Catullus 86-93

Original Latin

LXXXVI. ad Lesbiam

Quintia formosa est multis. mihi candida, longa,

recta est: haec ego sic singula confiteor.

totum illud formosa nego: nam nulla venustas,

nulla in tam magno est corpore mica salis.

Lesbia formosa est, quae cum pulcerrima tota est,

tum omnibus una omnis surripuit Veneres.

LXXXVII. ad Lesbiam

Nulla potest mulier tantum se dicere amatam

vere, quantum a me Lesbia amata mea est.

nulla fides ullo fuit umquam foedere tanta,

quanta in amore tuo ex parte reperta mea est.

LXXXVIII. ad Gellium

Quid facit is, Gelli, qui cum matre atque sorore

prurit, et abiectis pervigilat tunicis?

quid facit is, patruum qui non sinit esse maritum?

ecquid scis quantum suscipiat sceleris?

suscipit, o Gelli, quantum non ultima Tethys

nec genitor Nympharum abluit Oceanus:

nam nihil est quicquam sceleris, quo prodeat ultra,

non si demisso se ipse voret capite.

LXXXIX. ad Gellium

Gellius est tenuis: quid ni? cui tam bona mater

tamque valens vivat tamque venusta soror

tamque bonus patruus tamque omnia plena puellis

cognatis, quare is desinat esse macer?

qui ut nihil attingat, nisi quod fas tangere non est,

quantumvis quare sit macer invenies.

XC. ad Gellium

Nascatur magus ex Gelli matrisque nefando

coniugio et discat Persicum aruspicium:

nam magus ex matre et gnato gignatur oportet,

si vera est Persarum impia religio,

gratus ut accepto veneretur carmine divos

omentum in flamma pingue liquefaciens.

XCI. ad Gellium

Non ideo, Gelli, sperabam te mihi fidum

in misero hoc nostro, hoc perdito amore fore,

quod te cognossem bene constantemve putarem

aut posse a turpi mentem inhibere probro;

sed neque quod matrem nec germanam esse videbam

hanc tibi, cuius me magnus edebat amor.

et quamvis tecum multo coniungerer usu,

non satis id causae credideram esse tibi.

tu satis id duxti: tantum tibi gaudium in omni

culpa est, in quacumque est aliquid sceleris.

XCII. ad Lesbia

Lesbia mi dicit semper male nec tacet umquam

de me: Lesbia me dispeream nisi amat.

quo signo? quia sunt totidem mea: deprecor illam

assidue, verum dispeream nisi amo.

XCIII. ad Gaium Iulium Caesarem

Nil nimium studeo, Caesar, tibi velle placere,

nec scire utrum sis albus an ater homo.

My Translation

Catullus 86: “Beautiful”

Quintia is beautiful–

to many. To me, she is 

white, tall, straight–

one by one, I acknowledge all those things. 

But that word, “beautiful,” she is not: 

she has no charm, no wit, 

in her whole long body.

Lesbia is beautiful. 

She encompasses all that is lovely, 

and herself has stolen away all the charm of Venus. 

Catullus 87: No Woman

can claim, in truth, to have been loved as much 

as my Lesbia has been loved by me. 

No loyalty, no bond, 

has ever been so powerful 

as the bond forged by me in my love for you. 

Catullus 88: Incestuous Crimes 

What on earth are you doing, Gellius? 

You desire your mother, your sister–

you lie awake all night with 

your tunic crumpled on the floor! 

What on earth are you doing, Gellius? 

You won’t let your uncle be a husband! 

Do you know how great a crime you’ve committed? 

A man who does all these things 

has committed a crime so great that 

not even the most massive Tethys, 

nor Oceanus, father of the Nymphs, 

could ever wash him clean. 

There is no crime greater than this one–

not even if a man were to 

swallow himself headfirst. 

Catullus 89: An Active Man

Gellius is lean. And why wouldn’t he be?

His mother is so fine, 

his father so alive and strong, 

his sister so lovely, 

his uncle so worthy, 

and everywhere he turns is so full of girl cousins–

why should he not be lean? 

Although he’s touched nothing except what is illegal to touch,

you can easily see why he gets so much action.  

Catullus 90: Persian Magic 

From the unholy union of 

Gellius and his mother, 

let a magician be born, 

and let him learn Persian magic! 

After all, if the impious Persians are correct, 

a mage must be born from mother and son, 

so that he may please the gods, 

chanting and melting greasy fat in a flame. 

Catullus 91: Disappointment 

I did not expect, Gellius, that you would be loyal to me 

through this miserable love of mine – this ruined love! – 

because I thought I knew you well, 

or thought you were strong

and able to control your shameful impulses. 

No, I expected it because I knew that the woman 

for whom my great love burned 

was not your mother or your sister. 

And even though we are old friends, I did not believe 

that alone would be reason enough for your disloyalty. 

But you thought it enough–

you take so much pleasure in every game 

where there’s even a morsel of sin. 

Catullus 92: Our Love Language 

Lesbia is always cursing my name, 

never keeping her mouth shut about me–

I swear on my life she loves me. 

And how do I know? Because we are the same:

I curse her constantly, and yet

I’d sooner die than stop loving her. 

Catullus 93: Indifferent 

I put no great effort, Caesar, 

into trying to please you–

nor do I care to know 

whether you are a white man 

or black.