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Original Latin Collis o Heliconii cultor, Uraniae genus, qui rapis teneram ad virum virginem, o Hymenaee Hymen, o Hymen Hymenaee; cinge tempora floribus suave olentis amaraci, flammeum cape laetus, huc huc veni, niveo gerens luteum pede soccum; excitusque hilari die, nuptialia concinens voce carmina tinnula, pelle humum pedibus, manu pineam quate taedam. namque Iunia Manlio, qualis Idalium colens venit ad Phrygium Venus iudicem, bona cum bona nubet alite v

Original Latin LI. ad Lesbiam Ille mi par esse deo videtur, ille, si fas est, superare divos, qui sedens adversus identidem te spectat et audit dulce ridentem, misero quod omnis eripit sensus mihi: nam simul te, Lesbia, aspexi, nihil est super mi * * * * * * * * lingua sed torpet, tenuis sub artus flamma demanat, sonitu suopte tintinant aures gemina, teguntur lumina nocte. otium, Catulle, tibi molestum est: otio exsultas nimiumque gestis: otium et reges prius e

Original Latin XLIV. ad Fundum O Funde noster seu Sabine seu Tiburs (nam te esse Tiburtem autumant, quibus non est cordi Catullum laedere; at quibus cordi est, quovis Sabinum pignore esse contendunt), sed seu Sabine sive verius Tiburs, fui libenter in tua suburbana villa, malamque pectore expuli tussim, non inmerenti quam mihi meus venter, dum sumptuosas appeto, dedit, cenas. nam, Sestianus dum volo esse conviva, orationem in Antium petitorem plenam veneni et pestilentiae leg

Original Latin XXXVII. ad contubernales et Egnatium Salax taberna vosque contubernales, a pilleatis nona fratribus pila, solis putatis esse mentulas vobis, solis licere, quidquid est puellarum, confutuere et putare ceteros hircos? an, continenter quod sedetis insulsi centum an ducenti, non putatis ausurum me una ducentos irrumare sessores? atqui putate: namque totius vobis frontem tabernae sopionibus scribam. puella nam mi, quae meo sinu fugit, amata tantum quantum amabitur n

Original Latin XXXI. ad Sirmium insulam Paene insularum, Sirmio, insularumque ocelle, quascumque in liquentibus stagnis marique vasto fert uterque Neptunus, quam te libenter quamque laetus inviso, vix mi ipse credens Thuniam atque Bithunos liquisse campos et videre te in tuto. o quid solutis est beatius curis, cum mens onus reponit, ac peregrino labore fessi venimus larem ad nostrum, desideratoque acquiescimus lecto? hoc est quod unum est pro laboribus tantis. salve, o venust

Original Latin XXIV. ad Iuventium O qui flosculus es Iuventiorum, non horum modo, sed quot aut fuerunt aut posthac aliis erunt in annis, mallem divitias Midae dedisses isti, cui neque servus est neque arca, quam sic te sineres ab illo amari. 'qui? non est homo bellus?' inquies. est: sed bello huic neque servus est neque arca. hoc tu quam lubet abice elevaque: nec servum tamen ille habet neque arcam. XXV. ad Thallum Cinaede Thalle, mollior cuniculi capillo vel anseris medullul

Original Latin Poems 18-20 are believed to be inauthentic and therefore omitted from this translation collection XVI. ad Aurelium et Furium Pedicabo ego vos et irrumabo, Aureli pathice et cinaede Furi, qui me ex versiculis meis putastis, quod sunt molliculi, parum pudicum. nam castum esse decet pium poetam ipsum, versiculos nihil necesse est; qui tum denique habent salem ac leporem, si sunt molliculi ac parum pudici, et quod pruriat incitare possunt, non dico pueris, sed his

