RIDDLE POSTS BY ARCHIVE DATE: JAN 2022

Aldhelm Preface

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Fri 07 Jan 2022
Original text:

Arbiter, aethereo iugiter qui regmine sceptrA
Lucifluumque simul caeli regale tribunaL
Disponis moderans aeternis legibus illuD,
(Horrida nam multans torsisti membra VehemotH,
Ex alta quondam rueret dum luridus arcE),
Limpida dictanti metrorum carmina praesuL
Munera nunc largire, rudis quo pandere reruM
Versibus enigmata queam clandistina fatV:
Sic, Deus, indignis tua gratis dona rependiS.
Castalidas nimphas non clamo cantibus istuC
Examen neque spargebat mihi nectar in orE;
Cynthi sic numquam perlustro cacumina, sed neC
In Parnasso procubui nec somnia vidI.
Nam mihi versificum poterit Deus addere carmeN
Inspirans stolidae pia gratis munera mentI;
Tangit si mentem, mox laudem corda rependunT.
Metrica nam Moysen declarant carmina vateM
Iamdudum cecinisse prisci vexilla tropeI
Late per populos illustria, qua nitidus SoL
Lustrat ab oceani iam tollens gurgite cephaL
Et psalmista canens metrorum cantica vocE
Natum divino promit generamine numeN
In caelis prius exortum, quam Lucifer orbI
Splendida formatis fudisset lumina saecliS.
Verum si fuerint bene haec enigmata versV
Explosis penitus naevis et rusticitatE
Ritu dactilico recte decursa nec erroR
Seduxit vana specie molimina mentiS,
Incipiam potiora, sui Deus arida servI,
Belligero quondam qui vires tradidit IoB,
Viscera perpetui si roris repleat haustV.
Siccis nam laticum duxisti cautibus amneS
Olim, cum cuneus transgresso marmore rubrO
Desertum penetrat, cecinit quod carmine DaviD.
Arce poli, genitor, servas qui saecula cunctA,
Solvere iam scelerum noxas dignare nefandaS.

Incipiunt enigmata ex diversis rerum creaturis composita.

Translation:

Judge, who with celestial control perpetually arranges the sceptres
And the resplendent royal court of heaven,
Directing it with eternal laws,
(For you tormented the horrible limbs of Behemoth
When the foul beast had fallen from the lofty heights),
Now, to me, who composes vivid songs in verse, protector,
Bestow gifts, so that I, unrefined, may be able to explain
Through your word the hidden mysteries of things in my verses:
Thus, God, do you freely offer your gifts to the unworthy.
I do not summon the Castalian nymphs here,
Nor did a swarm of bees spread nectar in my mouth;
Thus never do I traverse Apollo’s summits, and I did not
Prostrate myself on Parnassus, and I did not see visions:
For God will be able to enhance my poetic song,
Freely breathing his blessed gifts into my unlearned mind;
If he should touch my mind, immediately my heart returns praise.
For metrical verses declare that the prophet Moses
Sang, a long time ago, of the standards of ancient
Victories, distinguished among peoples far and wide,
Where the bright sun shines, raising its head from the ocean’s waters;
And the psalmist, singing the verses of his songs aloud,
Declares born through divine generation a deity
Who appeared in the heavens before the morning star
Poured its splendid light on the earth at the world’s conception.
But if these mysteries in verse should indeed be well and truly
Freed from defects and inelegance as well as correctly
Sequenced in the dactylic style, and error did not
Lead astray my mind’s efforts with specious show,
I will begin upon better things, if God, who once
Imparted strength to his soldier Job, should replenish
The arid insides of his servant with a drink of eternal dew.
For you once brought streams of water out from dry rocks
When the throng, after crossing the Red Sea,
Entered the desert, which David sang of in song.
Father, who protects all ages in the castle of heaven,
Deign now to free me from the unspeakable faults of my sins.

Here begin the riddles composed about various created things.

