Symphosius Riddle 24: Curculio

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Fri 01 Jul 2022
Original text:

Non bonus agricolis, non frugibus utilis hospes,
Non magnus forma, non recto nomine dictus
Non gratus Cereri, non parvam sumo saginam.

Translation:

Not good to farmers nor a useful guest to crops,
Not great in size nor called by my true name,
Not pleasing to Ceres, I acquire not a little nourishment.

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Weevil


Notes:

This edition is based on Raymond T. Ohl, ed. The Enigmas of Symphosius. PhD dissertation, University of Pennsylvania, 1928.

If you're researching/studying this collection, you should also consult this excellent new edition: T. J. Leary, ed. Symphosius: The Aenigmata, An Introduction, Text and Commentary. London: Bloomsbury, 2014. Textual differences in that edition include:

  • Title: Curculio > gurgulio (but maintaing the translation "weevil")
  • line 3: non parvam sumo saginam > sed multa vivo sagina


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