Catullus 98 Translation
Introduction |
In this poem, Catullus insults Victius. He often calls Victius a stinkard, but in this poem, he is disgusting. Catullus tells Victius that he deserves what chatterboxes and idiots get, a tongue that would like the anus and clogs of a rustic. In the world of Catullus, a rustic is the equivalent of a farmer. For Catullus, a farmer would have been dirty and lower class, especially when considering that Catullus is a city dweller.
In the last two lines of the poem, Catullus tells Victius that all he has to do to destroy everyone is to open his mouth. Catullus uses the word utterly twice in lines five and six. Once, when he refers to how Victius will destroy everyone and again when Victius does what he wishes. Think of utterly as the equivalent of completely. However, the word is an interesting choice considering that Catullus wrote about a farmer’s anus and clogs. Utter is a near homophone to the udder, the teats of a cow.
Scholars are unsure who Victius is, but they are certain that Catullus finds him repulsive. He must speak with vulgarities. He also must say things that make no sense. With Catullus wishing what chatterboxes and idiots get, Victius must never stop talking. For the Romans, people who speak constantly and say nothing of importance must be looked down upon by intelligent people.
There is also a good chance that Victius has bad breath. Since Catullus refers to him as smelling bad in other poems, his bad breath could be deadly. For Catullus, bad breath would be a fair cause for an insulting poem. The anus and clogs of farmers would smell bad and licking those things would cause someone to have bad breath. If he could kill people by opening his mouth (without making any noises or saying any words), his breath must be some of the worst that Catullus has ever smelled.
Carmen 98 |
| Line | Latin text | English translation |
|---|---|---|
1 | IN te, si in quemquam, dici pote, putide Victi, | You if any man, disgusting Victius, deserve |
2 | id quod uerbosis dicitur et fatuis. | what is said about chatterboxes and idiots. |
3 | ista cum lingua, si usus ueniat tibi, possis | With a tongue like that, given the chance you might lick |
4 | culos et crepidas lingere carpatinas. | the anus and clogs of a rustic. |
5 | si nos omnino uis omnes perdere, Victi, | If you wish to destroy us all utterly, Victius, |
6 | hiscas: omnino quod cupis efficies. | just open your mouth: you’ll utterly do what you wish. |
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Resources |
VRoma Project: http://www.vroma.org/~hwalker/VRomaCatullus/098x.html
