prooemium

this is a version of the love story of catullus and his 'lesbia.'  the true story was unknown to catullus himself, for he was not as acquainted with clodia's innermost thoughts as he was with his own . . . .

 
 






i. esca (carmen li)

'the man sitting across from you, lesbia, is a god.  as for me, the instant i laid eyes on you, i went weak all over, as the flame ran through my whole body . . . .
'catullus, you have way too much time on your hands.'
esca, the bait

 
 
 



ii. inuitamentum (carmen ii)

'my darling's bird, her pet that she holds in her very bosom, that pecks her extended finger, and plays around everywhichway.  her bird, her consolation.  i sure wish i could play around like that--i mean, with the bird.'
and then the greek tale of atalanta's losing her long-preserved virginity because she stooped to pick up the golden apple.
inuitamentum, the allurement

 
 
 


 





iii. nenia (carmen iii)

'grieve, every charming thing in heaven and earth, my girl's sparrow is dead.
'now it passeth along the shadowy path--.'  o mercy.
in the last two lines, catullus goes real again.  'wretched sparrow, you've made my darling's eyes red with weeping.'
nenia, the dirge

 


 

 

iv. coniuratio (carmen lxxxiii)

'when her husband's around, lesbia's snippy to me.  the old fool's completely taken in.  she disses me because she's angry at me, she's angry because i'm always on her mind, i'm always on her mind because she's burning for me.'
coniuratio, complicity

 


 

 

v. concubitus (carmen v)

'let's live and love and just screw what old dotards (like your husband) will say.  the sun sets and rises again.  when we set, there's only a perpetual night to sleep through.  a thousand kisses, a hundred, another thousand.  then scramble the total so no witch can curse our delight.'
concubitus, lovemaking

 

 










vi. dominium (carmen xliii)


'what an imbecile age we live in when folks compare a girl like you with a goddess like lesbia.'
dominium, pride of possession

 




 



vii. -ne . . ? (carmen vii)

'how many times would satisfy me?  as many as the grains of sand in libia, ecc. ecc. ecc.'
-ne . . ?

 

 
 


viii. fortuna aduersa (carmen lxviii passim)

'i'm for it.  i've lost my brother.  i've lost my life, which is rome.  you, manlius, made it all possible--o, the moment i saw her cross the threshold!  and if she wanders a bit--so does iuppiter.  why should i take it worse than iuno does?
'it's enough for me that she looks forward to our meetings with joy and delight.'
fortuna aduersa

 
 













ix. obstinatio (carmen viii)




'playing hard to get, are we?  whom will you kiss, whose lips will you nibble?  but as for me, two can play that game.'

obstinatio, resoluteness

 


 
 



x. fortuna propitia (carmen cvii)

'if anyone, hope lost, was ever happier than i am at this moment . . . .'
fortuna propitia

 
 
 



xi. charta noua (carmen xxxvi)

'besmirched, countrified annals, i'm going to burn you as a sacrifice to uenus and cupid, to fulfil my girl's uow.  for she swore that if she ever got me back, and if the worst of all poets ever stopped aiming invective at her--.'
charta noua, a new leaf

 
 
 



xii. rogatio et responsio (carmen lxx)

'lesbia says she'd rather marry me than iuppiter himself.  though what a woman promises an ardent lover might as well be written on the wind.'
rogatio et responsio, asked and answered

 
 
 




xiii. contumelia (carmen lxxix)

'clodius, whom clodia prefers to you, catullus, and to your entire tribe, is pulcher, goodlooking.  not to say, rich.  and he's welcome to sell catullus and his whole tribe down the river the first day bubba can find even three friends that will kiss him in public.'
contumelia, the affront

 


xiv. suspicio (carmen lxxiii)

'no use expecting good for good.  treating folks well just spurs them to evil in return.  don't i know it.  a guy who said he was my best friend--!'
suspicio

 
 
 




xv. obtestatio (carmen lxxxii)

'quintius, i beg you not to take lesbia from me, for she is dearer to me than my own eyes.'
obtestatio, the entreaty