Some Enemy Took My Life Speech

Whereas the proud speech of Melissa Range’s Trebuchet stands as a warning about the ways in which admirable and useful human ingenuity can be perverted to serve ugly and destructive purposes, the Bible in the Anglo-Saxon riddle “Some Enemy Took My Life” offers a Christ-like counter-example of the way that the violence of human craftsmanship can produce art that encourages a community of peace and love. Although the Trebuchet is an incredible contraption created from the potential and intellect of humans, it is used as a dreadful and destructive weapon that obliterates anything it can hit. While it may have been built from “harmless machines” (1), it suggests how humans can create something great from machines that may seem insignificant.

The parchment in the Bible is made by “[taking] [a cow’s] life” (1) and “stripp[ing]” (2) off its skin. The hide is “drowned… in water” (3) and its hair is lost. A “knife-edge cut[s] [it] then hard” (6) to “[scrape]” (7) away the remaining fur and flesh. While these actions may not seem violent to humans, from the Bible’s perspective they are horrendous. Suddenly, a “hero” (14) comes and the Bible’s attitude improves from the negative views of its painful creation to the hopeful positive outlook of its effect on people. It displays craftsmanship as it is covered with “guardian boards of oakwood” (15) and “adorned with gold” (17), or rather given a wooden cover and extravagant golden foil art. Now that the creation process is finished, the Bible feels proud to “[proclaim] in all directions / the savior of nations” (21-22), Jesus Christ. It has moved away from its “old foolish sorrows” (22) to embrace a new lifestyle of hope that it will impact the “children of men” (23). It is no longer worried about its suffering but the content it contains. It assures that anyone who reads and believes in it will be “safer,… / more courageous, freer of heart, [and] wiser in spirit” (24-25). Jesus teaches us how to be safe, courageous, free of heart, and spiritually wise in the content of the Bible. It assures that the readers will find “friends… / who will bring gifts and kindness” (28-29) if they follow Jesus’s teachings, because the Golden Rule in the Bible is to “do unto others as they would do unto you.” Therefore, by spreading kindness they will receive it in return. Compared to the Trebuchet, the Bible is more “useful to men” (30), because it spreads joy and love instead of war. It brings “blessings” (30) to society by helping people get along and have peace. While it is created rather violently, this “holy” (31) book spreads a