Click to show riddle solution?
The preface to Aldhelm's riddle collection


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: anglo saxon  riddles  latin  Aldhelm 

Tatwine Riddle 1: De philosophia

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Wed 05 Jan 2022
Matching Commentaries: Commentary for Tatwine's Riddle 1
Original text:

Incipiunt enigmata Tautunii

Stamine metrorum exstructor conserta retexit
Sub deno quater haec diverse enigmata torquens.
Septena alarum me circumstantia cingit,
Vecta per alma poli quis nunc volitare solesco,
Abdita, nunc terrae penetrans atque ima profundi. 
Sum Salomone sagacior et velocior Euro,
Clarior et Phoebi radiis, pretiosior auro,
Suavior omnigena certe modulaminis arte,
Dulcior et favo gustantum in faucibus aeso.
Nulla manus poterit nec me contingere visus
Cum, presens dubio sine, me quaerentibus adsto.
Mordentem amplector, parcentem me viduabo.
Est felix mea qui poterit cognoscere iura:
Quemque meo natum esse meum sub nomine rebor.

Translation:

Here begin the riddles of Tatwine

The author recounts these riddles, connected by a thread of 
Verses, weaving forty in different directions. 
A sevenfold circle of wings surrounds me,
On which it is my custom to fly, concealed, carried now through the sweet heavens,
Now penetrating the profound depths of the earth.
I am wiser than Solomon and faster than Eurus, 
And brighter than the rays of Phoebus, more precious than gold, 
Certainly more pleasing than every art of music-making,
And sweeter than honeycomb in the mouth of the tasters.
No hand nor sight is able to touch me
When I, definitely present, stand near those who seek me.
I embrace that which bites me, deprive that which avoids me. 
Happy is he who can know my laws:
I will judge him born under my name.

Click to show riddle solution?
On philosophy


Tags: riddles  latin  Tatwine 

Tatwine Riddle 2: De spe, fide, et caritate

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Wed 05 Jan 2022
Original text:

Una tres natae sumus olim ex matre sagaci.
Est felix eius liceat cui cernere formam
Reginae, fausto semper quae numine regnat,
Solifero cuius thalamus splendore nitescit.
Cernere quae nullus nec pandere septa valebit,
Maternis quis nec poterit fore visibus aptus,
Nostris ni fuerit complexibus ante subactus.

Translation:

We three were once born from one wise mother.
Happy is he who may perceive the beauty
Of the queen, who reigns always in fortunate power,
Whose household shines in sun-bringing splendour.
There is none who has the strength either to discern or open her gates,
Nor can someone be ready for visions of the mother,
Unless he was first acted upon by our embraces.

Click to show riddle solution?
On hope, faith, and charity


Tags: riddles  latin  Tatwine 

Tatwine Riddle 3: De historia et sensu et moralis et allegoria

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Wed 05 Jan 2022
Original text:

Bis binas statuit sua nos vigiles dominatrix
Thesauri cellaria conservare sorores,
Diversisque, intus fulgent, ornata metallis,
Omnigena et florum dulcedine serta virescunt.
Gaudentes, nostris haec mox reseramus amicis,
Ingratisque aditum sed iure negamus apertum.

Translation:

The mistress established us, twice-two guards
And sisters, to keep the stores in the vault,
And decorated with several metals, they shine within,
And they grow, garlanded with all manner of sweet flower.
Rejoicing, we unbar these soon to our friends,
But we rightly deny open entrance to the ungrateful.

Click to show riddle solution?
On the literal and moral and allegorical sense


Tags: riddles  latin  Tatwine 

Tatwine Riddle 4: De litteris

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Wed 05 Jan 2022
Original text:

Dulcifero pia nos genitrix ditavit honore
Dulcia quod bibulis praestamus pocula buccis,
Tosta ministrantes nitidis et fercula mensis,
Sed tamen apta damus cunctis responsaque certa.
Littera tollatur, non fulget nominis ortus.

Translation:

Our pious mother enriched us with the sweet honour
That we provide sweet drinks to thirsty mouths,
Serving roasted food on polished tables,
And yet we give fitting and certain responses to all.
A letter is removed, and the beginning of our name does not shine.

