Carmina

Perseus Latin · Perseus Latin · 2,080 sections

7.3
I say what mighty sum of Lybian-sands
7.4
Confine Cyrene’s Laserpitium-lands
7.5
’Twixt Oracle of Jove the Swelterer
7.6
And olden Battus’ holy Sepulchre,
7.7
Or stars innumerate through night-stillness ken
7.8
The stolen Love-delights of mortal men,
7.9
For that to kiss thee with unending kisses
7.10
For mad Catullus enough and more be this,
7.11
Risses nor curious wight shall count their tale,
7.12
Nor to bewitch us evil tongue avail.
8.1
Woe-full Catullus! cease to play the fool
8.2
And what thou seest dead as dead regard!
8.3
Whilòme the sheeniest suns for thee did shine
8.4
When oft-a-tripping whither led the girl
8.5
By us beloved, as shall none be loved.
8.6
There all so merry doings then were done
8.7
After thy liking, nor the girl was loath.
8.8
Then certès sheeniest suns for thee did shine.
8.9
Now she’s unwilling: thou too (hapless!) will
8.10
Her flight to follow, and sad life to live:
8.11
Endure with stubborn soul and still obdure.
8.12
Damsel, adieu! Catullus obdurate grown
8.13
Nor seeks thee, neither asks of thine unwill;
8.14
Yet shalt thou sorrow when none woos thee more;
8.15
Reprobate! Woe to thee! What life remains?
8.16
Who now shall love thee? Who’ll think thee fair?
8.17
Whom now shalt ever love? Whose wilt be called?
8.18
To whom shalt kisses give? whose liplets nip?
8.19
But thou (Catullus!) destiny-doomed obdure.
9.1
Veranius! over every friend of me
9.2
Forestanding, owned I hundred thousands three,
9.3
Home to Penates and to single-soul’d
9.4
Brethren, returned art thou and mother old?
9.5
Yes, thou art come. Oh, winsome news come well!
9.6
Now shall I see thee, safely hear thee tell
9.7
Of sites Iberian, deeds and nations ’spied,
9.8
(As be thy wont) and neck-a-neck applied
9.9
I’ll greet with kisses thy glad lips and eyne.
9.10
Oh! Of all mortal men beatified
9.11
Whose joy and gladness greater be than mine?
10.1
Led me my Varus to his flame,
10.2
As I from Forum idling came.
10.3
Forthright some whorelet judged I it
10.4
Nor lacking looks nor wanting wit,
10.5
When hied we thither, mid us three
10.6
Fell various talk, as how might be
10.7
Bithynia now, and how it fared,
10.8
And if some coin I made or spared.
10.9
There was no cause (I soothly said)
10.10
The Praetors or the Cohort made
10.11
Thence to return with oilier head;
10.12
The more when ruled by
10.13
Praetor, as pile the Cohort rating.
10.14
Quoth they, But certes as ’twas there
10.15
The custom rose, some men to bear
10.16
Litter thou boughtest? I to her
10.17
To seem but richer, wealthier,
10.18
Cry, Nay, with me ’twas not so ill
10.19
That, given the Province suffered, still
10.20
Eight stiff-backed loons I could not buy.
10.21
(Withal none here nor there owned I
10.22
Who broken leg of Couch outworn
10.23
On nape of neck had ever borne!)
10.24
Then she, as pathic piece became,
10.25
Prithee Catullus mine, those same
10.26
Lend me, Serapis-wards I’d hie.
10.27
Easy, on no-wise, no, quoth I,
10.28
Whate’er was mine, I lately said
10.29
Is some mistake, my camarade
10.30
One Cinna-Gaius-bought the lot,
10.31
But his or mine, it matters what?
10.32
I use it freely as though bought,
10.33
Yet thou, pert troubler, most absurd,
10.34
None suffer’st speak an idle word.
11.1
Furius and Aurelius, Catullus’ friends,
11.2
Whether extremest Indian shore he brave,
11.3
Strands where far-resounding billow rends
11.4
The shattered wave,
11.5
Or ’mid Hyrcanians dwell he, Arabs soft and wild,
11.6
Sacis and Parthians of the arrow fain,
11.7
Or where the Seven-mouth’d Nilus mud-defiled
11.8
Tinges the Main,
11.9
Or climb he lofty Alpine Crest and note
11.10
Works monumental, Caesar’s grandeur telling,
11.11
Rhine Gallic, horrid Ocean and remote
11.12
Britons low-dwelling;
11.13
All these (whatever shall the will design
11.14
Of Heaven-homed Gods) Oh ye prepared to tempt;
11.15
Announce your briefest to that damsel mine
11.16
In words unkempt:—
11.17
Live she and love she wenchers several,
11.18
Embrace three hundred wi’ the like requitals,
11.19
None truly loving and withal of all
11.20
Bursting the vitals:
11.21
My love regard she not, my love of yore,
11.22
Which fell through fault of her, as falls the fair
11.23
Last meadow-floret whenas passed it o’er
11.24
touch of the share.
12.1
Marrúcinus Asinius! ill thou usest
12.2
That hand sinistral in thy wit and wine

Perseus Latin. CTS URN phi0472.phi001.perseus-eng3. Via the Perseus Digital Library / Open Greek and Latin TEI corpora. Licence: Available under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Source.