Catullus 25 Translation
Introduction |
In this poem, Catullus addresses Thallus, a man that he does not respect. In the first line, Catullus calls him a sodomite, which is the first clue that Catullus does not respect this man. After calling him a sodomite, he says that Thallus is softer than rabbit fur, goose down, and cobwebs. But, in between those soft things, he also says that he is softer than an old man’s drooping penis.
While Thallus is soft, he is also ravenous, which is most likely why Catullus calls him a sodomite. Catullus compares him to a sweeping storm from the divine mother. After this comparison, readers see why Catullus says such damning words about Thallus: he has some of Catullus’s things.
In lines six and seven, we learn that Thallus has Catullus’s cloak, a napkin, and a tablet. In line eight, Catullus says that Thallus kept them to show them off as if they were heirlooms. In an unusual choice of words for a man who is so soft, Catullus tells Thallus to drop the items from his claws. He then returns to the soft descriptions by saying that the claws might harm his soft parts- like his flanks or hands. In line 11, Catullus says the soft parts might become damaged by a whip that might scar him. In line 12 and 13, Catullus says that he should give up the items so he is not tossed around like a tiny boat caught in a raging storm.
Thallus seems to have two sides to him. He is soft and dry, but he also knows how to be a nuisance. His two sides discombobulated Catullus so much that he lost some of his belongings to Thallus.
Even though Catullus says that he is a sodomite who is soft, Catullus seems to have a bit of concern for Thallus’s wellbeing. Catullus does not seem like the type of person who would commit violence to get a few belongings back. So, the warning about becoming branded if he does not return things he has taken seems to be out of kindness, especially if Thallus takes something from someone who might not be as kind as he is.
Readers should remember that Catullus also had relationships with men, so he technically would have been a sodomite, too. Despite his sexual appetite for both men and women, Catullus did usually refer to other sodomites with a bit of disrespect rather than deference.
Carmen 25 |
| Line | Latin text | English translation |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | CINAEDE Thalle, mollior cuniculi capillo | Thallus, you sodomite, softer than rabbit’s fur |
| 2 | uel anseris medullula uel imula oricilla | or down of goose or lap of ear, |
| 3 | uel pene languido senis situque araneoso, | or drooping penis of an old man or dusty cobweb; |
| 4 | idemque, Thalle, turbida rapacior procella, | and also, Thallus, more ravenous than a sweeping storm |
| 5 | cum diua mulier aries ostendit oscitantes, | when the divine mother shows that the waves are swelling. |
| 6 | remitte pallium mihi meum, quod inuolasti, | send me back my cloak which you have pounced upon, |
| 7 | sudariumque Saetabum catagraphosque Thynos, | and my Saetaban napkin and Bithynian tablets, |
| 8 | inepte, quae palam soles habere tamquam auita. | you silly fellow, which you keep by you and make a show of them, as if they were heirlooms. |
| 9 | quae nunc tuis ab unguibus reglutina et remitte, | Unglue and let drop these at once from your claws, |
| 10 | ne laneum latusculum manusque mollicellas | lest your soft downy flanks and pretty tender hands |
| 11 | inusta turpiter tibi flagella conscribillent, | should have ugly figures branded and scrawled on by the whip, |
| 12 | et insolenter aestues, uelut minuta magno | and lest you should toss about as you are little used to do, |
| 13 | deprensa nauis in mari, uesaniente uento. | like a tiny boat caught in the vast sea, when the wind is madly raging. |
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Resources |
VRoma Project: http://www.vroma.org/~hwalker/VRomaCatullus/025x.html
