Text & Translation

Meter - Sapphic Strophe

Line	Latin text	English translation
1	Furi et Aureli comites Catulli	Furius and Aurelius, companions of Catullus,
2	sive in extremos penetrabit Indos	Whether he will enter among the distant Indians,
3	litus ut longe resonante Eoa	Where the shore far and wide by a resounding eastern
4	tunditur unda	Wave is struck,
5	sive in Hyrcanos Arabesve molles	Or among the Hyrcanians or the soft Arabians
6	seu Sagas sagittiferosve Parthos	Or among the Sacae or the arrow-bearing Parthians
7	sive quae septemgeminus colorat	Or among the waters which
8	aequora Nilus	The seven-fold Nile colors,
9	sive trans altas gradietur Alpes	Or whether he walks across the high Alps,
10	Caesaris visens monimenta magni	Seeing the monuments of great Caesar,
11	Gallicum Rhenum horribile aequor ulti	The rough Gallic Rhine water and the dis-
12	mosque Britannos	-tant British,
13	omnia haec quaecumque feret voluntas	All these things, whatever the will
14	caelitum temptare simul parati	Of the heaven-dwellers should bear, prepared to try together,
15	pauca nuntiate meae puellae	Announce to my girl a few
16	non bona dicta	Not-good words.
17	cum suis vivat valeatque moechis	May she live and fare well with her adulterers,
18	quos simul complexa tenet trecentos	Three hundred of whom she holds in an embrace at the same time,
19	nullum amans vere sed identidem omnium	Truly loving none, but again and again all of their
20	ilia rumpens	Groins bursting.
21	nec meum respectet ut ante amorem	Let her not await, as before, my love,
22	qui illius culpa cecidit velut prati	Which has fallen due to her infidelity, just like
23	ultimi flos praetereunte postquam	A flower of the furthest end of the meadow, after
24	tactus aratro est	It has been touched by a passing plow.

Connotations of The Text

Catullus 11 is an untitled poem by Catullus, typically believed to be the last of the Lesbia poems. The meter is Sapphic strophe. Catullus 11 also touches on the historical events occurring at the time it was written. The various geographical references in the poem can easily be interpreted as the known borders of the Roman Empire during Catullus's lifespan.

External Links

Catullus 11 A Translation of Catullus 11
Carmina Wikibooks Original Sources on Catullus