Click to show riddle solution?
On letters


Tags: riddles  latin  Tatwine 

Tatwine Riddle 5: De membrano

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Wed 05 Jan 2022
Original text:

Efferus exuviis populator me spoliavit.
Vitalis pariter flatus spiramina dempsit,
In planum me iterum campum sed verterat auctor.
Frugiferos cultor sulcos mox irrigat undis.
Omnigenam nardi messem mea prata rependunt,
Qua sanis victum et lesis praestabo medelem.

Translation:

A savage destroyer despoiled me of my garments.
At the same time, he removed the holes for life-giving breath,
But an author turned me into a level field again.
Soon the cultivator irrigates my fruitful furrows with waves.
My meadows return an abundant harvest of nard, 
With which I shall supply food to the healthy and cure to the hurt.

Click to show riddle solution?
On parchment


Tags: riddles  latin  Tatwine 

Tatwine Riddle 6: De penna

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Wed 05 Jan 2022
Original text:

Nativa penitus ratione, heu, fraudor ab hoste,
Nam superas quondam, pernix, auras penetrabam.
Vincta tribus, nunc, in terris persolvo tributum.
Planos compellor sulcare per aequora campos.
Causa laboris amoris tum fontes lacrimarum
Semper compellit me aridis infundere sulcis.

Translation:

I am, alas, completely defrauded of my native essence by an enemy,
For formerly, swift, I used to pierce the upper winds.
Now, I pay tribute, bound by three things on earth.
I am compelled to plow level fields through the plains.
Then the cause of my labour of love always compels me
To pour onto the arid ditches fountains of tears.

Click to show riddle solution?
On the pen


Tags: riddles  latin  Tatwine 

Tatwine Riddle 7: De tintinno

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Wed 05 Jan 2022
Original text:

Olim dictabar proprio sub nomine "Caesar,"
Optabantque meum proceres iam cernere vultum.
Nunc aliter versor superis, suspensus in auris,
Et, caesus, cogor late persolvere planctum
Cursibus haut tardis cum ad luctum turba recurrit.
Mordeo mordentem labris mox dentibus absque.

Translation:

Once I was called "Caesar" under my own name,
And princes then desired to behold my face.
Now I am occupied otherwise, suspended in the upper winds, 
And, beaten, I am forced to perform a lamentation far and wide
When the crowd resorts to mourning with not-at-all slow steps.
I soon bite the biter with lips without teeth.

Click to show riddle solution?
On the bell


Tags: riddles  latin  Tatwine 

Tatwine Riddle 8: De ara

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Wed 05 Jan 2022
Original text:

Quadripedis pulchri quamvis constat mihi forma,
Sponte, tamen, nullus me usquam lustrare videbit.
Bis binis, certe, per quadrum cornibus armor,
Quosque meis dapibus dignos satiare solesco.
Indignis potumque cibumque referre negabo.
Ex alta clarum merui re nomen habere.

Translation:

Although my form is that of a beautiful quadruped, 
None will, however, see me walk anywhere on my own.
Certainly, I am armed with twice-two horns in a square,
And I am accustomed to satisfy those worthy with my feasts.
I deny to bring to the unworthy both food and drink.
I fittingly took my brilliant name from high things.

Click to show riddle solution?
On the altar


Tags: riddles  latin  Tatwine 

Tatwine Riddle 9: De cruce Christi

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Wed 05 Jan 2022
Original text:

Versiculor cernor nunc, nunc mihi forma nitescit.
Lege, fui quondam cunctis iam larbula servis,
Sed modo me, gaudens, orbis veneratur et ornat.
Quique meum gustat fructum iam sanus habetur,
Nam mihi concessum est insanis ferre salutem.
Propterea sapiens optat me in fronte tenere.

