RIDDLE POSTS BY CONTRIBUTOR: ALEXANDRAREIDER

Eusebius Riddle 38: De pullo

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Mon 27 Dec 2021
Original text:

Cum corio ante meo tectus vestitus et essem,
Tunc nihil ore cibi gustabam, oculisque videre
Non potui. Pascor nunc escis, pelle detectus
Vivo, sed exanimis transivi viscera matris.

Translation:

Before, when I was covered and dressed in my shell,
Then I tasted nothing of food with my mouth, and I was unable to see
With my eyes. Now I am nourished on food, I live
Stripped of my skin, but inanimate, I traversed my mother’s innermost parts.

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On the chick


Tags: riddles  latin  Eusebius 

Tatwine Riddle 38: De carbone

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Wed 05 Jan 2022
Original text:

Exul sum generis factus motante figura.
Postquam me perdendo ferox invaserat hostis,
Expertem penitus vita formaque relinquens,
Officinae servum deinceps me iussit haberi.

Translation:

I was made an exile from my kind by my changing form.
After a fierce enemy entered me, destroying me,
Leaving me completely without life and shape,
He then ordered me to be kept as a slave of the workshop.

Click to show riddle solution?
On charcoal


Tags: riddles  latin  Tatwine 

Aldhelm Riddle 38: Tippula

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Tue 15 Mar 2022
Original text:

Pergo super latices plantis suffulta quaternis
Nec tamen in limphas vereor quod mergar aquosas,
Sed pariter terras et flumina calco pedestris;
Nec natura sinit celerem natare per amnem,
Pontibus aut ratibus fluvios transire feroces;
Quin potius pedibus gradior super aequora siccis.

Translation:

I proceed on waters propped up on my four feet,
And yet I do not fear being drowned in the watery lakes,
But I go on foot equally on land and stream.
Nature does not permit me to swim through the fast flow
Nor to cross fierce rivers on bridges or boats;
Rather, I step with dry feet over the water.

Click to show riddle solution?
Water-insect


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 38: Tigris

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Fri 01 Jul 2022
Original text:

A fluvio dicor, fluvius vel dicitur ex me.
Iunctaque sum vento, quae sum velocior ipso;
Et mihi dat ventus natos nec quaero maritum.

Translation:

I am named after a river, or else the river is named after me.
And I am joined to the wind, which I am faster than;
And the wind gives me sons, I do not seek a mate.

Click to show riddle solution?
Tiger


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 39: De I littera

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Mon 27 Dec 2021
Original text:

Effigie gracilis sum, usurpans famina regum.
Nempe, mearum grossior est me quaeque sororum,
Sed me vis sequitur maior, nam sola duarum
Et regimen hominis aliaque sceptra patrabo.

Translation:

Slender in appearance, I carry out the speech of kings.
Certainly, each of my sisters is stouter than I,
But greater strength follows me, for alone of two 
I achieve the control of man and other powers.

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On the letter “I”


Tags: riddles  latin  Eusebius 

Tatwine Riddle 39: De cote

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Wed 05 Jan 2022
Original text:

Natam me gelido terrae de viscere dicunt,
Inclita Romanis sed et urbs dudum vocitabar.
Sordida, calcantum pedibus nunc sternor, inermis.
Ridet acumine qui rodens me lingit abunde.

Translation:

They say I was born from the icy inside of the earth,
But previously I used to be called a famous city by the Romans.
Now, dirty, unarmed, I am scattered underfoot.
The nibbling one who licks me plentifully smiles with a sharpened point.

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On the whetstone


Tags: riddles  latin  Tatwine 

Aldhelm Riddle 39: Leo

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Tue 15 Mar 2022
Original text:

Setiger in silvis armatos dentibus apros
Cornigerosque simul cervos licet ore rudentes
Contero nec parcens ursorum quasso lacertos;
Ora cruenta ferens morsus rictusque luporum
Horridus haud vereor regali culmine fretus;
Dormio nam patulis, non claudens lumina, gemmis.

