Aldhelm Riddle 66: Mola
ALEXANDRAREIDER
Date: Thu 14 Apr 2022Nos sumus aequales communi sorte sorores,
Quae damus ex nostro cunctis alimenta labore.
Par labor ambarum, dispar fortuna duarum;
Altera nam cursat, quod numquam altera gessit;
Nec tamen invidiae stimulis agitamur acerbis:
Utraque, quod mandit, quod ruminat ore patenti,
Comminuens reddit famulans sine fraude maligna.
We are sisters, equals in our common fate,
Who give from our work food to all.
The work of both is equal, the fortune of us both unequal;
For one is in motion, which the other never is;
Nor are we yet vexed by the bitter stings of envy:
Whatever each one of us eats, chews with open mouth,
Crushing, it then returns, making it serviceable, without wicked fraud.
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