Catullus 8

Catullus 8 is a Latin poem of nineteen lines in choliambic metre by the Roman poet Catullus, known by its incipit, Miser Catulle.[1]

Text
Translation Original Latin Line

Wretched Catullus, stop being a fool,
and what you see has perished, consider perished.
Blazing suns once shone for you
when you would always come where the girl led,
a girl beloved by us as no girl will ever be loved.
There when those many playful things happened,
things which you wanted, nor was the girl unwilling,
truly, blazing suns shone for you.
As it is, now she is not willing, you too, powerless, must not want:
do not keep chasing one who flees, do not live miserably,
but endure with a resolute mind, harden yourself.
Farewell, girl! Already Catullus is firm,
he will not seek you out, nor will he ask you against your will.
But you will be sad when you are not asked at all.
Woe to you, miserable woman! What sort of life remains for you?
Who now will come to you? To whom will you seem pretty?
Whom now will you love? Whose will you be said to be?
Whom will you kiss? Whose lips will you bite?
But you, Catullus, be resolved to be strong.

Miser Catulle, dēsinās ineptīre,
et quod vidēs perīsse perditum dūcās.
Fulsēre quondam candidī tibī sōlēs,
cum ventitābās quō puella dūcēbat
amāta nōbīs quantum amābitur nūlla.
Ibi illa multa cum iocōsa fīēbant,
quae tū volēbās nec puella nōlēbat,
fulsēre vērē candidī tibī sōlēs.
Nunc iam illa nōn vult: tū quoque impotēns nōlī,
nec quae fugit sectāre, nec miser vīve,
sed obstinātā mente perfer, obdūrā.
Valē puella. Iam Catullus obdūrat,
nec tē requīret nec rogābit invītam.
At tū dolēbis, cum rogāberis nūlla.
Scelesta, vae tē! quae tibī manet vīta?
Quis nunc tē adībit? Cui vidēberis bella?
Quem nunc amābis? Cuius esse dīcēris?
Quem bāsiābis? Cui labella mordēbis?
At tū, Catulle, dēstinātus obdūrā.

8.1
8.2
8.3
8.4
8.5
8.6
8.7
8.8
8.9
8.10
8.11
8.12
8.13
8.14
8.15
8.16
8.17
8.18
8.19

Analysis

The speaker, somewhat vainly, appeals to himself to return Lesbia's coldness with coldness.[1] E. T. Merrill says the puella (lit. 'girl') of this poem is undoubtedly Lesbia, given the affection shown in verse 5 in particular, and in the poem as a whole.[1] Catullus had evidently fallen in the favour of his inconstant mistress, and was ill able to put up with her coldness in a dignified manner.[1] While, therefore, he complains of the unreasonableness of her treatment of him, he seems to have one eye open for a reconciliation.[1] Merrill dates the poem to about 59 BC, noting the difference in tone from the "swift and brief-worded bitterness" that characterizes the poems written after the speaker had become convinced of Lesbia's unworthiness, and thinks this poem was evidently written in the time of temporary estrangement which was ended by the voluntary act of Lesbia.[1][2]

In his Victorian translation of Catullus, R. F. Burton titles the poem "To Himself recounting Lesbia's Inconstancy".[3]

References
  1. Merrill, ed. 1893, p. 17.
  2. cf. Catul. 37.1ff., Catul. 107.1ff., Catul. 36.1ff.
  3. Burton; Smithers, eds. 1894, p. 14.

Sources
  • Burton, Richard F.; Smithers, Leonard C., eds. (1894). The Carmina of Caius Valerius Catullus. London: Printed for the Translators: for Private Subscribers. pp. 14–15.
  • Merrill, Elmer Truesdell, ed. (1893). Catullus (College Series of Latin Authors). Boston, MA: Ginn and Company. pp. 17–19. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.

Further reading
  • Akbar Khan, H. (1968). "Style and Meaning in Catullus' Eighth Poem". Latomus, 27. pp. 556–574.
  • Connor, P. J. (1974). "Catullus 8: The Lover's Conflict". Antichthon, 8. pp. 93–96.
  • Dyson, M. (1973). "Catullus 8 and 76". Classical Quarterly, 23. pp. 127–143.
  • Moritz, L. A. (1966). "Miser Catulle: A Postscript". Greece and Rome, 13. pp 156–157.
  • Rowland, R. L. (1966). "Miser Catulle: An Interpretation of the Eighth Poem of Catullus". Greece and Rome, 13. pp. 16–21.
  • Schmiel, R. (1990). "The Structure of Catullus 8: A History of Interpretation". Classical Journal, 86. pp. 158–166.
  • Skinner, M. B. (1971). "Catullus 8: The Comic Amator as Eiron". Classical Journal, 66. pp. 298–305.
  • Swanson, R. A. (1963). "The Humor of Catullus 8". Classical Journal, 58. pp. 193–196.
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