Catullus 77 Translation
Introduction |
Rufus is the man who replaced Catullus as the lover of Lesbia. Rufus is also called Caelius in other poems as his full name is Marcus Caelius Rufus. He was a magistrate that ranked below the level of consul, and he served under Julius Caesar. Rufus was later killed in a riot.
In this elegiac poem, Catullus starts talking about how he once trusted Rufus, but that was all in vain and had no purpose. Then, in line two, he comments in parenthesis that the trust as not in vain; it was actually at a “great and ruinous price.” In line three and four, he talks about how Rufus stole into his heart and burned into his vital organs tearing away his blessings.
In the final two lines, he calls Rufus the cruel poison of his life and the deadly bane of friendship. In the last three lines, Catullus uses the word “alas” five times, showing that he was saddened by the way that Rufus hurt him. Alas is an exclamation of grief, which is an appropriate word to use as Rufus ruined Catullus’s relationship with Lesbia. There is no doubt that Catullus would have experienced grief for the ending of the friendship with Rufus and romance with Lesbia.
A line to note in this poem is line three, when Catullus refers to his heart and his vitals. For the poet, the actions of Rufus would have made Catullus feel as if his vital organs were ripped from his body. In several poems, Catullus wrote about how he loved Lesbia more than he loved himself. So, for another man to take his place would have been heart-wrenching. The painful tone of this poem is unmistakable, especially with words like ruinous, stolen, burning, torn away, cruel poison, and deadly bane.
Carmen 77 |
| Line | Latin text | English translation |
|---|---|---|
1 | RVFE mihi frustra ac nequiquam credite amice | RUFUS, whom I, your friend, trusted in vain, and to no purpose |
2 | (frustra? immo magno cum pretio atque malo), | (in vain? nay, rather at a great and ruinous price) |
3 | sicine subrepsti mi, atque intestina perurens | have you stolen into my heart and burning into my vitals |
4 | ei misero eripuisti omnia nostra bona? | torn away, alas, all my blessings? |
5 | eripuisti, heu heu nostrae crudele uenenum | Torn away, alas, alas! you the cruel poison of my life, |
6 | uitae, heu heu nostrae pestis amicitiae. | alas, alas! you the deadly bane of my friendship. |
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Resources |
VRoma Project: http://www.vroma.org/~hwalker/VRomaCatullus/077.html
