RIDDLE POSTS BY CONTRIBUTOR: ALEXANDRAREIDER

Tatwine Riddle 19: De strabis oculis

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Wed 05 Jan 2022
Original text:

Inter mirandum cunctis est cetera quod nunc 
Narro quidem: nos produxit genitrix, uterinos,
Sed quod contemplor, mox illud cernere spernit,
Atque quod ille videt secum, mox cernere nolo.
Est dispar nobis visus, sed inest amor unus.

Translation:

For all to wonder at: among the things that indeed
I now say: our mother produced us, born of the same uterus,
But that which I observe, he afterwards scorns to behold,
And what he himself sees, I do not wish then to see.
Our sight is unequal, but our desire is one.

Click to show riddle solution?
On strabismus-eyes


Tags: riddles  latin  Tatwine 

Aldhelm Riddle 19: Salis

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Sat 12 Mar 2022
Original text:

Dudum limpha fui squamoso pisce redundans,
Sed natura novo fati discrimine cessit,
Torrida dum calidos patior tormenta per ignes:
Nam cineri facies nivibusque simillima nitet.

Translation:

Once I was water, abundant with scaly fish, 
But this nature ended through a new decision of fate,
When I suffer scorching torments amid the hot fires:
For my face glitters, very like ash and snow. 

Click to show riddle solution?
Salt


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 19: Rana

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Fri 01 Jul 2022
Original text:

Raucisonans ego sum media vocalis in unda,
Sed vox laude sonat, quasi se quoque laudet et ipsa;
Cumque canam semper, nullus mea carmina laudat.

Translation:

I sound hoarse of voice in the middle of the water,
But my voice sounds of praise, as if it were also praising itself;
And though I am always singing, no one praises my songs.

Click to show riddle solution?
Frog


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:

  • lines 2 and 3: these are printed in reverse order, but numbered "3, 2."


Tags: riddles  solutions  latin  symphosius 

Eusebius Riddle 20: De domo

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Mon 27 Dec 2021
Original text:

Nunc tego quosque viros a quis et ante tegebar,
Ac durum frigus, miserans, hiememque repello.
Tempore luciferi solis, movebo calorem.
Stans tamen haec faciam; succumbens utraque numquam.
 

Translation:

Now I cover those men by whom I was once covered,
And I, pitying, drive back the harsh cold and winter.
In the time of the bright sun, I dislodge the heat.
To be clear: standing, I will do this; collapsing, I will never do either.
 

Click to show riddle solution?
On the house


Tags: riddles  latin  Eusebius 

Tatwine Riddle 20: De lusco

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Wed 05 Jan 2022
Original text:

Unus sum genitus, ducifer fratris sine fructu,
Eius sed propriam post ditabor comitatu,
Mortem, una vitam deinceps sine fine tenemus.
In vita natum nullus quem creverat umquam
Hoc qui non credit verum tunc esse videbit.

Translation:

I was born alone, a leader without a brother’s help, 
But after my own death, I will be enriched by his 
Company, and thereafter we will have life as one without end.
Whoever does not believe that this is true will then see
Born to life one whom none has ever seen.

Click to show riddle solution?
On the one-eyed


Tags: riddles  latin  Tatwine 

Aldhelm Riddle 20: Apis

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Sat 12 Mar 2022
Original text:

Mirificis formata modis, sine semine creta
Dulcia florigeris onero praecordia praedis;
Arte mea crocea flavescunt fercula regum.
Semper acuta gero crudelis spicula belli
Atque carens manibus fabrorum vinco metalla.

Translation:

Formed in miraculous ways, made without seed,
I load my sweet insides with loot from flowers; 
Through my craft the food of kings grows golden.
I always carry the sharp weapons of fierce war
And, lacking hands, I outperform smiths in metal-work.

Click to show riddle solution?
Bee


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 20: Testudo

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Fri 01 Jul 2022
Original text:

Tarda, gradu lento, specioso praedita dorso;
Docta quidem studio, sed saevo prodita fato
Viva nihil dixit, quae sic modo mortua canto.

Translation:

Tardy, with a slow step, and endowed with a brilliant back;
Certainly learned in my zeal, but by cruel fate betrayed,
Alive, I said nothing; recently dead, I sing thus.

Click to show riddle solution?
Tortoise


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: Docta quidem studio > Tecta quidem, subito


Tags: riddles  solutions  latin  symphosius 

Eusebius Riddle 21: De terra et mare

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Mon 27 Dec 2021
Original text:

Pacificari non volumus sic nec viduari.
Continuum bellum geritur non stantibus armis.
Cum pax perficitur, subter vel pugna quiescit,
Unumque ex alio semper decerpitur insons.

Translation:

We do not want thus to be pacified nor to be separated.
Continuous war is not waged with battling weapons.
When peace is achieved, or when battle ceases below,
One of us, innocent, is always plucked from the other.

Click to show riddle solution?
On the land and sea


Tags: riddles  latin  Eusebius 

Tatwine Riddle 21: De malo

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Wed 05 Jan 2022
Original text:

Est mirum ingrato cunctis quod nomine dicor,
Cum rarum aut dubium qui me sine vivere constat.
Nec ego privatim constare bono sine possum,
Certum namque bonum si dempserit omne, peribo.
Iam, mihi nulla boni innata est substantia veri.

