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It is invisible to the eye,
yet it is a stranger to no one.
It weighs less than air,
yet it is sharper and more keen than any knife, sword, or blade.
It comes from nothing, but it has the power to vanquish armies.

What is it that I am speaking of?

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4 Answers 4

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The answer that I remember was:

hunger

but it could also be

time or cold.

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  • $\begingroup$ Now that is funny!!! ;-) $\endgroup$
    – Len
    Commented Mar 13, 2015 at 18:52
  • $\begingroup$ Note to mods: It would be better not to delete this answer for lack of an explanation. An explanation can be found in rev 2 of this answer... $\endgroup$
    – Len
    Commented Mar 13, 2015 at 19:02
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    $\begingroup$ I don't feel this answer needs an explanation. Once you know the answer and confront it to the text, you should understand every line. That's how a good riddle works. $\endgroup$
    – Florian F
    Commented Mar 14, 2015 at 16:06
  • $\begingroup$ It is a classic riddle I heard before and the answer was hunger. But then I thought of other equally valid answers, which I added. None is perfect though. Hunger and cold can in fact be seen. Time would be invisible but "sharp as a knife" doesn't apply so well. $\endgroup$
    – Florian F
    Commented Mar 22, 2015 at 21:30
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You are speaking of

Time‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍

It is invisible to the eye

You cannot see time

yet it is a stranger to no one

But everyone is familiar with it

It weighs less than air

It has no weight

yet it is sharper and more keen than any knife, sword, or blade.

Time cannot be blocked, it pierces any armour.

It comes from nothing

Time has no 'source' of which we know

but it has the power to vanquish armies.

The passage of time can destroy anything, including armies

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The answer is:

Intellect

It is invisible to the eye,

Intellect is abstract so it can't be seen.

yet it is a stranger to no one.

Everyone has intellect (ranging from a little bit to a lot).

It weighs less than air,

Intellect is abstract so it has no weight.

yet it is sharper and more keen than any knife, sword, or blade.

Some people are said to possess a sharp or keen intellect.

It comes from nothing,

Intellect comes from the mind, which due to its abstractness could be considered nothing.

but it has the power to vanquish armies.

One must typically use intellect to win a war.

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  • $\begingroup$ I thought the same thing! :D $\endgroup$
    – Sol Infinus
    Commented Feb 16, 2015 at 18:15
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The answer is

Thought

It is invisible to the eye

You cannot see thought.

yet it is a stranger to no one

Even a strange thought is not a stranger

it weighs less than air

of course

it is sharper than a keen knife, word or blade

thought can pierce the vastness of space, or the microcosm of an atom which a blade cannot do

it comes from nothing

who can truly say where a thought comes from? some theories speculate that even thoughts we consider our own, might originate from the unknown (nothing)

but it has the power to vanquish armies

indeed, without thought, one cannot vanquish an army.

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