Catullus 1
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Catullus 1 is traditionally arranged first among the poems of the Roman poet Catullus, though it was not necessarily the first poem that he wrote. Its meter is hendecasyllabic. It is dedicated to Cornelius Nepos, a historian and minor poet, though some consider Catullus' praise of Cornelius' history of the Italians to have been sarcastic.
The poem alternates between humility and a self-confident manner; Catullus calls his poetry "little" and "trifles", but asks that it remain for more than one age. This understatement is likely deliberate; Catullus knows very well the quality of his poetry, and also the provocative form it has. He also calls his work "new"; the poems are recently made and therefore new, but they are also new as some of the first examples of Neoteric poetry in the Latin language.
[edit] Text, translation, and scansion
Macrons ( ¯ ) denote long vowels; breves ( ˘ ) denote short ones. Bolded vowels (a) are long by nature (and are diphthongs when two vowels in a row are bolded but only the second has a macron), whereas other long vowels are only such because of their position in the line. Poetic elision is shown with struck text (a).
The stressed syllables in each word, commonly represented by accute accents ( ´ ), are here instead underlined (a). The macrons and breves indicate the poetic meter, while the stress gives a stronger indication of the actual pronunciation.
| Line | Latin text | English translation | Scansion |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | cui dono lepidum novum libellum | To whom do I give this nice new little papyrus roll | cuī dōnō lĕpĭdūm nŏvūm lĭbēllŭm |
| 2 | arida modo pumice expolitum | Just now smoothed with dry pumice? | ārĭdā mŏdŏ pūmĭc |
| 3 | Corneli tibi namque tu solebas | To you, Cornelius: For you were accustomed | Cōrnēlī tĭbĭ nāmquĕ tū sŏlēbās |
| 4 | meas esse aliquid putare nugas | To considering my trifles to amount to something | mĕās ēss |
| 5 | iam tum cum ausus es unus Italorum | At a time when you alone of the Italians dared | iām tūm c |
| 6 | omne aevum tribus explicare cartis | To explain every age in three papyrus rolls, | ōmn |
| 7 | doctis Iuppiter et laboriosis | Filled with learning (by Jupiter!) and filled with labor. | dōctīs Iūppĭtĕr ēt lăbōrĭōsīs |
| 8 | quare habe tibi quidquid hoc libelli | For this reason have for yourself whatever this is of a little papyrus roll, | quār |
| 9 | qualecumque quod o patrona virgo | Such as it is; which, O patron maiden, | quālĕcūmquĕ quŏd ō pătrōnă vīrgō |
| 10 | plus uno maneat perenne saeclo | Let remain enduring for more than one age. | plūs ūnō mănĕāt pĕrēnnĕ saēclō |
[edit] Notes
- ↑ A "papyrus roll" (liber, diminutive libellus) was the standard ancient format for a body of writings, and is thus equivalent to a modern "book". Likewise, "papyrus sheets" (cartae) can refer to a "volume" of papyrus rolls.
- ↑ "To unroll every age in three papyrus rolls" can be less literally rendered as "To give an account of all recorded history in three volumes", and refers to Cornelius Nepos' Chronica ("Annals"), an exhaustive three-volume history of the Greco-Roman world.
- ↑ O does not appear in any extant manuscripts, but is supplied by modern editors on the assumption that it was in the original, based on context and metrical concerns.
- ↑ The "patron maiden" may be either Minerva or one of the Muses.
- ↑ Saeclo ("age", syncopated from saeculum) can more specifically mean "lifetime", "generation", or "century", so it does not necessarily refer to anywhere near the length of time Catullus' poetry has survived for (over 2,000 years).
[edit] External links
- Catullus 1 for Catullus 1 translated into 13 languages.
- Carmina for some of the texts in Latin.
- Catullus 1 translated
- Literal Translation of Catullus 1