Translation:

Shaggy, I crush boars armed with teeth in the woods
And at the same time antlered stags, although they roar with their mouth,
And sparing nothing, I quash bears’ arms;
Bearing my bloody mouth, wolves’ bite and maw, 
I, frightening and supported by royal eminence, do not fear at all;
For I sleep with my eyes wide open, not closing them.

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Lion


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 39: Centaurus

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Fri 01 Jul 2022
Original text:

Quattuor insignis pedibus manibusque duabus
Dissimilis mihi sum, quia sum non unus et unus.
Et vehor et gradior, quia me mea corpora portant.

Translation:

Famous for my four feet and two hands
I am unlike myself, because I am not one and the same.
I both ride and walk because my bodies carry me.

Click to show riddle solution?
Centaur


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 40: De pisce

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Mon 27 Dec 2021
Original text:

Non volo penniger aethram; non vago rura pedester.
Sic manibus pedibusque carens, me pennula fulcit.
Trano per undisonas ac turgida cerula lymphas,
Astriferumque polum et sublime peragro tribunal.

Translation:

I do not fly, winged, through the air; I do not roam the fields on foot.
Thus lacking hands and feet, a fin supports me.
I swim through the roaring waters and swollen sea,
And I travel through the starry sky and the judgement seat on high.

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On the fish


Tags: riddles  latin  Eusebius 

Tatwine Riddle 40: De radiis solis

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Wed 05 Jan 2022
Original text:

Summa poli spatians dum lustro cacumina laetus,
Dulcibus allecti dapibus sub culmine curvo
Intus ludentem sub eodem temporis ortu
Cernere me tremulo possunt in culmine caeli
Corporis absens. Plausu, quid sum pandite, sophi!

Translation:

While I, proceeding happily, illuminate the high peaks of the heavens,
Those admitted to the sweet feasts under the curved roof
Can observe me at the same sunrise playing inside and
On the trembling summit of the heavens
Without a body. With applause, wise men, reveal what I am!

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On the suns’ rays


Tags: riddles  latin  Tatwine 

Aldhelm Riddle 40: Piper

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Tue 15 Mar 2022
Original text:

Sum niger exterius rugoso cortice tectus,
Sed tamen interius candentem gesto medullam.
Dilicias, epulas regum luxusque ciborum,
Ius simul et pulpas battutas condo culinae;
Sed me subnixum nulla virtute videbis,
Viscera ni fuerint nitidis quassata medullis.

Translation:

I am black on the outside, covered with a wrinkled shell,
Yet inside I bear a shining core.
Kitchen’s delights, kings’ dishes, and culinary luxuries,
Sauce and also stewed meats I flavour;
But you will see me to be based on no strength 
If my innards are not crushed for their gleaming core.

Click to show riddle solution?
Pepper


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 40: Papaver

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Fri 01 Jul 2022
Original text:

Grande mihi caput est, intus sunt membra minuta;
Pes unus solus sed pes longissimus unus.
Et me somnus amat, proprio nec dormio somno.

Translation:

My head is big, the parts inside are small;
Only one foot, but a very long one foot.
And sleep loves me, but I do not sleep in my own sleep.

Click to show riddle solution?
Poppy


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 41: De chelidro serpente

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Mon 27 Dec 2021
Original text:

Argolici me dixerunt septena cephala
Olim habuisse, vocorque inmitis scedra Latine.
Ex quibus unum cum caput esset ab ense peremptum,
Illius extimplo vice trina manare solebant.
Sic mihi tunc nullus poterat confligere miles.
Sed me ardente gigas combusserat Hercules igne.
Sum pululans locus ex lymphis vastantibus urbem.

Translation:

The Greeks once said that I had seven
Heads, and I am called in Latin “cruel water-snake.”
When one of the heads was cut off by a sword,
Three would immediately spring in its place.
Thus could no soldier then fight me.
But the giant Hercules consumed me with burning fire.
I am a place, sending out waters devastating a city.

