Symphosius Riddle 31: Phoenix

ALEXANDRAREIDER

Date: Fri 01 Jul 2022
Original text:

Vita mihi mors est; morior si coepero nasci.
Sed prius est fatum leti quam lucis origo.
Sic solus Manes ipsos mihi dico parentes.

Translation:

My life is death; if I die I begin to be born.
But before the fate of death is the beginning of light.
Thus I alone call the Manes themselves my parents.

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Phoenix


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:

  • Ordering: Leary orders Riddles 29-31 as: phoenix, ericius, peduculus, while also acknowledging the possibility of the order here


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