Catullus 101 Translation

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Introduction

 

This ten-line poem from Catullus is full of emotion. He wrote it to his brother, who has died. Catullus actually addresses the silent ashes of his brother. He begins the poem talking about how he wandered through countries and overseas. In line two, he arrives where his brother is to partake in the sad funeral rites. In line three, he presents his brother with final reward (guerdon) of death. In line four, those rewards appear to be Catullus speaking to the ashes. 

While the focus of the poem remains his brother, Catullus shares that he fills unfortunate to have his brother taken from him. His description puts the emphasis on his brother taking himself from Catullus. He doesn’t capitalize fortune; instead, he appears to blame his brother. However, there are some translations that do capitalize Fortune, which slightly changes the meaning of line five.  In line six, he repeats how his brother was “so cruelly torn from me!” He begins the line with the word “alas” and ends with an exclamation point. It is clear that Catullus is filled with sorrow and anger. 

Line seven shows Catullus giving offerings to his brother, and in line eight, he explains the offerings have been handed down from their fathers. The funeral sacrifice is a sorrowful tribute according to Catullus. He offers them, wet with his tears, to his brother in line nine. Then, in line 10, he bids his brother “hail and farewell” forever. 

This heartfelt poem is made even sadder by the imagery of Catullus speaking to the ashes of his dead brother. Catullus does not seem to be comforted by the rituals of the funeral and the sacrifices that have been made. Rituals often bring some closure to the survivors. Sadly, Catullus realizes that his brother will never speak to him again. The “hail and farewell” were the final goodbye that will last forever. The closure might be there, but Catullus is still filled with grief. 

This funereal poem shows how much Catullus loves his brother and will miss him. However, there is an alternative meaning to the poem that removes the grief and pain. The second meaning of the poem is a reflection on the epic poem, the Odyssey. In this reading, the speaker is Odysseus, who did travel through lands and seas. In the Odyssey, one of his mates who died by falling off of a roof. Could Catullus be channeling Odysseus’s love for his shipmates, who were like his brothers? 

The shipmate who died at Circe’s palace is Elpinor. In the Odyssey, Odysseus ventures into the Underworld. There, he sees Elpinor who asks to be buried. He fell off of the roof at Circe’s palace and he remains unburied. This is an offense to the gods, as they felt it was important to take care of the dead by giving them proper funeral rites. Odysseus does return to Aeaea. He performs the funeral rites for Elpinor, which include cremating him and leaving a marker for his ashes. 

The poem could be Odysseus speaking to Elpinor after he has performed the cremation and other funeral rites. A few other ancient heros, like Aeneas and Hercules, have traveled over many lands and seas. But, this moment of sorrow for a dead brother seems to be fitting only to Odysseus, who despite many flaws, did care immensely for his crew. 

Catellus has a way with words which is evident in this poem. The English translation is beautiful on its own. But, the melodic quality of the original Latin cannot be appreciated by readers who do not understand the archaic language. The words are simple, which is what makes them so powerful. In Latin and English, the final line of the poem is both a greeting and farewell. Hail is the greeting, which is Latin for ave. So in Latin, the final line is ave et vale. The poetic quality is easy to see in Latin. Like other ancient literary works, the poem does bring the brother back for the brief time it takes to read the poem. Consider Achilles, who is brought back to life each time someone reads the Iliad. Catullus and his brother, or Odysseus and his shipmate live on for eternity through this poem. This is a perfect poem to read at funerals, so readers could be saying hail and farewell forever, just as predicted by Catullus in line 10. 

The brilliance of Catullus cannot be overstated in this analysis. He speaks to the pain and sorrow of mourning, but he also speaks to the hopefulness of greeting a loved one through poetry. Without the poem, Catullus’s brother would have been forgotten thousands of years ago. It is easy to see why Catullus 101 has become a favorite poem for so many. Reading this poem gives anyone who has experienced the death of a loved one words to say and emotions to feel. It is still relatable. 

Carmen 101

 
LineLatin textEnglish translation

1

MVLTAS per gentes et multa per aequora uectus

Wandering through many countries and over many seas

2

aduenio has miseras, frater, ad inferias,

I come, my brother, to these sorrowful obsequies,

3

ut te postremo donarem munere mortis

to present you with the last guerdon of death,

4

et mutam nequiquam alloquerer cinerem.

and speak, though in vain, to your silent ashes,

5

quandoquidem fortuna mihi tete abstulit ipsum.

since fortune has taken your own self away from me

6

heu miser indigne frater adempte mihi,

alas, my brother, so cruelly torn from me!

7

nunc tamen interea haec, prisco quae more parentum

Yet now meanwhile take these offerings, which by the custom of our fathers

8

tradita sunt tristi munere ad inferias,

have been handed down — a sorrowful tribute — for a funeral sacrifice;

9

accipe fraterno multum manantia fletu,

take them, wet with many tears of a brother,

10

atque in perpetuum, frater, aue atque uale.

and for ever, O my brother, hail and farewell!

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Resources

 

VRoma Project: http://www.vroma.org/~hwalker/VRomaCatullus/101.html

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