RIDDLE POSTS BY ARCHIVE DATE: DEC 2021

Eusebius Riddle 26: De die bissextili

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Mon 27 Dec 2021
Original text:

Cum proprii generis viginti quattuor horis,
Unusquisque creatur. Non ego solus adesse
Possum, sed neque perficiar nec forte creabor,
Semper decursis nisi in ordine quattuor annis.

Translation:

With the twenty-four hours of my kind,
Everyone is created. I cannot exist 
Alone, but I will neither be caused nor created by chance,
Only in order, always with the lapse of four years.

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On the bissextile day


Tags: riddles  latin  Eusebius 

Eusebius Riddle 27: De humilitate et superbia

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Mon 27 Dec 2021
Original text:

Curva licet maneam vel strata soloque depressa,
Me tamen hinc omnes nunc exaltabo tenentes.
Effera stans, inimica mea sustollitur alta
Atque suos sternit vel comprimit illa sequaces.

Translation:

Although I remain crooked or thrown down and crushed to the ground,
From here I will nevertheless exalt all those who now keep me.
Standing untamed, my enemy is lifted high
And that one casts down or rebukes her followers.

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On humility and pride


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Eusebius Riddle 28: De candela

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Mon 27 Dec 2021
Original text:

Quod reliquis in me libet hoc mihi vile defectum
Prebet, et extinguor quo multis lumina praesto.
Cumque aliis possim splendescere, non mihi lux sum.
Pars quoque quae multis lucet tam tetra videtur.

Translation:

That in me which is pleasing to the rest provides me with a worthless 
Absence, and I am extinguished by that with which I supply light to many.
Although I am able to brighten for others, I am not a light for myself.
Even the part which shines for many seems very foul.

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On the candle


Tags: riddles  latin  Eusebius 

Eusebius Riddle 29: De aetate et saltu

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Mon 27 Dec 2021
Original text:

Rite, vicenis cum quadragies octies una
Quaeque sororum formatur de more mearum
Nempe momentis. Tunc ego sola, peracta, videbor
Cicli nondecimus cum deficit extimus annus.

Translation:

In due manner, every twenty-four hours (1)
Each one of my sisters is formed according to custom
Without doubt. Then I alone will be seen, completed,
When the nineteenth and final year of the cycle is passed.

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On the age and leap of the moon


Notes:

(1) Literally “with forty-eight by twenty momenta.”



Tags: riddles  latin  Eusebius 

Eusebius Riddle 30: De atramentorio

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Mon 27 Dec 2021
Original text:

Armorum fueram vice meque tenebat in armis
Fortis, et armigeri gestabar vertice tauri.
Vas tamen intus habens sum nunc intestina amara
Viscera, sed ructans bonus ibit nitor odoris.

Translation:

I was in the weapons’ role, and a strong one held me
In battle, and I was carried on the head of an armed bull.
I am now a vessel, however, holding bitter entrails and viscera 
Inside, but when I belch, good and elegant perfume will issue.

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On the inkhorn


Tags: riddles  latin  Eusebius 

Eusebius Riddle 31: De caera

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Mon 27 Dec 2021
Original text:

Aequalem facie, scindit me vomer acutus,
At sulcata manens semper sum seminis expers.
Scissa premor post haec, sed sum speciosior inde.
Nunc ego verba tenens; nunc saepe repello tenebras.

Translation:

A sharp plough cuts me, smooth of face,
But although I remain grooved, I always lack seed. 
Cut, I am pressed afterwards, but I am then more beautiful. 
Now I hold words; now often I repel the darkness.

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On the wax tablet


Tags: riddles  latin  Eusebius 

Eusebius Riddle 32: De membrano

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Mon 27 Dec 2021
Original text:

Antea per nos vox resonabat verba nequaquam.
Distincta sine nunc voce edere verba solemus.
Candida sed cum arva, lustramur milibus atris.
Viva nihil loquimur; responsum mortua famur.

Translation:

Formerly a voice did not utter words through us at all.
Now it is our custom to declare words without articulated voice.
Though white fields, we are traversed by innumerable black things.
Alive, we say nothing; dead, we speak our response.

