Catullus 43 Translation

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Introduction

 

This poem could have become an inspiration for Shakespeare’s sonnet knowns as “My Mistress’s Eyes are Nothing Like the Sun.” In Catullus’s earlier version, he uses his verse to criticize a woman who is far from being beautiful. This woman is the mistress of a man that Catullus hates: Mamurra. Since Catullus does not like this man, he would automatically dislike any woman who had sexual relations with him. 

In line one, Catullus greets her, but does not say her name. In another poem, Catullus does mention her name: Ameana. As he is greeting her, he mentions that she does not have a tiny nose. He continues criticizing her appearance in line two and three where he refers to her not having pretty feet or dark eyes as well as not having long fingers or a dry mouth. This tells the readers that undesirable qualities in women included large noses, ugly feet, light eyes, short fingers, and moist mouths. In line four, he criticizes her way of speaking and that she does not have a refined tongue – she must have had a vulgar way of speaking. 

Then, in line five, he makes his reference to Mamurra, by calling him “the bankrupt of Formiae,” which was the name of the town where he had an estate. In other poems, Catullus shares that Mamurra was unable to make any money off of his estate, despite having fertile lands and plenty of animals. He drove the estate into bankruptcy. 

In line six and seven, Catullus questions what the townspeople think of Ameana. Province tells us that she is pretty. Catullus wonders if Ameana is being compared to his lover, Lesbia. Then, Catullus complains about how the current age has no idea what beauty is, as he calls the people “tasteless and ill-bred.” This girls was compared to Lesbia, which shows how beautiful she was in her heyday. But, in Catullus’s eyes, Ameana is far from beautiful, especially when compared to Lesbia. 

Catullus was an expert in playing with words to prove his point in creative ways. He uses the negative in several lines to really show how unfortunate looking Ameana was. He also uses Formiae to showcase her lack of beauty. Yes, Mamurra was from there, but the Latin word “formosa” means beautiful. She is the mistress of bankrupt or worthless beauty, thus showing that she doesn’t have any beauty at all. 

 

Carmen 43

 
LineLatin textEnglish translation
1

SALVE, nec minimo puella naso

I greet you, lady, you who neither have a tiny nose,

2

nec bello pede nec nigris ocellis

nor a pretty foot, nor black eyes,

3

nec longis digitis nec ore sicco

nor long fingers, nor dry mouth,

4

nec sane nimis elegante lingua,

nor indeed a very refined tongue,

5

decoctoris amica Formiani.

you mistress of the bankrupt of Formiae.

6

ten prouincia narrat esse bellam?

Is it you who are pretty, as the Province tells us?

7

tecum Lesbia nostra comparatur?

is it with you our Lesbia is compared?

8

o saeclum insapiens et infacetum!

O, this age! how tasteless and ill-bred it is!

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Resources

 

VRoma Project: http://www.vroma.org/~hwalker/VRomaCatullus/043.html

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