Catullus 83 Translation
Introduction |
In this poem, Catullus returns to his poems about Lesbia. This one includes a conversation between Catullus and Lesbia’s husband. Catullus knows that Lesbia talks about him to her husband who is Quintus Metellus Celer, the Governor of Gaul.
Even though she was married to a prominent Roman citizen, she cheated on him with several men. She and Quintus would often argue in public, and Cicero believed that she poisoned her husband. Then, rumors abound that she had an affair with Cicero.
In lines three through six, the poet is speaking to Lesbia’s husband. He calls him a dull mule – which is a kind way of calling him a stupid ass, interestingly after calling him a fool. It appears that Lesbia is angry about something related to the poet. And, because she is angry, she snarls and rails and burns, so she talks. In line two, the poet seems to think that the governor finds great joy in listening to Lesbia talk about him.
The speaker of the poem is unknown. It could be Catullus, as a long-time lover of Lesbia, he could have easily angered her. In 79, Catullus wrote about Lesbia and himself in the third person. The unknown speaker appears again, as Catullus would not normally refer to himself while speaking as himself.
In line three, the poet writes, “If she forgot me and were silent, she would be heart-whole.” The opposite of heart-whole would be heart-broken. So, the speaker in the poem may have hurt her which could explain her anger. Since she remembers him and is not silent, it is safe to say that she is still heart-broken. She has a good memory, but that memory burns her, which is why she talks. Because of the uncertainty of the speaker, the relationship is tough to understand. Is Catullus writing about a different lover who hurt her? Or, is he writing about himself, oddly, in the third person?
Carmen 83 |
| Line | Latin text | English translation |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | LESBIA mi praesente uiro mala plurima dicit: | LESBIA says many hard things to me in the presence of her husband, |
| 2 | haec illi fatuo maxima laetitia est. | a great joy to the fool. |
| 3 | mule, nihil sentis? si nostri oblita taceret, | Dull mule, you understand nothing. If she forgot me and were silent, |
| 4 | sana esset: nunc quod gannit et obloquitur, | she would be heart-whole. But as it is, her snarling and railing means this: |
| 5 | non solum meminit, sed, quae multo acrior est res, | she not only remembers, but — a much more serious thing — |
| 6 | irata est. hoc est, uritur et loquitur | she is angry; that is, she burns, and so she talks. |
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Resources |
VRoma Project: http://www.vroma.org/~hwalker/VRomaCatullus/083.html