Translation:

Now I appear multicoloured, now my form shines.
Once, by law, I was then a terror to all slaves,
But now, rejoicing, the world venerates and decorates me.
He who tastes my fruit is now kept healthy,
For it is granted to me to bring health to the unwell.
Therefore the wise man wishes to hold me on his front.

Click to show riddle solution?
On Christ’s cross


Tags: riddles  latin  Tatwine 

Exeter Riddle 10 in Spanish / en Español

MEGANCAVELL

Date: Tue 04 Jan 2022

This Spanish translation of Riddle 10 from the Exeter Book is by Carlos M. Cepero. Carlos is an architect who was born, raised and lives in Rosario, Argentina. He studied English and German at and after school, is a ravenous reader and a declared Britophile. He is passionate about medieval literature, especially Old English and Old Norse literature. Thank you for your translation, Carlos!

Esta traducción al español del Acertijo 10 del Libro de Exeter es de Carlos M. Cepero. Carlos es un arquitecto que nació, creció y vive en Rosario, Argentina. Estudió inglés y alemán en y después de la escuela, es un lector voraz y un britófilo declarado. Es un apasionado de la literatura medieval, especialmente la literatura antigua inglesa y nórdica antigua. ¡Gracias por tu traducción, Carlos!



Original text:

Neb wæs min on nearwe,         ond ic neoþan wætre,
flode underflowen,         firgenstreamum
swiþe besuncen,         ond on sunde awox
ufan yþum þeaht,         anum getenge
5     liþendum wuda         lice mine.
Hæfde feorh cwico,         þa ic of fæðmum cwom
brimes ond beames         on blacum hrægle;
sume wæron hwite         hyrste mine,
þa mec lifgende         lyft upp ahof,
10     wind of wæge,         siþþan wide bær
ofer seolhbaþo.         Saga hwæt ic hatte.

Translation:

My pico estaba limitado, y yo, ayuso las aguas,
bajo el flujo de la riada, me hundí velozmente
en corrientes de montaña; crecí nadando
oculto por el oleaje, cerca de
5    maderas que navegaban junto a mi cuerpo.
Tenía un espíritu vivaz cuando emergí del abrazo
de mar y troncos en ropajes negros;
algunos de mis adornos eran blancos,
cuando el aire me elevó, vivo,
10    el viento de la mareta, y me acarreó por doquier
sobre el baño de las focas. Decid cómo me llamo.

Click to show riddle solution?
Barnacla cariblanca


Tags: anglo saxon  exeter book  old english  riddle 10  Carlos M. Cepero 

Tatwine Riddle 10: De recitabulo

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Wed 05 Jan 2022
Original text:

Angelicas populis epulas dispono frequenter,
Grandisonisque aures verbis cava guttura complent.
Succedit vox, sed mihi nulla aut lingua loquendi,
Et bina alarum fulci gestamine cernor,
Quis sed abest penitus virtus iam tota volandi,
Dum solus subter constat mihi pes sine passu.

Translation:

I frequently bequeath angelic food to the people,
And hollow throats fill ears with lofty words.
Voice follows, but I have no tongue for speaking,
And I am seen to be supported by conveyance of two wings,
Which, however, are now completely without the full strength to fly,
While below I have only one foot without a footprint.

Click to show riddle solution?
On the lectern


Tags: riddles  latin  Tatwine 

Tatwine Riddle 11: De acu

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Wed 05 Jan 2022
Original text:

Torrens me genuit fornax de viscere flammae,
Conditor invalido et finxit me corpore, luscam,
Sed constat nullum iam me sine vivere posse.
Est mirum dictu cludam ni lumina vultus,
Condere non artis penitus molimina possum.

Translation:

A burning furnace engendered me from a flame’s viscera,
And my maker shaped me, one-eyed, with a weak body,
But it is certain that none can now live without me.
It is strange to say that if I do not shut my eyes, (1)
I am not at all able to create my art’s effort.

Click to show riddle solution?
On the needle


Notes:

(1) The Latin phrase lumina vultus literally translates as "the lights of the face," which means "eyes."



