Catullus 30

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Catullus 30 is a poem by the Roman poet Catullus, dealing with the untrustworthiness of boyfriends. For a comparison with the female countparts, see Catullus 70 and Catullus 76.

The meter of the poem, Greater Asclepiadean, is relatively rare; this is the only poem of Catullus that uses it.

[edit] Latin text and translation

Line	Latin Text	English Translation
1	Alfene immemor atque unanimis false sodalibus,	Alfenus, unmindful and false to your one-souled friends,
2	iam te nil miseret, dure, tui dulcis amiculi?	harsh one, does it pity you nothing, of your sweet little friend?
3	Iam me prodere, iam non dubitas fallere, perfide?	Treacherous one, do you no longer hesitate to betray and deceive me?
4	Nec facta impia fallacum hominum caelicolis placent.	Nor do the impious deeds of fallacious men please the gods.
5	Quae tu neglegis ac me miserum deseris in malis.	You who neglect wretched me when you desert me in evils.
6	Eheu quid faciant, dic, homines cuive habeant fidem?	Alas, speak, what are men to do or in whom should they trust?
7	Certe tute iubebas animam tradere, inique, me	Certainly, you used to order me to hand over my soul, evil one
8	inducens in amorem, quasi tuta omnia mi forent.	inducing me into love, as if everything would be safe to me.
9	Idem nunc retrahis te ac tua dicta omnia factaque	The same is now dragging you back and you allow the winds and the
10	ventos irrita ferre ac nebulas aereas sinis.	lofty clouds to carry all your words and deeds in vain.
11	Si tu oblitus es, at di meminerunt, meminit Fides,	If you forget, Faith will remember, but the gods remember,
12	quae te ut paeniteat postmodo facti faciet tui.	who will see to it that it shall pain you of you deeds shortly after.

[edit] Bibliography

Thom, S (1993). "Crime and punishment in Catullus 30". Akroterion 38: 51–60. 

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.