Catullus 71 Translation
Introduction |
Catullus addresses a man who suffers from gout in this poem. He does not name anyone, but this could easily be a reference to one of the many men he dislikes. In line one, he talks about a good fellow who has rankness, which means he could smell terrible. In line two, he talks about how the man has gout because he is so sinful.
This man has a rival, who is mentioned in line three. And, the rival keeps the rank and sinful man’s love busy. But, in line four, it looks like the man who keeps the rank man’s love busy has both rankness and gout. Then, in lines five and six, the other man and the girl have sex, but they pay for it. The woman has “the gust” which is a reference to wind – which could be smelly. And, the man has gout. It appears that being smelly and having gout is contagious. One man has passed it to another man via the woman they both love.
Catullus plays with words in this limerick-like poem. In the first two lines, he uses rankness and racked. In line six, he uses gust and gout. These are interesting choices to describe the status of their health. He also plays with the words “good fellow” and “sins.” Good people can commit sins, but in Catullus’s world, they pay for it with a problem. The other wordplay is with rival and marvel. Again, the words do not mean the same, but they have a sound that compliments each other.
Even though the poem is about unpleasant topics, it is a pleasant poem to read. It has a playful tone, even though it is not about a playful topic – other than the sex between the woman and the lover.
Carmen 71 |
| Line | Latin text | English translation |
|---|---|---|
1 | SI cui iure bono sacer alarum obstitit hircus, | IF there ever was a good fellow afflicted with rankness, |
2 | aut si quem merito tarda podagra secat. | or one who was racked for his sins with the gout, |
3 | aemulus iste tuus, qui uestrem exercet amorem, | your rival who keeps your love busy |
4 | mirifice est a te nactus utrumque malum. | has got both from you to a marvel. |
5 | nam quotiens futuit, totiens ulciscitur ambos: | Whenever he has sex with her, they both pay dear for it; |
6 | illam affligit odore, ipse perit podagra. | she is overwhelmed with the gust, he half dead with the gout. |
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Resources |
VRoma Project: http://www.vroma.org/~hwalker/VRomaCatullus/071x.html
