Catullus 116

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Catullus 116 is a Latin poem by the Roman poet Gaius Valerius Catullus. The poem describes a battle of wits (poetry?) between the poet and Gellius.

The meter of this poem is elegiac couplets, a common form in Catullus' poetry.

[edit] Latin text and translation

Literal English Translation Original Latin Line

Often searching for you with a studious, hunting mind
  so that I could send the poems of Battus
whereby I should appease you, nor you try
  to send hostile spears right into my head;
I now see that this labor undertaken by me is in vain,
  O Gellius, nor that my prayers have prevailed in this.
I'll escape your hostile spears driven against us,
  but you, pierced, will give me compensation.

Saepe tibi studioso animo venante requirens
  carmina uti possem mittere Battiadae,
qui te lenirem nobis, neu conarere
  tela infesta meum mittere in usque caput,
hunc video mihi nunc frustrā sumptum esse laborem,
  Gelli, nec nostras hic valuisse preces.
contra nos tela ista tua evitabimus acta:
  at fixus nostris tu dabis supplicium.

116.1
116.2
116.3
116.4
116.5
116.6
116.7
116.8

[edit] Bibliography

Wikisource
Latin Wikisource has original text related to this article:
Wikisource
English Wikisource has original text related to this article:
  • Forsyth, P (1977). "Comments on C. 116". Classical Quarterly 27: 352–353. 
  • Németh, B (1977). "To the Evaluation of C. 116". Acta Classica (Debrecen) 13: 23–31. 
  • Macleod, CW (1973). "C. 116". Classical Quarterly 23: 304–309. 
Poems (Carmina) of The Roman poet Catullus
Lesbia poems 2, 2b, 3, 5, 7, 8, 11, 36, 37, 51, 58, 68, 70, 72, 75, 76, 79, 83, 85, 86, 87, 91, 92, 104, 107, 109
Invective poems 10, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 28, 29, 30, 33, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 47, 49, 52, 53, 54, 57, 59, 60, 69, 71, 73, 74, 77, 78, 80, 84, 88, 89, 90, 93, 95, 97, 98, 103, 108, 110, 111, 112, 113, 116
Unusual poetic meters
 4, 8, 11, 17, 22, 25, 29, 30, 31, 34, 37, 39, 44, 51, 52, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64
Hendecasyllabic verse 1, 2, 2b, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 14b, 15, 16, 21, 23, 24, 26, 27, 28, 32, 33, 35, 36, 38, 40, 41, 42, 43, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 58b
Elegiac couplets 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116
See also the list of poems by Catullus.