Symphosius Riddle 17: Aranea

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Fri 01 Jul 2022
Original text:

Pallas me docuit texendi nosse laborem.
Nec pepli radios poscunt nec licia telae;
Nulla mihi manus est, pedibus tantum omnia fiunt.

Translation:

Pallas taught me to know the work of weaving:
My garments do not require shuttles, nor my threads a loom;
I do not have hands, by my feet alone is everything done.

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Spider


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: pepli > telae


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