Symphosius Riddle 17: Aranea
ALEXANDRAREIDER
Date: Fri 01 Jul 2022Original 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.
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
Tags: riddles solutions latin symphosius