Aldhelm Riddle 62: Famfaluca
ALEXANDRAREIDER
Date: Thu 14 Apr 2022De madido nascor rorantibus aethere guttis
Turgida concrescens liquido de flumine lapsu,
Sed me nulla valet manus udo gurgite nantem
Tangere, ni statim rumpantur viscera tactu
Et fragilis tenues flatus discedat in auras.
Ante catervatim per limphas duco cohortes,
Dum plures ortu comites potiuntur eodem.
I am born from drops drizzling from the wet sky,
Growing inflated in the waterfall in the river,
But no hand can touch me, swimming in the watery
Stream, or else my insides should rupture immediately on touch
And my fragile breath vanish into thin air.
I lead cohorts in companies through the waters from the front,
For my many companions have the same origin.
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