cf. quantumst, 3. 2.-6. Pollioni: probably C. Asinius Pollio (76 B. C.–5 a. D.), who was consul 40 B. C., but afterwards withdrew to private life, and won distinction as an orator, tragic poet, historian and critic. He was a friend of Vergil and Horace. The different cognomina of the two brothers may be explained by assuming that the Asinii, who were Marrucinian plebeians, had no cognomen. When the father of these two brothers came to Rome, he adopted the Roman custom of cognomina for his sons, but for special reasons gave them different names. For Marrucinus see on vs. 1; the significance of Pollio is not known. – 8. mutari: to be commuted; he would gladly pay a large sum to wipe out your bad account. - velit: A. & G. 311.-9. leporum disertus: clever at pleasantries; he knows what real fun is, hence you may trust his judgment of your conduct. For the genitive, A. & G. 218, c. — 10: hendecasyllabos: the ordinary metre for invective was iambic (cf. Carmen 36. 5, truces vibrare iambos), but Catullus here and once again (Carmen 42. 1) employs hendecasyllables for that purpose. trecentos: of an indefinite large number; cf. 8. 2. — 12. aestimatione: actual value. — 14. Saetaba: Saetabis was a town of Eastern Spain famous for its linen manufactures. Hibereis: see on marei, 4. 23. — 15. muneri: A. & G. 233 b. 16. Veranius: the friend of 8.- amem: as usual coordinate, not subordinate with necesse est, cf. G. 553, 4. R. 1. 10. This humorous poem is an invitation to dinner addressed to Fabullus, the friend of Veranius (cf. 9 end). Fabullus is assured of a good dinner provided he brings it with him. All that Catullus can agree to furnish is some of Lesbia's exquisite perfume. With this poem cf. Martial, 3. 12, which seems to have been suggested by it: 'Unguentum, fateor, bonum dedisti convivis here, sed nihil scidisti. Qui non cenat et unguitur, Fabulle, hic vere mihi mortuus videtur.' This is translated by Martin, p. 204. It was a very different invitation which Tennyson sent to a friend; cf. To the Rev. F. D. Maurice : You'll have no scandal while you dine, Metre Phalaecean or Hendecasyllabic (p. 3, § 14). : 4. candida: cf. 25. 1, and see note. 5. sale: wit, 'Attic salt.' omnibus cachinnis: all kinds of laughter; bounteous mirth.-8. plenus aranearum: Furius was even poorer than this; cf. Carmen 23. 1 f., Furei quoi neque servos est neque arca | nec cimex neque araneus neque ignis. — 9. meros amores: the real essence of love, meaning the unguentum of vs. 11, which was a gift from the gods of love, and had been filled by them with love's sweetness. Propertius's Cynthia had perfumes made by Love's own hands, 3. 29. 18, quos ipse suis fecit Amor manibus. 10. seu quid: the alternative of amores, instead of being put in the accus., is stated as a condition. -II. unguentum: on the extensive use of oils and perfumes among the Romans, especially at the bath, see Guhl and Koner, Life of the Greeks and Romans, p. 508. - - 12. Veneres Cupidinesque: see on 3. 1. 14. Cf. Ben Jonson's 'You would wish yourself all nose for the love on't' (cited by Ellis from Cynthia's Revels, 5. 2). 11. This humorous poem was written by Catullus to his brilliant friend, the orator and poet, C. Licinius Macer Calvus, who had sent him as a Saturnalia. gift a book of worthless poetry by different writers. Catullus promises to requite his friend on the morrow with payment in kind. The Saturnalia, celebrated on December 17 and following days, was a festival of unrestrained freedom and merriment. Presents were exchanged by friends as with us at Christmas, books being among the commonest gifts. 54 B. C. note. Metre Phalaecean or Hendecasyllabic (p. 3, § 14). 1. nei:=ni, see on marei, 4. 23. - plus oculis: cf. 3. 5, and see note. 2. iucundissime Calve: cf. 20. 16, iucunde of the same Calvus. He was one of Catullus's most intimate friends, had the same impulsive nature, and perhaps an equal poetic talent (see 20). As an orator he was also eminent (see 22). Like Catullus he died in the prime of his young manhood (he lived 82-47 B. C.), and this circumstance, combined with the similarity in the characters of the two men and of their writings, led to a frequent mention of them together. Ovid represents them as boon companions in the next world; cf. Am. 3. 9. 61 f., obvius huic venias hedera iuvenalia cinctus | tempora cum Calvo, docte Catulle, tuo. munere isto: for that gift of yours; the pronoun is the second personal demonstrative and carries often an implication of contempt. A. & G. 102, c.-3. odissem odio: cf. basia basiare, 6. 9.- odio Vatiniano: Vatinius was a corrupt politician whom Calvus prosecuted twice, and possibly three times, in 58, 56, and The last time he was defended by Cicero. Cf. 22 and introductory On Vatiniano cf. A. & G. 214, a, 2. — 5. male perderes: plague me to death. On the subjunctive cf. A. & G. 319, 2. -6. di mala dent: with this form of curse cf. vobis male sit, 3. 