Riddles 4

Five hundred begins it, five hundred ends it,
Five in the middle is seen;
First of all figures, the first of all letters,
Take up their stations between.
Join all together, and then you will bring
Before you the name of an eminent king.

I build up castles.
I tear down mountains.
I make some men blind,
I help others to see.
What am I?

What does man love more than life
Fear more than death or mortal strife
What the poor have, the rich require,
and what contented men desire,
What the miser spends and the spendthrift saves
And all men carry to their graves?

As a whole, I am both safe and secure.
Behead me, and I become a place of meeting.
Behead me again, and I am the partner of ready.
Restore me, and I become the domain of beasts.
What am I?

Lovely and round,
I shine with pale light,
grown in the darkness,
A lady’s delight.

At the sound of me, men may dream,
Or stamp their feet.
At the sound of me, women may laugh,
Or sometimes weep.

You can see nothing else
When you look in my face,
I will look you in the eye
And I will never lie.

Three lives have I.
Gentle enough to soothe the skin,
Light enough to caress the sky,
Hard enough to crack rocks.

You heard me before,
Yet you hear me again,
Then I die,
‘Till you call me again.

My life can be measured in hours,
I serve by being devoured.
Thin, I am quick
Fat, I am slow
Wind is my foe.

Weight in my belly,
Trees on my back.
Nails in my ribs,
Feet I do lack.

Lighter than what
I am made of,
More of me is hidden
Than is seen.

Until I am measured,
I am not known.
Yet how you miss me,
When I have flown.

If a man carried my burden
He would break his back.
I am not rich,
But leave silver in my track.

I am only useful
When I am full,
Yet I am always
Full of holes.

I am always hungry,
I must always be fed,
The finger I lick
Will soon turn red.

I’m not really more than holes tied to more holes; I’m strong as good steel, though not as stiff as a pole. What am I?

Whoever makes it, tells it not.
Whoever takes it, knows it not.
And whoever knows it wants it not.

Two words, my answer is only two words.
To keep me, you must give me.

What gets wetter the more it dries?