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On the Hydra (or, literally, Amphibious Serpent)


Tags: riddles  latin  Eusebius 

Tatwine Conclusion

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Wed 05 Jan 2022
Original text:

Conclusio poetae de supra dictis enigmatibus

Versibus intextis vatem nunc, iure, salutat,
Litterulas summa capitum hortans iungere primas
Versibus extremas hisdem, ex minio coloratas.
Conversus gradiens, rursum perscandat ab imo.

Translation:

The conclusion of the poet of the riddles noted above

Now one, by right, bids farewell to the poet with his interwoven verses,
Encouraging the first little letters at the top of the sections,
and then the last, coloured in red lead, to govern these verses.
Going in reverse, let the reader climb up from the bottom anew.

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The conclusion of Tatwine's riddle collection


Tags: riddles  latin  Tatwine 

Aldhelm Riddle 41: Puluillus

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Tue 15 Mar 2022
Original text:

Nolo fidem frangas, licet irrita dicta putentur,
Credula sed nostris pande praecordia verbis!
Celsior ad superas possum turgescere nubes,
Si caput aufertur mihi toto corpore dempto;
At vero capitis si pressus mole gravabor,
Ima petens iugiter minorari parte videbor.

Translation:

I do not want you to lose faith, although what I say may be deemed useless,
But open your trusting heart to my words!
I am able to swell up higher to the upper clouds,
If a head is taken from me with my whole body removed;
But if I am to be weighed down, compressed by the weight of a head,
I will always seem to be reaching toward the bottom, diminished in size. 

Click to show riddle solution?
Pillow


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 41: Malva

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Fri 01 Jul 2022
Original text:

Anseris esse pedes similes mihi, nolo negare.
Nec duo sunt tantum, sed plures ordine cernis;
Et tamen hos ipsos omnes ego porto supinos.

Translation:

I do not wish to deny that my feet are similar to those of a goose.
There are not just two, but you see more in a row;
And yet I carry all these same feet upside down.

Click to show riddle solution?
Mallow


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 42: De dracone

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Mon 27 Dec 2021
Original text:

Horrendus, horriferas (1) speluncae cumbo latebras.
Concitus, aethereis volitans, miscebor et auris
Cristatusque volans, pulcher turbabitur aether.
Corpore vipereas monstra vel cetera turmas
Reptile sum superans gestantia pondus inorme.
Inmanisque ferus praeparvo pascitur ore
Atque per angustas assumunt viscera venas
Aethereum flatum; nec dentibus austera virtus
Est mihi, sed mea vim violentam cruda tenebit.

Translation:

Horrendous, I lie in the horrible recesses of a cave.
Provoked, flying through the upper regions, I will mix with the wind,
And when I, crested, fly, beautiful heaven will be disrupted.
I am a reptile exceeding in size the crowds of vipers
Or other monsters carrying enormous weight.
And the savage beast is fed through a very small mouth
And through narrow veins do its innermost parts receive
Airy breath; nor do my teeth have powerful strength,
But my tail contains a violent force.

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On the dragon


Notes:

(1) The manuscript, Royal MS 12 C XXIII, has astriferas (“starry” as in “starry recesses”).



Tags: riddles  latin  Eusebius 

Aldhelm Riddle 42: Strutio

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Tue 15 Mar 2022
Original text:

Grandia membra mihi plumescunt corpore denso;
Par color accipitri, sed dispar causa volandi,
Summa dum exiguis non trano per aethera pennis,
Sed potius pedibus spatior per squalida rura
Ovorum teretes praebens ad pocula testas;
Africa Poenorum me fertur gignere tellus.

Translation:

The large limbs on my compact body grow feathers.
I am like the hawk in colour, but unlike in the matter of flying
Because I do not travel through the upper air on small wings.
Rather, I walk on my feet through dirty countryside,
Supplying the polished shells of my eggs as cups.
The country said to produce me is Phoenician Africa.

Click to show riddle solution?
Ostrich


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 42: Beta

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Fri 01 Jul 2022
Original text:

Tota vocor graece, sed non sum tota latine.
Pauperibus semper proponor namque tabernis.
In terra nascor, lympha lavor, ungor olivo.

Translation:

I am complete in Greek, but I am not complete in Latin.
For I am always laid out in front in poor taverns.
I am born in the earth, I am washed in water, I am oiled in olive.