13. - clienti: by this time= ==a lawyer's client, cf. Smith, D. A., s. v. —7. impiorum: used of poetasters, as pius was used of good poets; cf. Carmen 16.5, pium poetum; Verg. Aen. 6. 662, pii vates et Phoebo digna locuti. For the genitive, cf. 5. 13, tantum basiorum. Catullus jestingly assumes that Calvus had received the book as a recompense for his legal services. Lawyers were not allowed to charge a fee.- 8. repertum: studied. -9. Sulla: otherwise not known.-litterator: schoolmaster. As teachers were poorly paid, he perhaps could afford no better present for his lawyer. — 12. This outburst of mock indignation may have been caused by a second examination of the book.. libellum: see on 1. 1.-14. misti: cf. A. & G. 128, b. continuo: adverb. periret: the same exaggeration as in male perderes of vs. 5.-15. optimo: attribute of die. Calvus's joke was all the worse for being perpetrated on the best of days. For the festival of the Saturnalia, cf. Smith, D. A., s. v. — 16. salse: cf. salsum in 9. 4. — 17. si luxerit: i. e. as sure as the morrow dawns. - 18. scrinia: as we might say 'to the booksellers' shelves.' The scrinium was a cylindrical box which would hold a number of rolls, volumina. - Caesios: poets like Caesius. 19. Suffenum: he is the subject of 12. omnia venena: i. e. all poets who are as bad as poison. - -21. The punishment of Calvus must wait till morning, but in the meantime (interea) his gift is disposed of with the following imprecation.valete: for a similar indignant dismissal cf. Ter. Ad. 622, valeas, habeas illam quae placet =away with you, keep the girl you like!· - abite illuc, etc. a variation of abi in malam rem, with a play upon the double meaning of pedem as a physical and a metrical foot. 12. A satire upon Suffenus, a polished wit, who had the conceit to believe himself a poet. The poem is addressed to Quintilius Varus of Cremona, who was later a distinguished literary critic and the friend of Vergil and Horace. Cf. Horace 6. Metre 1. Suffenus: mentioned as a bad poet in 11. 19. -3. idem: cf. A. & G. 195, e. - longe plurimos: he is the most voluminous of all poets.-5. ut fit: as is usually done. -in palimpsesto: a palimpsest is a manuscript from which one writing has been erased to make place for another. Suffenus does not deign, as most poets did, to intrust even the first draft of his poems to second-hand material, but has everything brand-new and of the best quality.-6. relata : noted down. chartae: see on 1. 6. The best paper was called regia, cf. 'royal Irish linen.' libri: rolls. Cf. Smith, D. A., s. v. 7. umbilici: the rods round which the rolls were tightly wound, so called from their position in the roll. — lora: the straps for tying up the roll when it had been tightly wound round the umbilicus. membrana: the parchment covering in which the roll was kept, often colored red. 8. derecta: lined, belongs with omnia, the whole.' - pumice aequata: pumice is often mentioned as used for smoothing off the ends (frontes) of the roll; cf. 1. 2, and see note. 9. cum legas: cf. A. & G. 316, a, 1. The tu is general and without emphasis. - bellus: agreeable. -10. unus: a veritable. — II. tantum, etc.: he is so different and so changed. —13. si quid: sc. est, the whole being quidvis; cf. 10. 10, and see note. tritius: more clever, i. e. practised in wit; cf. Cic. ad Fam. 9, 16, 4, quod tritas aures haberet . . . consuetudine legendi.-15. simul: simul ac, cf. 21. 6. — 16. ac: cf. A. & G. 156, a end. 17. in se cf. A. &. G. 254, b and Rem. With the idea in the last two lines, cf. Boileau, Satire 2, ad fin.: = 'Un sot, en écrivant, fait tout avec plaisir : Il n'a point dans ses vers l'embarras de choisir; 18. idem fallimur: we are under the same delusion. A. & G 240, a. —20. possis : A. & G. 320. suos: A. & G. 196, c. When forms of suos and quisque are used together, suos regularly precedes. On suos suus, cf. novom 1, 1, and on quoique cf. quoi, ib. 21. manticae quod: see on libelli 1. 8.. The mantica was a double bag slung over the shoulder so that one part hung before, the other part behind. The reference is to the familiar fable of Æsop, for the Latin form of which cf. Phaedr. 4. 10: Peras inposuit Iuppiter nobis duas : propriis repletam vitiis post tergum dedit, alii simul delinquunt, censores sumus. 13. It would appear that Catullus had been asked by a certain Furius to loan him 100,000 sesterces (cf. Carmen 23. 26 f., et sestertia quae soles precari | centum desine), and, upon excusing himself because of his lack of means, had been taunted with his possession of an excellent country-seat. He retorts with this joking poem. Metre Phalaecean or Hendecasyllabic (p. 3, § 14). : 2. oppositast: for the form see on quantumst 3. 