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On parchment


Tags: riddles  latin  Eusebius 

Eusebius Riddle 33: De scaetha

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Mon 27 Dec 2021
Original text:

In me multigena sapientia constat habunde,
Nec tamen illud scire, quid est sapientia, possum.
Cum prudentia forte meo processerit ore,
Tunc quod ab internis venit intus habere nequibo.

Translation:

In me wisdom of many kinds stands plentifully,
And yet I cannot know what wisdom is.
If prudence will proceed from my mouth by chance,
I will then be unable to keep inside that which comes from within.

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On the book-satchel


Notes:

Note: The solution given is a rare Latin word (also spelled scetha), which may be translated as “bookcase, or “book-wallet.” The sense seems to be “container of books.”



Tags: riddles  latin  Eusebius 

Eusebius Riddle 34: De flumine

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Mon 27 Dec 2021
Original text:

Pergo per innumera flexis discursibus arva,
Sed locus et specialis habet me semper et unus.
Cum duo nomina praecedat mea syllaba eadem,
Incipit hoc una nomen qua syllaba et illud.
Nomine cur isto brevis est et longa per illud?
Littera subtrahitur; post haec fulgebo per orbem.

Translation:

I make my way through innumerable fields with winding streams,
But a special and single place always holds me.
Because the same syllable in me begins two nouns, (1) 
This and that noun begin with the one syllable.
Why is it short in this noun and long in that?
A letter is removed; afterwards I will shine throughout the world. (2)

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On the river


Notes:

(1) Referring to flumen and fluvius, both Latin words for “river.”
(2) Flumen, minus “f,” becomes lumen (light).
 



Tags: riddles  latin  Eusebius 

Eusebius Riddle 35: De penna

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Mon 27 Dec 2021
Original text:

Natura simplex stans, non sapio undique quicquam,
Sed mea nunc sapiens vestigia quisque sequetur.
Nunc tellurem habitans; prius aethera celsa vagabar.
Candida conspicior, vestigia tetra relinquens.

Translation:

Simple in nature, I do not know anything at all,
But now every wise person will follow my tracks.
Now I live on earth; before I roamed the towering sky.
I am seen to be bright white, leaving dark tracks.

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On the pen


Tags: riddles  latin  Eusebius 

Eusebius Riddle 36: De gladio

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Mon 27 Dec 2021
Original text:

Sanguinis humani reus, et ferus en ero vindex.
Corpora nunc defendere, nunc cruciare vicissim
Curo, sed haec ago nonnisi cum me quinque coercent.
Partibus attingor tribus, et nece tot pene possum.

Translation:

Guilty of shedding human blood, behold, I will also be an avenger.
Now I desire to defend bodies, now to torture them 
In turn, but I do this only when five control me.
Touched by three parts, and I am hardly capable of that many deaths.

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On the sword


Tags: riddles  latin  Eusebius 

Eusebius Riddle 37: De vitulo

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Mon 27 Dec 2021
Original text:

Post genetrix me quam peperit mea, saepe solesco
Inter ab uno fonte rivos bis vivere binos
Progredientes, et si vixero, rumpere colles
Incipiam; vivos, moriens, aut alligo multos.

Translation:

After my mother gives birth to me, I often become accustomed 
To living among twice-two streams arising from one 
Source, and if I live, I will begin to break 
Hills; otherwise, dying, I bind many living things.

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On the calf


Tags: riddles  latin  Eusebius 

Eusebius Riddle 38: De pullo

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Mon 27 Dec 2021
Original text:

Cum corio ante meo tectus vestitus et essem,
Tunc nihil ore cibi gustabam, oculisque videre
Non potui. Pascor nunc escis, pelle detectus
Vivo, sed exanimis transivi viscera matris.

Translation:

Before, when I was covered and dressed in my shell,
Then I tasted nothing of food with my mouth, and I was unable to see
With my eyes. Now I am nourished on food, I live
Stripped of my skin, but inanimate, I traversed my mother’s innermost parts.

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On the chick


Tags: riddles  latin  Eusebius 

Eusebius Riddle 39: De I littera

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Mon 27 Dec 2021
Original text:

Effigie gracilis sum, usurpans famina regum.
Nempe, mearum grossior est me quaeque sororum,
Sed me vis sequitur maior, nam sola duarum
Et regimen hominis aliaque sceptra patrabo.

