Symphosius Riddle 50: Fenum
ALEXANDRAREIDER
Date: Fri 01 Jul 2022Original text:
Herba fui quondam viridi de gramine terrae;
Sed chalybis duro mollis praecisa metallo
Mole premor propria, tecto conclusa sub alto.
Translation:
I was once grass, from the herb of the green earth;
But, tender when I was cut short by the steel’s hard metal,
I am pressed down by my own mass, enclosed under a high roof.
Hay
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: Fenum > faenum
Tags: riddles solutions latin symphosius