Catullus 56 Translation
Introduction |
In this poem, Catullus talks to his friend Cato about a strange sight. In lines one and two, Catullus speaks directly to Cato to tell him about something funny and absurd that will make him laugh. In line three, he repeats that Cato will laugh as much as he loves Catullus. Then, he repeats in line four how absurd and funny the thing is.
In line five, Catullus reveals the funny thing: that a young boy and girl were having sex. Then, Catullus ends the poem sharing that he wanted to please Diona (the goddess) by attacking the boy with his “rigid thing” as if it were a spear.
After seeing the phrase “rigid thing” in the last line of the poem, it creates a reason to look back at the other references to “thing” throughout the poem. Was Catullus referring to his penis throughout the poem? Was that the rigid thing that he found funny? Or, was the funny thing seeing a young boy having sex. The funny part could have also been that after the boy was done having sex with the girl, Catullus then had sex with him, attacking him with his rigid thing and using it as a spear.
The Cato that Catullus is referring to could be Cato the Younger, who was an orator who ran for office and lost. He was active politically during the time of Catullus and he was not a fan of Caesar – like Catullus. Cato attempted suicide because he did not want to live in a world with Caesar at the helm. Cato used his own sword to stab himself, but he failed at the attempt. He did eventually die of blood loss and from cutting out his own bowels. It was a horrible death that did not happen quickly. As Catullus would have liked Cato for his political stance against Caesar, it is doubtful that Catullus wrote this poem as a response to Cato’s suicidal failure.
Carmen 56 |
| Line | Latin text | English translation |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | O REM ridiculam, Cato, et iocosam, | O, Cato, what an absurdly funny thing, |
| 2 | dignamque auribus et tuo cachinno! | worthy for you to hear and laugh at! |
| 3 | ride quidquid amas, Cato, Catullum: | Laugh, as much as you love Catullus, Cato. |
| 4 | res est ridicula et nimis iocosa. | The thing is too absurd and funny. |
| 5 | deprendi modo pupulum puellae | I just found a young boy havnig sex with a girl: |
| 6 | trusantem; hunc ego, si placet Dionae, | May it please Diona, I attacked him |
| 7 | pro telo rigida mea cecidi. | with my rigid thing, using it as a spear. |
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Resources |
VRoma Project: http://www.vroma.org/~hwalker/VRomaCatullus/056x.html