Tags: riddles  latin  Tatwine 

Exeter Riddle 12 in Spanish / en Español

MEGANCAVELL

Date: Tue 04 Jan 2022

This Spanish translation of Riddle 10 from the Exeter Book is by Carlos M. Cepero. Carlos is an architect who was born, raised and lives in Rosario, Argentina. He studied English and German at and after school, is a ravenous reader and a declared Britophile. He is passionate about medieval literature, especially Old English and Old Norse literature. Thank you for your translation, Carlos!

Esta traducción al español del Acertijo 10 del Libro de Exeter es de Carlos M. Cepero. Carlos es un arquitecto que nació, creció y vive en Rosario, Argentina. Estudió inglés y alemán en y después de la escuela, es un lector voraz y un britófilo declarado. Es un apasionado de la literatura medieval, especialmente la literatura antigua inglesa y nórdica antigua. ¡Gracias por tu traducción, Carlos!



Original text:

Fotum ic fere,      foldan slite,
grene wongas,      þenden ic gæst bere.
Gif me feorh losað,      fæste binde
swearte Wealas,      hwilum sellan men.
5     Hwilum ic deorum      drincan selle
beorne of bosme,      hwilum mec bryd triedeð
felawlonc fotum,      hwilum feorran broht
wonfeax Wale      wegeð ond þyð,
dol druncmennen      deorcum nihtum,
10     wæteð in wætre,      wyrmeð hwilum
fægre to fyre;      me on fæðme sticaþ
hygegalan hond,      hwyrfeð geneahhe,
swifeð me geond sweartne.      Saga hwæt ic hatte,
þe ic lifgende      lond reafige
15     ond æfter deaþe      dryhtum þeowige.

Translation:

Ando a pie, rajando la tierra,
los verdes campos, mientras llevo mi alma.
Si pierdo la vida, ato firmemente
a morenos esclavos (1), a veces a mejores hombres.
5    A veces doy de beber,
de mi pecho, al guerrero, a veces la novia pisotéame
con pies harto orgullosos; a veces, traída de alueñe,
la doncella de cabello oscuro me lleva y esclaviza,
atolondradamente ebria en negras noches,
10    me empapa en agua,  me calienta a veces
placenteramente junto al fuego; mete en mi busto
manos lascivas, volteándome con frecuencia,
frotando mi negrura. Decid cómo me llamo,
que vivo saqueo la tierra,
15    y tras la muerte sirvo a los hombres.

Click to show riddle solution?
Un buey, una piel de buey, un objeto de cuero


Notes:

(1) El término Wealas (Galeses) se terminó usando para referirse a los esclavos, debido al alto número de esclavos Bretones, si bien siempre significando “esclavo bretón” (a diferencia de términos como esne o þræl) / The word Wealas (Welsh) came to be used to refer to slaves, due to the high number of native British slaves, although always meaning "British slave" (unlike words such as esne or þræl).



Tags: anglo saxon  exeter book  old english  riddle 12  Carlos M. Cepero 

Tatwine Riddle 12: De patena

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Wed 05 Jan 2022
Original text:

Exterius cernor pulcher formaque decorus.
Interius minus haud mulcent mea viscera caros.
Quot horae diei sunt, tot mihi lumina lucent,
Et sena comptus potior sub imagine crurum,
Unius sed amoena quidem pedis est mihi forma.

Translation:

On the outside I am perceived to be pleasing and beautiful in form.
On the inside my entrails are not less charming to my friends.
There are as many hours in the day as there are lights that shine from me,
And I have an adornment of six legs,
But in fact my pleasant form has one foot.

Click to show riddle solution?
On the paten


Tags: riddles  latin  Tatwine 

Exeter Riddle 13 in Bosnian / на босанском

MEGANCAVELL

Date: Tue 04 Jan 2022

Denis Ferhatović was born in a city that no longer exists, in a country that no longer exists. He is the author of Borrowed Objects and the Art of Poetry: Spolia in Old English Verse (2019). He loves to read, think, and write about languages, travels, translation, queerness, art, cats, food, and many other things.

