Aldhelm Riddle 93: Scintilla
ALEXANDRAREIDER
Date: Thu 14 Apr 2022Quae res in terris armatur robore tanto
Aut paribus fungi nitatur viribus audax?
Parva mihi primo constant exordia vitae,
Sed gracilis grandes soleo prosternere leto,
Quod letum proprii gestant penetralia ventris.
Nam saltus nemorum densos pariterque frutecta
Piniferosque simul montes cum molibus altos
Truxque rapaxque capaxque feroxque sub aethere spargo
Et minor existens gracili quam corpore scnifes,
Frigida dum genetrix dura generaret ab alvo
Primitus ex utero producens pignora gentis.
What thing on earth is equipped of such strength
Or, bold, labors to discharge similar strength?
At first my foundations in life are but little,
But, though meagre, I tend to overthrow the great in ruin,
Which ruin the innermost parts of my womb themselves carry.
For dense regions of forest and likewise thickets
As well as pine-bearing mountains with high mounds
I, savage and greedy and able and aggressive, squander under the heavens,
And with my meagre form I stand smaller than a flea,
When my cold, hard mother brings me from her womb,
Producing from her uterus for the first time the offspring of her race.
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