe I will be again before long.
Now bound by the hard chains of rigid heaven,
I can neither endure being walked upon nor be held bare.

Click to show riddle solution?
Ice


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: Nec > et


Tags: riddles  solutions  latin  symphosius 

Eusebius Riddle 11: De luna

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Mon 27 Dec 2021
Original text:

Non labor est penitus pergenti in lumine Phoebi,
Sed mihi difficilis longas discurrere noctes.
Umbriferis varias in noctibus intro figuras.
Post ego deficiens, tunc offert lumina frater.

Translation:

It is no labor to continue completely in the light of Phoebus,
But it is difficult for me to traverse the long nights.
I assume various shapes in shadowy darkness.
After I leave, then my brother provides light.

Click to show riddle solution?
On the moon


Tags: riddles  latin  Eusebius 

Tatwine Riddle 11: De acu

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Wed 05 Jan 2022
Original text:

Torrens me genuit fornax de viscere flammae,
Conditor invalido et finxit me corpore, luscam,
Sed constat nullum iam me sine vivere posse.
Est mirum dictu cludam ni lumina vultus,
Condere non artis penitus molimina possum.

Translation:

A burning furnace engendered me from a flame’s viscera,
And my maker shaped me, one-eyed, with a weak body,
But it is certain that none can now live without me.
It is strange to say that if I do not shut my eyes, (1)
I am not at all able to create my art’s effort.

Click to show riddle solution?
On the needle


Notes:

(1) The Latin phrase lumina vultus literally translates as "the lights of the face," which means "eyes."



Tags: riddles  latin  Tatwine 

Aldhelm Riddle 11: Poalum

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Sat 12 Mar 2022
Original text:

Flatibus alternis vescor cum fratre gemello;
Non est vita mihi, cum sint spiracula vitae.
Ars mea gemmatis dedit ornamenta metallis:
Qratia nulla datur mihi, sed capit alter honorem.

Translation:

With my twin brother, I am fed by alternating blasts.
I am not alive, although I do have air holes. 
My craft gives ornament to jewelled metals: 
No thanks are given to me, but another takes the honour. 

Click to show riddle solution?
Bellows


Notes:

This edition is based on Rudolf Ehwald, ed. Aldhelmi Opera Omnia. Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Auctores Antiquissimi, 15. Berlin: Weidmann, 1919, pages 59-150. Available online here.



Tags: riddles  latin  Aldhelm 

Symphosius Riddle 11: Nix

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Fri 01 Jul 2022
Original text:

Pulvis aquae tenuis modico cum pondere lapsus,
Sole madens, aestate fluens, in frigore siccus,
Flumina facturus totas prius occupo terras.

Translation:

Delicate dust of water, fallen with modest weight,
Dripping in the sun, flowing in the summer, dry in the cold,
About to make rivers, I first occupy whole lands.

Click to show riddle solution?
Snow


Notes:

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



Tags: riddles  solutions  latin  symphosius 

Eusebius Riddle 12: De bove

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Mon 27 Dec 2021
Original text:

Nunc aro, nunc operor: consumor in omnibus annis.
Multae sunt cereres, semper desunt mihi panes,
Et segetes colui nec potus ebrius hausi.
Tota urbs (1) pallebat signum quo verba sonabam.

Translation:

Now I plough, now I work: I am worn out every year. 
There are many harvests, and I always want for bread,
And I cultivated the fields and did not, intoxicated, drink the draughts.
The whole city grew fearful at the sign by which I spoke my words.

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On the ox


Notes:

(1) This city is glossed in both manuscripts as “Rome.”
 



Tags: riddles  latin  Eusebius 

Tatwine Riddle 12: De patena

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Wed 05 Jan 2022
Original text:

Exterius cernor pulcher formaque decorus.
Interius minus haud mulcent mea viscera caros.
Quot horae diei sunt, tot mihi lumina lucent,
Et sena comptus potior sub imagine crurum,
Unius sed amoena quidem pedis est mihi forma.

Translation:

On the outside I am perceived to be pleasing and beautiful in form.
On the inside my entrails are not less charming to my friends.
There are as many hours in the day as there are lights that shine from me,
And I have an adornment of six legs,
But in fact my pleasant form has one foot.

Click to show riddle solution?
On the paten


Tags: riddles  latin  Tatwine 

Aldhelm Riddle 12: Bombix

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Sat 12 Mar 2022
Original text:

Annua dum redeunt texendi tempora telas,
Lurida setigeris redundant viscera filis,
Moxque genestarum frondosa cacumina scando,
Ut globulos fabricans tum fati sorte quiescam.

Translation:

Until the yearly time for weaving cloths returns, 
My pale innards abound with silken threads, 
And I soon climb up the leafy peaks of broom,
So that, after making the little balls, I may then rest in fate’s destiny.

Click to show riddle solution?
Silkworm


Notes:

This edition is based on Rudolf Ehwald, ed. Aldhelmi Opera Omnia. Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Auctores Antiquissimi, 15. Berlin: Weidmann, 1919, pages 59-150. Available online here.



Tags: riddles  latin  Aldhelm 

Symphosius Riddle 12: Flumen et piscis

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Fri 01 Jul 2022
Original text:

Est domus in terris clara quae voce resultat.
Ipsa domus resonat, tacitus sed non sonat hospes.
Ambo tamen currunt hospes simul et domus una.

Translation:

There is a house in the earth which resounds with clear voice.
The house itself reverberates, but the silent guest does not make a sound.
Yet both run, guest and house at the same time, as one.

Click to show riddle solution?
River and Fish


Notes:

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



Tags: riddles  solutions  latin  symphosius