Translation:

It is remarkable that I am called by a name unpleasant to all,
Because it is rare or doubtful that someone manages to live without me.
Nor can I manage on my own without good,
For certainly if one removes all good, I will perish.
Moreover, no substance of true good is innate in me.

Click to show riddle solution?
On evil


Tags: riddles  latin  Tatwine 

Aldhelm Riddle 21: Lima

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Sat 12 Mar 2022
Original text:

Corpore sulcato nec non ferrugine glauca
Sum formata fricans rimis informe metallum.
Auri materias massasque polire sueta
Piano superficiem constans asperrima rerum;
Garrio voce carens rauco cum murmure stridens.

Translation:

With a grooved body and an iron shine 
I am made for grinding unformed metal with my furrows.
Accustomed to polishing golden materials and masses, 
I even out the surface of things while remaining very rough;
Lacking in voice, I harshly utter a hoarse whisper. 

Click to show riddle solution?
File


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 21: Talpa

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Fri 01 Jul 2022
Original text:

Caeca mihi facies atris obscura tenebris;
Nox est ipse dies nec sol mihi cernitur ullus;
Malo tegi terra: sic me quoque nemo videbit.

Translation:

My face is blind, hidden in dark shadows;
Night is itself day, nor is any sun perceived by me;
I like to be covered by earth: and this way no one will see me.

Click to show riddle solution?
Mole


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 22: De sermone

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Mon 27 Dec 2021
Original text:

Pervolo tam cito, discurrens per aethera missus.
Qui me mittit habet; aditurus sicubi mittor.
Ensibus igne secures sic penetrabo reclusa.
Non videor volitans, oculorum aspectibus adstans.

Translation:

I fly very quickly, sent running through the air.
Whoever sends me has me; I will go wherever I am sent.
Safe from swords and fire, I will thus penetrate shut-up places.
Flying I am not seen, although I stand near eyes’ glances.

Click to show riddle solution?
On speech


Tags: riddles  latin  Eusebius 

Tatwine Riddle 22: De Adam

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Wed 05 Jan 2022
Original text:

Regem me quondam gnari et dominum vocitabant 
Sceptri dum solus tunc regmen in orbe tenebam—
Pro dolor, heu, socia virtute redactus inermem.
Hostilis, subito, circum me copia cinxit, 
Ac deinceps miserum servis servire coegit.

Translation:

Wise men once called me king and lord,
While I was alone holding then the sceptre’s rule in the world—
O woe, alas, reduced by my kindred character.
Suddenly, enemy troops surrounded me, defenceless,
And thereafter compelled me, miserable, to serve slaves.

Click to show riddle solution?
On Adam


Tags: riddles  latin  Tatwine 

Aldhelm Riddle 22: Acalantida

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Sat 12 Mar 2022
Original text:

Vox mea diversis variatur pulcra figuris,
Raucisonis numquam modulabor carmina rostris; 
Spurca colore tamen, sed non sum spreta canendo:
Sic non cesso canens fato terrente futuro;
Nam me bruma fugat, sed mox aestate redibo.

Translation:

My beautiful voice is transformed through different arrangements,
I shall never sing my songs with a hoarse-sounding beak;
Though dusky in colour, I am not contemptible while singing:
Thus I do not stop singing in fear of a future fate:
For winter drives me out, but I will return immediately in summer.

Click to show riddle solution?
Nightingale


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 22: Formica

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Fri 01 Jul 2022
Original text:

Provida sum vitae, duro non pigra labore,
Ipsa ferens umeris securae praemia brumae.
Nec gero magna simul, sed congero multa vicissim.

Translation:

I am prudent in my life, not lazy when it comes to hard work,
Bearing on my own shoulders foodstuffs for a safe winter.
Nor do I carry a lot all at once, but I collect a lot little by little.

Click to show riddle solution?
Ant


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 23: De equore

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Mon 27 Dec 2021
Original text:

Motor, curro, fero velox, nec desero sedem.
Tenue vagumque manens, tam gravia pondera porto.
Nix neque me tegit, aut grando permit, aut gelu vincit,
De super aut multis sternor, sed pluribus intus.

Translation:

I am moved; I run; swift, I go, but I do not leave my home. 
I remain thin and unfixed, but I carry heavy loads.
Snow does not cover me, nor does hail does afflict me, nor does frost conquer me,
Nor am I calmed by many from above, but by more from within.

Click to show riddle solution?
On the sea


Tags: riddles  latin  Eusebius 

Tatwine Riddle 23: De trina morte

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Wed 05 Jan 2022
Original text:

Saucio loetiferis omnes cum morsibus intus,
Nam rabidi trino capitis sub dente perimo.
Sed multi evadunt binorum vulnera dentum,
Tertius est nullus quem devitare licebit,
Sed binorum alter mordet quemcumque perimit.

Translation:

I wound everyone inside with my deadly bites,
For I kill by way of the three teeth in my savage head.
Although many evade the wounds of two teeth,
There is a third which no one will be able to flee,
But one of the two destroys whomever it kills.

