I crush the physically strong and the physically weak with equal ease. Only animals are ever under my power. I am an evil necessary for the fundamental cardinal virtue to shine forth. I can sicken my victim’s stomach and paralyze him or her. I make hearts race, prevent good deeds, but can also save life … More Thirty Ninth Riddle
I am thin, but my companion is thinner no matter the length. I bind holes, mend what has been separated, and can leave flowers, names, or strange designs behind me. I travel quickly or slowly, regularly or irregularly, in straight line or crossed depending on the skill, health, and purpose of the one wielding me. … More Thirty Eighth Riddle
I burn the breast of the one who has me; yet he or she, if foolish, will carry me on and on within them. The thorn of the rose and not the petal, the sting of the bee and not the honey, the burning of the sun but not its light all are shadows of … More Thirty Seventh Riddle
I have fire in my belly, but holes in my sides or head. My gift climbs upwards although I swing from side to side. Many have held me over millenia in Greece, in Rome, in England, in France, the nations of the Americas, Russia, Poland, and many more. I may be beaten of brass or … More Thirty Sixth Riddle
In darkness I lie, buried in earth in seasons past. I may lie sleeping for years before springing to life. When warmed by sol I will arise. My strength, size, and fame will outstrip my humble origins. I may feed the honey bee, aid the physician, or delight the lover. My beauty may touch old … More Thirty Fifth Riddle
I can cause the most beautiful and the best to stumble. I ruin good deeds, make foolish the one who gives me voice, tire even the closest friends of the one giving me. I am empty air or vain words when all is said and done. Good men will never give me voice, though others … More Thirty Fourth Riddle
My tale is a dry whisper, yet I sound loudly in secret places. I can stir up a revolution or help an old lady pass the time. I have leaves but am not a tree. I may be sold, borrowed, or burned. Neither parchment nor paper, spine nor case, mark nor worm are strangers to … More Thirty Third Riddle
I am given at birth, at baptism, to the tonsured monk, and to the marker of death. I can be forgotten, erased, or changed; yet I can never be effaced. I am often forgotten by all mortal men who walk the earth. Everybody who walks the earth has one, it is the rare man who … More Thirty Second Riddle
I have held the greatest of weapons aloft, the one by which death was conquered, when St. Eustace saw me. I feed wolf, man, and raven. I am not a predator but I often kill the unwary. I may run in a herd or by my lonesome. In deepest cold I even eat bark, though … More Thirty First Riddle
“Want to hear a joke about a rhetorical question?”-Mr. N. Brennan (quoted from memory) “What question?”-Mr. Johnson