Original Latin VIII. ad se ipsum Miser Catulle, desinas ineptire, et quod vides perisse perditum ducas. fulsere quondam candidi tibi soles, cum ventitabas quo puella ducebat amata nobis quantum amabitur nulla. ibi illa multa cum iocosa fiebant, quae tu volebas nec puella nolebat, fulsere vere candidi tibi soles. nunc iam illa non vult: tu quoque impotens noli, nec quae fugit sectare, nec miser vive, sed obstinata mente perfer, obdura. vale puella, iam Catullus obdurat, nec te

Gaius Valerius Catullus is widely considered to be one of Ancient Rome’s most influential and innovative poets. Writing in the final decades of the Roman Republic, Catullus immortalized timeless invectives, satires, and intensely personal expressions of desire, love, and grief; he concerned himself with individual experience rather than grand epics or political commentary. One of the most well-preserved and oldest collections of poetry, Catullus’s first book explores a divers

We are back yet again with another Tale of Two Translations. As we continue through Ovid's Metamorphoses , now entering our sixth entry, I will make these intros far briefer; it's high time I let Ovid's seminal work speak for itself. Yet it is still important that I remind you all of the importance of exposing yourselves to different translations of Latin texts. Different translations each have unique styles and can illuminate different broader interpretations of the work as

Welcome to the fifth entry of our first Tale of Two Translations, in which we read translations and formulate our own for Ovid's seminal Latin work cataloguing Roman myth: Metamorphosis . Like always, today we will continue our deep dive into the disparate ways that Latin scholars have translated Ovid's enduring masterpiece. Through these translations, I am to introduce you to a wide variety of translation styles and ideologies; translators differ both in diction and in inter

A brief introduction to the life and work of Latin writer Seneca the Younger (4 BCE–65 CE)

A brief introduction to the life and work of Latin poet Propterius (~50BC - ~15BC)

There is a reason (beyond its immense cultural impact) that the most famous empire in history is the Roman one: its sheer size. For centuries, the Roman Empire was the most extensive social and political structure in Western antiquity. At its zenith, under the reign of Emperor Trajan, it encompassed an enormous and dizzying array of climates, natural resources, peoples, and cultures. Stretching from the cloudy beaches of Britannia to the sun-soaked Arabian sands, the Roman Em

Born in either 61 or 62 CE in Comum (modern-day Como), a town in northern Italy, Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus, later known as Pliny the Younger, was exposed early to both privilege and tragedy. While he was still a young child, Pliny's father died, and he was adopted by his maternal uncle (prompting his change of name). His uncle, Pliny the Elder, was known throughout Rome as an esteemed philosopher; Pliny's adoption into his household not only provided Pliny the Younger

A brief introduction to the life and work of Roman speaker Cicero (106 - 43 BCE).

What is Case Usage in Latin? Before we explain what case usage is, first, we need to explain what a case actually is. A case, in its simplest form, refers to a formal marker (in Latin represented by endings added to the ends of nouns or adjectives) that tells you how a noun or adjective relates to other words in a sentence. In Latin, there are 7 distinctive cases: the nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, ablative, vocative, and locative (although this one is slightly ves

We are back yet again with the fourth entry in our first Tale of Two Translations. Today, we will continue exploring the various ways in which Ovid's magnum opus, Metamorphoses , has been translated. Old faces (translators) will be making reappearances, and you can expect to see diversity in terms of interpretation of the text. As always, the goal of this series is threefold: expose readers to different possible translation styles and ideologies, encourage readers to craft t

Two weeks ago, we read the first letter of Pliny the Younger's two-part series detailing his first-hand (and, at times, second-hand) account of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. This first letter functioned one part as history, attempting to crystallize the image of Pompeii's eruption to an audience who had not been present, and another part as a memorialization of the heroism of Pliny the Younger's uncle, Pliny the Elder. Having literally ran into the fire to save and comfort

Happy Valentine's to all who celebrate (yes, I'm including Galentines and all the other iterations), and happy day-of-scorning to those who despise the holiday. While this post will find you one day after the official day of festivities, it coincides perfectly with the Roman equivalent of Valentine's Day (the association of love with February appears to be a millennia-long trend). But how long has this holiday been "swinging"? Although considered a modern, consumerist invent