Translation:

Slender in appearance, I carry out the speech of kings.
Certainly, each of my sisters is stouter than I,
But greater strength follows me, for alone of two 
I achieve the control of man and other powers.

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On the letter “I”


Tags: riddles  latin  Eusebius 

Eusebius Riddle 40: De pisce

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Mon 27 Dec 2021
Original text:

Non volo penniger aethram; non vago rura pedester.
Sic manibus pedibusque carens, me pennula fulcit.
Trano per undisonas ac turgida cerula lymphas,
Astriferumque polum et sublime peragro tribunal.

Translation:

I do not fly, winged, through the air; I do not roam the fields on foot.
Thus lacking hands and feet, a fin supports me.
I swim through the roaring waters and swollen sea,
And I travel through the starry sky and the judgement seat on high.

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On the fish


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Eusebius Riddle 41: De chelidro serpente

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Mon 27 Dec 2021
Original text:

Argolici me dixerunt septena cephala
Olim habuisse, vocorque inmitis scedra Latine.
Ex quibus unum cum caput esset ab ense peremptum,
Illius extimplo vice trina manare solebant.
Sic mihi tunc nullus poterat confligere miles.
Sed me ardente gigas combusserat Hercules igne.
Sum pululans locus ex lymphis vastantibus urbem.

Translation:

The Greeks once said that I had seven
Heads, and I am called in Latin “cruel water-snake.”
When one of the heads was cut off by a sword,
Three would immediately spring in its place.
Thus could no soldier then fight me.
But the giant Hercules consumed me with burning fire.
I am a place, sending out waters devastating a city.

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On the Hydra (or, literally, Amphibious Serpent)


Tags: riddles  latin  Eusebius 

Eusebius Riddle 42: De dracone

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Mon 27 Dec 2021
Original text:

Horrendus, horriferas (1) speluncae cumbo latebras.
Concitus, aethereis volitans, miscebor et auris
Cristatusque volans, pulcher turbabitur aether.
Corpore vipereas monstra vel cetera turmas
Reptile sum superans gestantia pondus inorme.
Inmanisque ferus praeparvo pascitur ore
Atque per angustas assumunt viscera venas
Aethereum flatum; nec dentibus austera virtus
Est mihi, sed mea vim violentam cruda tenebit.

Translation:

Horrendous, I lie in the horrible recesses of a cave.
Provoked, flying through the upper regions, I will mix with the wind,
And when I, crested, fly, beautiful heaven will be disrupted.
I am a reptile exceeding in size the crowds of vipers
Or other monsters carrying enormous weight.
And the savage beast is fed through a very small mouth
And through narrow veins do its innermost parts receive
Airy breath; nor do my teeth have powerful strength,
But my tail contains a violent force.

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On the dragon


Notes:

(1) The manuscript, Royal MS 12 C XXIII, has astriferas (“starry” as in “starry recesses”).



Tags: riddles  latin  Eusebius 

Eusebius Riddle 43: De tigri bestia

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Mon 27 Dec 2021
Original text:

Cursu pennigeros celeri similabo volucres.
Nunc fera sum, maculis furvi stellata coloris,
Nunc fluvius, rapido dicendus valde meatu.
Nomine nimpe meo Persi dixere “sagittam.”

Translation:

In my swift course I resemble winged birds.
Now I am a wild beast, starred with marks of a dark colour, 
Now a river, named for its very rapid passage.
Indeed, the Persians said “arrow” by my name.

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On the beast “tiger”


Tags: riddles  latin  Eusebius 

Eusebius Riddle 44: De panthera

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Mon 27 Dec 2021
Original text:

Foedera multigenis reddens animantibus orbis,
Trux ero valde draconi; sic erit aemulus ipse.
Me genitrix gestans alium generare nequibit,
Et “genitor” dicor si littera tertia cedat.

Translation:

Though I have treaties with the world’s many animals,
I am very cruel to the dragon; thus will it be my enemy.
After bearing me, my mother cannot bear another,
And I am called “father” should my third letter vanish. (1)

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On the panther


Notes:

(1) Panthera, minus the “n,” (almost) spells pater, Latin for “father.”



