Alexei Varah

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 requiret nec...

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 diverse array of...

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 a whole. As you...