Click to show riddle solution?
Beet


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 43: De tigri bestia

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Mon 27 Dec 2021
Original text:

Cursu pennigeros celeri similabo volucres.
Nunc fera sum, maculis furvi stellata coloris,
Nunc fluvius, rapido dicendus valde meatu.
Nomine nimpe meo Persi dixere “sagittam.”

Translation:

In my swift course I resemble winged birds.
Now I am a wild beast, starred with marks of a dark colour, 
Now a river, named for its very rapid passage.
Indeed, the Persians said “arrow” by my name.

Click to show riddle solution?
On the beast “tiger”


Tags: riddles  latin  Eusebius 

Aldhelm Riddle 43: Sanguisuga

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Tue 15 Mar 2022
Original text:

Lurida per latices cenosas lustro paludes;
Nam mihi composuit nomen fortuna cruentum,
Rubro dum bibulis vescor de sanguine buccis.
Ossibus et pedibus geminisque carebo lacertis,
Corpora vulneribus sed mordeo dira trisulcis
Atque salutiferis sic curam praesto labellis.

Translation:

Sallow, I lurk in muddy swamp waters;
For fortune made for me a bloody name,
Because I am nourished by wet mouthfuls of red blood.
I lack bones, two feet, and arms, 
But I bite fearful bodies with three-pronged wounds
And thus will I bestow treatment from my health-bringing lips.

Click to show riddle solution?
Leech


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 43: Cucurbita

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Fri 01 Jul 2022
Original text:

Pendeo, dum nascor; rursus, dum pendeo, tumesco.
Pendens commoveor ventis et nutrior undis.
Pendula si non sim, non sum iam iamque futura.

Translation:

I hang, while I am born; again, while I hang, I grow.
Hanging I am moved by the winds and fed by the waters.
If I am not hanging, I will soon not be.

Click to show riddle solution?
Gourd


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 1: tumesco > cresco


Tags: riddles  solutions  latin  symphosius 

Eusebius Riddle 44: De panthera

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Mon 27 Dec 2021
Original text:

Foedera multigenis reddens animantibus orbis,
Trux ero valde draconi; sic erit aemulus ipse.
Me genitrix gestans alium generare nequibit,
Et “genitor” dicor si littera tertia cedat.

Translation:

Though I have treaties with the world’s many animals,
I am very cruel to the dragon; thus will it be my enemy.
After bearing me, my mother cannot bear another,
And I am called “father” should my third letter vanish. (1)

Click to show riddle solution?
On the panther


Notes:

(1) Panthera, minus the “n,” (almost) spells pater, Latin for “father.”



Tags: riddles  latin  Eusebius 

Aldhelm Riddle 44: Ignis

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Tue 15 Mar 2022
Original text:

Me pater et mater gelido genuere rigore,
Fomitibus siccis dum mox rudimenta vigebant;
Quorum vi propria fortunam vincere possum,
Cum nil ni latiees mea possint vincere fata.
Sed saltus, scopulos, stagni ferrique metalla
Comminuens penitus naturae iura resolvam.
Cum me vita fovet, sum clari sideris instar;
Postmodum et fato victus pice nigrior exsto.

Translation:

Father and mother bore me from frozen hardness,
While my early stages were quickly thriving in dry kindling. 
Through my own strength I am able to prevail over their fate, 
Because nothing except water is able to prevail over my fate. 
Completely crushing forests, cliffs, the metals tin and iron,   
I will unbind the laws of nature.
When life embraces me, I am like a bright star; 
And afterwards, conquered by fate, I am blacker than tar. 

Click to show riddle solution?
Fire


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 44: Cepa

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Fri 01 Jul 2022
Original text:

Mordeo mordentes, ultro non mordeo quemquam;
Sed sunt mordentem multi mordere parati:
Nemo timet morsum, dentes quia non habet ullos.

Translation:

I bite the biters, I do not bite anyone superfluously;
But many are prepared to bite me, the biter:
No one fears my bite, because it does not have any teeth.

Click to show riddle solution?
Onion


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