Tags: riddles  latin  Eusebius 

Eusebius Riddle 45: De cameleone

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Mon 27 Dec 2021
Original text:

Muneror orbiculis ut pardus discolor albis.
Lucror equo collum par forte pedesque buballo
Et cephal aptatum tuberosi more cameli,
Respectaeque rei cuiusque resumo colorem.

Translation:

I am graced with little bright spots like the particolored pard.
By chance I acquired a neck like a horse and feet like an ox
And a head suitable for a hump-back camel,
And I take on the color of everything I see.

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On the chameleon and camelopard, or giraffe


Tags: riddles  latin  Eusebius 

Eusebius Riddle 46: De leopardo

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Mon 27 Dec 2021
Original text:

Saeva mihi genitrix atroxque est leaena decreta
Crudelisque pater pardus, pardaeque maritus.
Hinc velox, ferus; hinc trux atque robustus et audax.
Nascitur ex ipsis coniunctum nomen habendo.

Translation:

To me was decreed a raging mother, a fierce and lewd lioness, (1) 
And a cruel panther father, mate of the pantheress.
From one am I swift and wild; from one am I harsh, strong, and bold.
My name arises from conjoining them.

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On the leopard


Notes:

(1) I use multiple adjectives here to render the pun inherent in the Latin lena: lena is slang for a lascivious woman, and the very similar leaena means “lioness.” To preserve the joke, I was going to translate it as “cougar,” but the riddle hinges on the idea that the name of a “leo-pard” derives from both its parents, so it was crucial to keep the element of “lion.”



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Eusebius Riddle 47: De scitali serpente

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Mon 27 Dec 2021
Original text:

Aspera orbiculis tergo scutalibus hirtis
Dorsa stupescentes trucidare solesco venenis.
Quos celeres cursu non coepi, capto colore.
Fervida natura, pressis hiemeque pruinis
Exuvias positura meas, brumalia calcans
Frigora. Continuis lucrabor nomina notis.

Translation:

I am accustomed to slaying with poisons those astonished 
At my uneven back, with its rough, shield-shaped disks at the rear.
Those fast ones I could not lay hold of in their passage, I catch with colour.
In winter, when frost closes in, I—hot by nature—
Will molt my skin, trampling on the wintry
Cold. I get my names from my continuous markings.

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On the scytale serpent


Tags: riddles  latin  Eusebius 

Eusebius Riddle 48: De die et nocte

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Mon 27 Dec 2021
Original text:

Non sumus aequales, quamvis ambaeque sorores.
Tetrica nam facie est una stans, altera pulchra.
Horrida sed requiem confert, et grata laborem.
Non simul et semper sumus at secernimur ipsi.

Translation:

We are not equals, although we are both sisters.
For one stands gloomy of face, the other, beautiful.
But the dreadful one brings rest, and the pleasant one, labour.
Always are we not together but are separated.

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On day and night


Tags: riddles  latin  Eusebius 

Eusebius Riddle 49: De amphisbaena serpente

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Mon 27 Dec 2021
Original text:

Flexosis geminum contractibus in caput errans
Curro, caput nam trux aliud mea cauda retentat.
Flammigeros gestans animos ex more lucernae,
Viperei generis solam, me confero brumae.

Translation:

Toing and froing in sinuous contractions, on a double head
I move, for my tail contains another fierce head.
Bearing spirits fiery like a lamp,
I bring myself, alone among viper-kind, into the cold.

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On the two-headed snake


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Eusebius Riddle 50: De saura lacerto

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Mon 27 Dec 2021
Original text:

Porro, senectutis fugiens discrimina ferre,
Lumina fuscantur mihi, sicque foramina tecti
Illa parte domus quae solis spectat in ortum
Intro, ac Titanis radiis inluminor ipsis.

Translation:

Furthermore, fleeing tolerance of old age’s ravages, 
My eyes are deprived of light, and thus into openings in the roof
On that side of the house which looks toward the sunrise
I enter, and I am illuminated by the rays of Titan themselves.

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On the lizard


Tags: riddles  latin  Eusebius