2. The joke turns on the double meaning of opponere, to expose and to mortgage. For the latter cf. Ter. Phor. 661 f., ager oppositus pignori | ob decem minas est.-3. Apeliotae: a Greek word for Latin subsolanus east wind. Declined like Anchises, cf. A. & G. 37.— 4. ducentos: sc. sestertios. The sesterce was worth from four to five cents. 14. During the year 57 B. C. Catullus was in the province of Bithynia on the staff of the propraetor Memmius. This poem was written upon his return to his villa on the southern shore of Lago di Garda (Lacus Benacus) in the next year. It breathes the same joyous spirit as 18, which was written just before he left Bithynia. The ruin of an ancient villa upon the peninsula of Sirmione was for centuries known as Catullus's villa, but archaeologists in recent years have assigned it to the time of the Emperor Constantine (306-337 A.D.). Tennyson's 'Frater Ave atque Vale' is as charming in its way as are the two poems by Catullus (14 and 26) of which it is a reminiscence: 'Row us out from Desenzano, to your Sirmione row! So they row'd, and there we landed -"O venusta Sirmio!" { A. & G. 365, c. Metrical translations by Thomas Moore, Leigh Hunt, and others. 1. paene: see on 4. 10. 'Sirmione appears as an island, so low and so narrow is the break that unites it to the mainland.'. 2. ocelle: see on 3. 5. Cf. Aesch. Eum. 1025, ouμa ráσns xlovós. 3. uterque: i. e. as god of lakes (stagna) and of the sea.- -4. laetus: with force of an adverb, cf. A. & G. 191.-5. ipse: as usual, with the subject, contrary to the English idiom; A. & G. 195, l. Thyniam: the northwestern part of Bithynia. 6. liquisse: poets are fond of using uncompounded forms of verbs; cf. 18. 4.-7. solutis curis: release from cares.— 9. larem ad nostrum: cf. 8. 3, domum ad tuos penates; Liv. 1. 29. 4, larem ac penates tectaque relinquentes. -II. Hoc est, quod unumst: this it is which of itself compensates. — — 12. venusta: 'the epithet,' says Ellis, 'like our "lovely," falls short, at least to a modern eye, of the actual beauty of Sirmio, with its high cliffs descending into the transparently blue water, and the exquisite colour of the surrounding land and sky.' ero gaude: i. e. return my salve with a glad welcome. 13. Lydiae: see on 21. 11. The Etruscans once inhabited this region, and they were believed, owing to a confusion of names, to have come from Lydia. This learned allusion in the Alexandrian manner strikes us as incongruous in such a simple poem, but it becomes less unnatural if we remember that Catullus had just returned from Asia Minor, where he had doubtless visited Lydia and her famous cities. Cf. 18. 6. — 14. cachinnorum: cf. 10. 5, and for construction see on libelli, 1. 8. 15. Cornificius, a friend and brother-poet, is reproached for neglecting to send a few lines of consolation to Catullus in his illness. Some commentators have imagined that this was Catullus's last sickness. The pathos of this little poem always moved Macaulay to tears; see on 7, introductory note, ad fin. Metre Phalaecean or Hendecasyllabic (p. 3, § 14). - 1. malest tuo Catullo: your Catullus is ill. For the dative cf. A. & G. 235 and Note. Cf. 11. 10. - 2. laboriose: Cicero (Phil. 11. 8) says that persons suffering from disease are properly called not miseri, but laboriosi. -6. meos amores: the verb is often omitted in colloquial or familiar Latin if the sense is clear without it. Amores = love, but cf. 10. 9 and 17. 1.—7. paulum quid lubet: just one little word; quid lubet (cf. quidvis) is obj. of a verb implied, as da or mitte.-8. Simonideis: of Simonides; the poet of Ceos (556-468 B. C.) is meant. He was especially famed for his dirges (Opvo). With his dirge on the Greeks who fell at Marathon he won a victory over Aeschylus. 16. Sestius had invited Catullus to dinner, and at the same time sent him a copy of his latest speech. Catullus was unable to attend the dinner, owing to an attack of influenza, which, he humorously asserts, was occasioned by the chilling effects of the speech. This poem is addressed to his farm on the border of the Sabine and Tiburtine territory, whither he had fled to recuperate. 3. cordi: A. & G. 233, a. — Catullus's preference for Tibur may have been due to its fertility, beautiful landscape, and reputation as a resort of wealthy Romans. The Sabine territory, on the other hand, was mountainous and rocky, and occupied by frugal farmers. Horace had a villa there not far from Tibur.-4. pignore: wager. A. & G. 248. 6. libenter: cf. 14. 4.- - suburbana: Tibur, the modern Tivoli, was visible from Rome, and only about eighteen miles distant. — |