TWO OLD (AND DIFFICULT) RIDDLES

1)

My whole is a virtue justly admired by the world, though it may be very private as well. I have seven letters, but if you drop the first and divide the remaining six, in the same order, three and three, I am now two words that tell of the time period in which we all live. Drop the first two letters of the first of these two words, and I am a temper out of control. Drop my last letter, and I am scorned by the rich, but worn by the poor.

2)

The following riddle has two versions:

(Credit: William Bellamy and Harland H. Ballard)

VERSION I

My first and my second do make a long way,

My third the third gift offered that day.

VERSION II

My first and my second combine to a long distance,

My third is the third gift brought from my first and second;

My whole is a master of the soil,

And reaps in peace the fruits of toil.

HINTS:

1. The last word is RAG.

2)

Hint 1: The "first" is "A"

Hint 2: The "second" is "FAR"

Hint 3: This is about a Christmas story.

Answers:

1. COURAGE (OUR AGE / RAGE / RAG)

2. A farmer ....... A - FAR - MYRRH ........ AFAR MYRRH (Myrrh was the third gift brought by the Three Wisemen.)