Денис Ферхатовић је рођен у граду који више не постоји, у држави која више не постоји. Аутор је књиге Позајмљени предмети и умијеће поезије: Сполије у староенглеском пјесништву (2019). Воли да чита, размишља и пише о језицима, путовањима, превођењу, настраности, умјетности, мачкама, храни и многочему другоме.



Original text:

Ic seah turf tredan,      X wæron ealra,
VI gebroþor      ond hyra sweostor mid;
hæfdon feorg cwico.      Fell hongedon
sweotol ond gesyne      on seles wæge
5     anra gehwylces.      Ne wæs hyra ængum þy wyrs,
ne siðe þy sarre,      þeah hy swa sceoldon
reafe birofene,      rodra weardes
meahtum aweahte,      muþum slitan
haswe blede.      Hrægl bið geniwad
10     þam þe ær forðcymene      frætwe leton
licgan on laste,      gewitan lond tredan.

Translation:

Видјех, по топраку ходе    десеторо њих
Шесторица браће    са сестрама својим
Пуни жеље за животом. Опне им висише
Јасне и очевидне    на дуварима одаје
5     Од сваког понаособ. Никоме не бје захмет
Нити им пут бје мучан    премда су морали
Робе лишени        куветом цара на небу
Из сна пробуђени    устима раскинути
Жyћкасто жито.     Одјећа бје обновљена
10     Онима који стигавши   прво оставише оправу
Да лежи на тлу    и почеше да земљом ходе.

Click to show riddle solution?
шест пијеваца и четири кокошке


Tags: exeter book  old english  riddle 13  denis ferhatovic 

Tatwine Riddle 13: De acu pictili

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Wed 05 Jan 2022
Original text:

Reginae cupiunt animis me cernere necnon
Reges mulcet adesse mei quoque corporis usus,
Nam multos vario possum captare decore.
Quippe, meam gracilis faciem iugulaverat hospes,
Nobilior tamen adcrescit decor inde genarum.

Translation:

Queens desire to see me in their hearts and also
It pleases kings to be present at the use of my body as well,
For I am able to attract many with my varied beauty. 
Indeed, a slender guest cuts my face,
Yet the charm of my cheeks grows more noble.

Click to show riddle solution?
On the embroidery needle


Tags: riddles  latin  Tatwine 

Tatwine Riddle 14: De caritate

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Wed 05 Jan 2022
Original text:

Haud tristis, gemino sub nexu vincula gesto.
Vincta resolvo ligata iterumque soluta ligabo.
Est mirum dictu ardent quod mea viscera flammis.
Nemo, tamen, sentit fera vinctus dampna cremandi:
Sed mulcent ea plus vinctum quam dulcia mella.

Translation:

Not sad, I bear fetters under a twin bond.
I free those bound and tied and in turn I will bind the free. 
It is miraculous to say how my insides burn with flames.
No one who is bound, however, feels the cruel injuries of burning: 
Rather, they appease the bound more than sweet honey.

Click to show riddle solution?
On charity


Tags: riddles  latin  Tatwine 

Tatwine Riddle 15: De nive, grandine, et glacie

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Wed 05 Jan 2022
Original text:

Aethereus ternas genitor nos iam peperit hoc
Sub miserae fato legis de matre sorores,
Invida namque patris cogit sors frangere fatum.
Una tamen spes est tali sub lege retentis:
Quod mox regalem matris remeamus in alvum.

Translation:

An ethereal father begot us three sisters now
From our mother under this fate of a wretched law,
For envious destiny forces father’s fate to diminish.
Held under such a law, there is nevertheless one hope:
That soon we may return to our mother’s royal womb.

Click to show riddle solution?
On snow, hail, and ice


Tags: riddles  latin  Tatwine 

Tatwine Riddle 16: De praepositione utriusque casus

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Wed 05 Jan 2022
Original text:

Emerita gemina sortis sub lege tenemur,
Nam tollenti nos, stabiles, servire necesse est.
Causanti, contra, cursus comitamur eundo,
Sicque vicissim bis binae coniungimur ambis
Quippe sorores decreta stat legibus urna.

