Aldhelm Riddle 14: Pavo
ALEXANDRAREIDER
Date: Sat 12 Mar 2022Original text:
Sum namque excellens specie, mirandus in orbe,
Ossibus ac nervis ac rubro sanguine cretus.
Cum mihi vita comes fuerit, nihil aurea forma
Plus rubet et moriens mea numquam pulpa putrescit.
Translation:
I am certainly excellent in appearance, to be wondered at around the world,
And yet grown from bones and muscles and red blood.
While life will be my companion, no golden form
Glows more red, and, dying, my flesh never rots.
Peacock
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