Symphosius Riddle 19: Rana
ALEXANDRAREIDER
Date: Fri 01 Jul 2022Original 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.
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