Translation:

We are held under tried-and-tested, two-fold law of fate,
For it is necessary that we, stationary, serve that which removes. 
Moving, on the contrary, we join that which advances a cause,
And thus we twice-two sisters are joined to both in turn;
Indeed, our decreed lot stands subject to these laws.

Click to show riddle solution?
On the preposition governing two cases


Tags: riddles  latin  Tatwine 

Tatwine Riddle 17: De scyrra

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Wed 05 Jan 2022
Original text:

Celsicolae nascor foecunda matris in alvo,
Quae superas penitus sedes habitare solescit.
Sum petulans agilisque fera, insons, corporis astu.
Ardua, ceu pennis, convecta cacumina scando,
Veloci vitans passu discrimina Martis.

Translation:

I am born from the fecund womb of a mother who dwells on high,
Who tends to live inside the upper settlements.
I am an insolent and agile creature, innocent of bodily guile.
I climb, as if on wings, the lofty vaulted peaks,
Avoiding by speed in step the dangers of Mars.

Click to show riddle solution?
On the squirrel


Tags: riddles  latin  Tatwine 

Tatwine Riddle 18: De oculis

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Wed 05 Jan 2022
Original text:

Discernens totum iuris, natura locavit
Nos pariter, geminos, una de matre creatos,
Divisi haud magno parvi discrimen collis,
Ut numquam vidi illum, nec me viderat ipse,
Sed cernit sine me nihil, illo nec sine cerno.

Translation:

Separating us completely by her laws, nature placed
Us, twins, created equally from one mother,
Divided by the not-at-all big division of a little hill,
So that I have never seen that one, nor has that one seen me,
But he sees nothing without me, nor do I see without him.

Click to show riddle solution?
On the eyes


Tags: riddles  latin  Tatwine 

Tatwine Riddle 19: De strabis oculis

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Wed 05 Jan 2022
Original text:

Inter mirandum cunctis est cetera quod nunc 
Narro quidem: nos produxit genitrix, uterinos,
Sed quod contemplor, mox illud cernere spernit,
Atque quod ille videt secum, mox cernere nolo.
Est dispar nobis visus, sed inest amor unus.

Translation:

For all to wonder at: among the things that indeed
I now say: our mother produced us, born of the same uterus,
But that which I observe, he afterwards scorns to behold,
And what he himself sees, I do not wish then to see.
Our sight is unequal, but our desire is one.

Click to show riddle solution?
On strabismus-eyes


Tags: riddles  latin  Tatwine 

Tatwine Riddle 20: De lusco

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Wed 05 Jan 2022
Original text:

Unus sum genitus, ducifer fratris sine fructu,
Eius sed propriam post ditabor comitatu,
Mortem, una vitam deinceps sine fine tenemus.
In vita natum nullus quem creverat umquam
Hoc qui non credit verum tunc esse videbit.

Translation:

I was born alone, a leader without a brother’s help, 
But after my own death, I will be enriched by his 
Company, and thereafter we will have life as one without end.
Whoever does not believe that this is true will then see
Born to life one whom none has ever seen.

Click to show riddle solution?
On the one-eyed


Tags: riddles  latin  Tatwine 

Tatwine Riddle 21: De malo

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Wed 05 Jan 2022
Original text:

Est mirum ingrato cunctis quod nomine dicor,
Cum rarum aut dubium qui me sine vivere constat.
Nec ego privatim constare bono sine possum,
Certum namque bonum si dempserit omne, peribo.
Iam, mihi nulla boni innata est substantia veri.

Translation:

It is remarkable that I am called by a name unpleasant to all,
Because it is rare or doubtful that someone manages to live without me.
Nor can I manage on my own without good,
For certainly if one removes all good, I will perish.
Moreover, no substance of true good is innate in me.

Click to show riddle solution?
On evil


Tags: riddles  latin  Tatwine