Aldhelm Riddle 14: Pavo

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Sat 12 Mar 2022
Original text:

Sum namque excellens specie, mirandus in orbe,
Ossibus ac nervis ac rubro sanguine cretus.
Cum mihi vita comes fuerit, nihil aurea forma
Plus rubet et moriens mea numquam pulpa putrescit.

Translation:

I am certainly excellent in appearance, to be wondered at around the world,
And yet grown from bones and muscles and red blood.
While life will be my companion, no golden form
Glows more red, and, dying, my flesh never rots. 

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Peacock


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: riddles  latin  Aldhelm