Catullus 24 Translation
Introduction |
In this poem, Catullus speaks to the flower of Juventius or his family. The reader does not know if the flower is a man or a woman, but this person is clearly someone who is being courted by Juventius. However, when the name is spelled as it is, Juventii, Catullus is referring to a family name rather than to one person.
The flower of Juventii could be Juventius, who was one of Catullus’s male lovers. In Catullus’s eyes, Juventius was a beautiful man who was worthy of his love. In the first line, Catullus refers to the flower of the family. In lines two and three, Catullus shares that this person is the best of the family now and later. No matter who is born later, Catullus says he prefers that he gives wealth to Midas who has no servants or money than to be loved by some other guy.
In line seven, Catullus speaks as if he is Juventius, asking if the other guy is good looking. Catullus answers the question with a resounding yes. Catullus then tells the flower that the other guy does not have a servant or any money. In line nine, Catullus says that the flower might be making light of this man’s poverty. In line 10, Catullus reminds the flower that the man has no servant and no money.
In ancient Rome, having money and servants was important – at least to Catullus. Since the flower of the Juventius family came from money, he should not settle for someone who does not have money or servants. As someone who has money, Catullus finds his status something of value – especially for someone that he loves. However, Catullus does write poems that show he lives in poverty, but his poverty isn’t monetary. His poverty is from people not returning the love that he gives them.
Poverty, like hunger and sexual desires, needs to be satisfied. For Catullus, having a sexual desire was like having poverty. When the desire was there, he was impoverished. In Catullus 24, the poet tries to show how another person doesn’t have what Juventius needs. So, the man should look elsewhere. Catullus tells him that he would rather see him give his riches to someone who is rich already – like Midas, rather than to this other man who does not have any riches. Unfortunately, this poem does not have the playful tone that many of his others do. Instead, it has unnecessary repetition about lacking servants and money-boxes.
Carmen 24 |
| Line | Latin text | English translation |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | O qui flosculus es Iuuentiorum, | You who are the flower of the Juventii, |
| 2 | non horum modo, sed quot aut fuerunt | not only of thosee we know, but of all who either have been |
| 3 | aut posthac aliis erunt in annis, | or shall be hereafter in other years, |
| 4 | mallem diuitias Midae dedisses | I had rather you had given en the riches of Midas |
| 5 | isti, cui neque seruus est neque arca, | to that fellow who has neither servant nor money-box, |
| 6 | quam sic te sineres ab illo amari. | than so allow your to be courted by him. |
| 7 | ‘qui? non est homo bellus?’ inquies. est: | What? is he not a fine gentleman?” you will say. O, yes; |
| 8 | sed bello huic neque seruus est neque arca. | but this fine gentleman has neither a servant nor a money-box. |
| 9 | hoc tu quam lubet abice eleuaque: | You may put this aside and make as little of it as you like: |
| 10 | nec seruum tamen ille habet neque arcam. | for all that, he has neither a servant nor a money-box. |
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Resources |
VRoma Project: http://www.vroma.org/~hwalker/VRomaCatullus/024.html
