Catullus 116 Translation
Introduction |
In Catullus 116, the poet is addressing a Roman author named Gellius. In the first two lines, Catullus wonders how he could send poems by Callimachus. He wants to send the poems to Gellius so that he will not try to kill him with missiles to his head. Gellius must have panned Catullus’s work, which is why in line six the poet says, “my prayers have here availed nothing.”
In lines seven and eight, Catullus talks about how he will fend off the missiles by covering his arm with a cloak, then piercing and punishing Gellius with them. Along with being an author, Gellius was a grammarian. He may have criticized Catullus’s work, which the poet refers to as metaphorically as missiles. To avoid the criticism, he would send poems by the legendary Callimachus.
Knowing how much Catullus likes to play with words, the missiles could also be a reference to sexual organs. They could be firing their masculine insults at each other and finally, Catullus sends his and hurts Gellius. Catullus has a sassy tone in this poem. He clearly wants to make Gellius happy but is unable to do it on his own. He needs the help of another poet (possibly a better one) to keep Gellius from striking at him.
This poem could have a flirtatious tone, too, as he wants to please Gellius and to strike at him with missiles. He references placating a man, showering missiles near his head, parrying with missiles, and piercing and punishing with them, too. These could be sexual innuendos toward Gellius.
Along with his sassy tone, the poem could be read with a hint of frustration. He clearly wants to please people (this is a common theme in other Catullus poems). The missiles that Gellius sends could be negative words. But, Catullus can strike right back with his own negative words (missiles) toward his foe.
Carmen 116 |
| Line | Latin text | English translation |
|---|---|---|
1 | SAEPE tibi studioso animo uenante requirens | I HAVE often cast about with busy questing mind |
2 | carmina uti possem mittere Battiadae, | how I could send to you some poems of Callimachus, |
3 | qui te lenirem nobis, neu conarere | with which I might make you placable to me, and that you might not try |
4 | tela infesta mittere in usque caput, | to send a shower of missiles to reach my head; |
5 | hunc uideo mihi nunc frustra sumptum esse laborem, | but now I see that this labour has been taken by me in vain, |
6 | Gelli, nec nostras hic ualuisse preces. | Gellius, and that my prayers have here availed nothing. |
7 | contra nos tela ista tua euitabimus amictu | Now in return I will parry those missiles of yours by wrapping my cloak round my arm; |
8 | at fixus nostris tu dabis supplicium. | but you shall be pierced by mine and punished. |
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Resources |
VRoma Project: http://www.vroma.org/~hwalker/VRomaCatullus/116.html
