The Poetry of Gaius Valerius Catullus/36

Text & Translation Meter - Hendecasyllabic LineLatin TextEnglish Translation 1 Annales Volusi, cacata carta, Annals of Volusius, defecated papers, 2 votum solvite pro mea puella. Loosen a prayer for my girl. 3 Nam sanctae Veneri Cupidinque For to the sacred Cupids and Venuses 4 vovit, si sibi restutus essem She promised, if I were restored to her 5 dessemque truces vibrare iambos, and I stopped to shake out savage iambs, 6 electissima pessimi poetae that she would give the most select writings 7 scripta tardipedi deo daturam of the worst poet to the slowest foot god 8 infelicibus ustulanda lignis. to be burned by means of unlucky firewood. 9 Et hoc pessima se puella vidit And this worst girl sees has herself 10 iocose lepide vovere divis. Wished humerously and charmingly to the gods. 11 Nunc o caeruleo creata ponto, Now O you having been created from the blue sea, 12 quae sanctum Idalium Uriosque apertos who dwells in the sacred Idalium and open field of Urium, 13 quaeque Ancona Cnidumque harundinosam and who dwells in Ancona and reedy Cnidus, 14 colis quaeque Amanthunta quaeque Golgos and who dwells in Amathus and who dwells in Golgi, 15 quaeque Durrachium Hadriae tabernum, and who dwells in the Dyrrachian taverns of the Adriatic, 16 acceptum face redditumque votum, grant this vow having been accepted and returned, 17 si non illepidum neque invenustum est. if not uncharming and not unwitty. 18 At vos interea venite in ignem, But you come into the fire, meanwhile, 19 pleni ruris et infacetiarum full of crudity and clumsiness, 20 annales Volusi, cacata carta. annals of Volusius, defecated papers. Connotations of The Text Line 2 mea puella - my girl This refers to Lesbia, Catullus' lover. The use of mea indicates the way he feels about her. The expression of assonance here, with the repitition of the soft 'a' sounds adds to the calm melody of the piece. Line 7 tardipedi deo - the slowest foot god This refers to Vulcan, known in Greek as Hephaestion, who was the blacksmith of the gods. He is described as slow-footed as he is traditionally known as lame and it is curious that he is the only god with a mentioned disability. Line 9 pessimma - very worst This word must be nominative to fit the meter. Line 11 O caeruleo create ponto - apostrophe to Aphrodite Line 12 Idalium A city on the island of Cyprus which was a center for the worship of Venus Urios A possible reference to Uria, a city in southern Apulia between Brundisium and Tarentum Line 13 Ancora Modern day Oculi Piceno on the Adriatic coast of Italy Cnidus- place in which Praxitele's statue of Aphrodite resided Line 14 Amanthunta and Golgos- two towns located in Cyprus Line 15 Durrachium A seaport in Illyria, (modern-day Croatia). Durrachium is Durres and it was since the begining in Albania. Line 16 Face Alternative form of imperative "fac" Line 20 Annales - annals This refers to the Annales of Ennius. Vocabulary Line 1 caco, cacare - defile; defecate carta, cartae f. - paper Line 2 Votum, -i n. - solemn vow Solvo, -ere - dissolve; break up; free; release Line 3 Vovit,o vovere n. - vow Restituo, restituere - restore Line 4 Desino, desinere - give up; abandon; stop from Trux, trucis adj. - savage; grim; fierce Vibro, vibare - brandish; shake; flick Line 5 Electus, -a, -um adj. - select; picked Line 6 Eligo, eligere, elegi, electum - to select; choose Pessimus super. adj. - worst; lowest Line 7 Tardipes, tardipedis adj.- slow-footed Line 8 Infelix, infelicis adj. - unlucky; wretched Ustolo, ustulare - burned; scorched Line 10 Iocose adv. - jokingly; humorously Lipede adv. - charmingly; delightfully Line 11 Caeruleus, -a, -um adj. - blue Creo, creare - create; beget Line 19 Plenus, -a, -um adj. w/ adj. - full of Inficetiae, -arum - defile; defecate External Links Catullus 36 A Translation of Catullus 36 Catullus 36 Another Translation of Catullus 36