Click to show riddle solution?
On threefold death


Tags: riddles  latin  Tatwine 

Aldhelm Riddle 23: Trutina

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Sat 12 Mar 2022
Original text:

Nos geminas olim genuit natura sorores,
Quas iugiter rectae legis censura gubernat;
Temnere personas et ius servare solemus.
Felix in terra fieret mortalibus aevum,
Iustitiae normam si servent more sororum.

Translation:

Long ago, nature made us, twin sisters,
Whom the observation of just law eternally governs;
We are accustomed to rejecting individuals and protecting justice.
Happy would that age be for mortals on earth
If they would honour the norm of justice as we sisters do.

Click to show riddle solution?
Pair of scales


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 23: Musca

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Fri 01 Jul 2022
Original text:

Improba sum, fateor: quid enim gula turpe veretur?
Frigora vitabam, quae nunc aestate revertor;
Sed cito submoveor falso conterrita vento.

Translation:

I am shameless, I admit: for what filth does my throat actually fear?
I avoided the cold and am now returned with the summer;
But I am quickly driven away, terrified of the false wind.

Click to show riddle solution?
Fly


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 24: De morte et vita

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Mon 27 Dec 2021
Original text:

Binae nos sumus: una sed est flens, mesta tenebris;
Altera perseverat, tam lucida laetaque semper.
Cum me plus homines instant conquerere tristem,
Illa laetifica pereunt quae lumine ridet.

Translation:

We are two: but one is grieving, sorrowful in the shadows;
The other persists, very bright and forever joyful.
Although men devote themselves more to seeking me, the melancholy one,
They love to death that cheerful one who laughs in the light.

Click to show riddle solution?
On death and life


Tags: riddles  latin  Eusebius 

Tatwine Riddle 24: De humilitate

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Wed 05 Jan 2022
Original text:

Egregius vere nullus sine me est neque felix.
Amplector cunctos quorum me corda requirunt. 
Qui absque meo graditur comitatu morte peribit,
Et qui me gestat sospes sine fine manebit.
Inferior terris et caelis altior exsto.

Translation:

No one is truly excellent or happy without me.
I embrace all whose hearts seek me.
He who goes without my companionship will be destroyed by death,
And he who carries me will remain safe without end.
I am lower than the earths and higher than the heavens.

Click to show riddle solution?
On humility


Tags: riddles  latin  Tatwine 

Aldhelm Riddle 24: Dracontia

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Sat 12 Mar 2022
Original text:

Me caput horrentis fertur genuisse draconis;
Augeo purpureis gemmarum lumina fucis,
Sed mihi non dabitur rigida virtute potestas,
Si prius occumbat squamoso corpore natrix,
Quam summo spolier capitis de vertice rubra.

Translation:

The head of a horrible dragon is reported to have produced me.
I increase the shine of gems with my crimson colour, 
But the power of great strength will not be given to me
If the snake with a scaly body should die
Before I am plundered, red, from the very top of its head.

Click to show riddle solution?
Dragon-stone


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 24: Curculio

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Fri 01 Jul 2022
Original text:

Non bonus agricolis, non frugibus utilis hospes,
Non magnus forma, non recto nomine dictus
Non gratus Cereri, non parvam sumo saginam.

Translation:

Not good to farmers nor a useful guest to crops,
Not great in size nor called by my true name,
Not pleasing to Ceres, I acquire not a little nourishment.

Click to show riddle solution?
Weevil


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:

  • Title: Curculio > gurgulio (but maintaing the translation "weevil")
  • line 3: non parvam sumo saginam > sed multa vivo sagina


Tags: riddles  solutions  latin  symphosius 

Eusebius Riddle 25: De corde

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Mon 27 Dec 2021
Original text:

Unus inest homo qui tantum in me clausa videbit,
Quique suis me non oculis conspexerat umquam.
Non sum magna domus, cum pervenit accola magnus.
Nulla est ianua, cum tamen omnis me simul implent. (1)

Translation:

There is one man (2) alone who will see such closed-off parts in me,
And who never observed me with his eyes.
I am not a great house, although a great inhabitant approaches.
There is no door, yet all fill me at the same time.

Click to show riddle solution?
On the heart


Notes:

(1) In the manuscript, CUL Gg.5.35, the riddle is titled De animo (On the soul). 
(2) The “one man” is Jesus.
 



Tags: riddles  latin  Eusebius 

Tatwine Riddle 25: De superbia

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Wed 05 Jan 2022
Original text:

Eximio quondam sedis sum nata parente,
Quem diris, vinctum, dampnis regna spoliavi.
Septenas pariter mihi deservire parabam
Reginas, comitum septas cum prole maligna.
Parvus ast, obiens me, iam prostraverat armis.

Translation:

Once I was born from a remarkable parent in his habitat,
Whom, bound, I despoiled of his kingdoms with fearful damages.
Likewise, I was preparing to devote myself to seven
Queens, surrounded with the evil offspring of their companions.
But a little one, meeting me, now overthrew me with weapons.

Click to show riddle solution?
On pride


Tags: riddles  latin  Tatwine