CARMINA CATULLI - ENGLISCH

Carmen 1 - ad Cornelium

To whom do I give my new elegant little book,
just now polished with dry pumice stone?
To you Cornelius, for you were accustomed
to think that my trifles were something.
Even then when you dared, as one alone of the Italians
to explain all the ages in three
learned, Juppiter, and worked books.
For this reason take yourself whatever little book this is,
such as it is, which on the virgin patron,
may it remain more than one century forever.

Carmen 2 - fletus passeris Lesbiae

O sparrow that are my sweetheart's pet,
with whom she likes to play, whom to hold in her lap,
to whose pecking to offer her finger-tips
and provoke you to bite sharply
whenever it pleases her, bright-eyed with longing for me,
to engage in some endearing frolic
so that, I fancy, when her fierce passion subsides,
it may prove a diversion for her pain:
to be able to play with you, as does your mistress,
and allay the sad cares of my heart
would be as welcome to me as they say
was to the swift-footed girl that golden apple
which loosed her long-tied girdle.

Carmen 2b

It is now gratifying to me as they say it was
to the swift girl as the golden apples
which losend the long having been tied girdle.

Carmen 3 - fletus passeris Lesbiae

Mourn, oh Cupids and Venuses,
and as much as ther is of rather charming men:
the sparrow of my girlfriend has died,
the sparrow, darling of my girl,
whom she loved more than her own eyes.
For it was honey-sweet and it knew its
misstress as well as a girl knew her mother,
nor did it move itself from her lap,
but jumping aroung now here now there
he used to churp continually to his mistress alone:
who now goes through that glommy journey
whence they denied anyone returns.
But may it be badly for you, bad darkness
of Orcus, you who devours all beautiful things:
and you have taken the sparrow away from me
o bad deed! o miserable sparrow!
Now on account of your work my girl's
slightly swollen little eyes are red from weeping.

Carmen 4 - de phasello

That boat that you see strangers
says that it is the fastest of ships
it was able to suurpass the speed of any other boat
or if there was a need
for an oar or sail to fly
And the boat denys that the shore of the threatning
Adriatic denies this, or the cyclades islands
the famous island of Rhodus, wild Thracian
rough sea of Marmara, Pontus bay
where it later a small boat was previously
the woods having much foliage; for in the Cytorian ridge
with its whistiling leaves often produce whistling
Pontiac Amastris and box bearing Cytorus
the boat said that these things have been
well known to you from its earliest days
he said that he stood on top
you have dipped oars into your sea
and then, to have carried his master
through so many raging seas, whether a breeze was
calling from the left of from the right
or if at the same time a favorable breeze fell upon each foot
and he says neither any prayers to the Gods of the shore
was done by him, when the boat was coming
from the newest sea all the way to the clear lake
But these events came earlier; now you are old
in a hidden rest and dedicates itself to you
the twin Castor and twin Castor.

Carmen 5 - ad Lesbiam

Let us live, my Lesbia, and let us love,
and let us judge all the rumors of the old men
to be worth just one penny!
The suns are able to fall and rise:
When that brief light has fallen for us,
we must sleep a never ending night.
Give me a thousand kisses, then another hundred,
then another thousand, then a second hundred,
then yet another thousand more, then another hundred.
Then, when we have made many thousands,
we will mix them all up so that we don't know,
and so that no one can be jealouse of us when he finds out
how many kisses we have shared.

Carmen 6 - ad Flavium

Carmen 7 - ad Lesbiam

You ask, Lesbia, how many kissings
of you are enough and to spare for me.
As great as the number of the sands of Lybia
to be found in silphium-bearing Cyrene
between Jove's torrid oracle
and the sacred tomb of legendary Battus;
or as many the stars which in the silence of night
behold the stealthy loves of mankind:
so many kisses to kiss you with
would be enough and spare for love-crazed Catullus,
too many for the inquisitive to be able to count
or bewitch with their evil tongues.

Carmen 8 - ad se ipsum

Poor Catullus, you must stop being silly,
and count as lost what you see is lost.
Once the sun shone bright for you,
when you would go whither your sweetheart led,
she who was loved by me as none will ever be love.
Then there took place those many jolly scenes
which you desired nor did your sweetheart not desire.
Truly the sun shone bright for you.
Now she desires no more: do you too, weakling, not desire;
and do not chase her who flees, nor live in unhappiness,
but harden your heart, endure and stand fast.
Goodbye, sweetheart. Catullus now stands fast:
he will not look for you or court you against your will.
But you will be sorry when you are not courted at all.
Wretch, pity on you! What life lies in store for you!
Who will come to you now? Who will think you pretty?
Whom will you love now? Whose will people say you are?
Whom will you kiss? Whose lips will you bite?
But you, Catullus, be resolute and stand fast.

Carmen 9 - ad Veranium

Veranius, being superior to all
300,000 of my frineds in my eyes
Have you come home to your household gods
and loving brothers and old mother?
Youve come back! o happy news for me!
I will see you unharmed and i will hear
you telling about places of the spaniards, the deeds, the tribes
as you usually do drawing you neck close
I will kiss the delightful eyes and lips
of all the mor fortunate men there are
who is more happy and blessed than me?

Carmen 10 - ad Varum

My Varus lead me at leisure
from the forum to see his girlfriend
little whore, as it was them seen by me immediately
she is not very uncharming neither is she unattractive.
As we came there, several conversations fell
upon us: among which what now
Bithynia was; how it was holding itself;
and with what money had it profited me.
I responded that which was none, neither for the natives of Bithynia
nor for their governers not for their staff,
with which anyone could have a more richly combed head of hair
especially when those whose governer was a shithead
who also didn't value his staff worth a hair
"But certainly however" they said "that which is said
is the custom there to be born, you obtained
men for a liter" I, like one lucky fellow
in the eyes of the girl said
"It was not so bad for me,
although, a bad province fell to me,
that I was not able to prepare 8 strong men."
But for me no one was in the place nor there,
who could put the broken legs of an old cot
on his neck.
At this point, as it was unappropriate for the shameless one,
"I ask you please" she said "for me, my Catullus for a litte while
lend me those litter bearers, for I wish
for them to carry me to the temple of Serapis.
"Wait," I say to the girl,
"what which I had said good judgement
must have escaped me
Cinna Gaius prepared it - but whether
the litter bearers belong to me or to you?
Use as well as if I had prepared them for myself.
But you without salt are bad and bothersome,
through that it is not permitted to be careless!"

Carmen 11 - ad Furium et Aurelium

Furius and Aurelius, companions of Catullus,
whether he penetrates the furthest of the Indies,
or the shore where the beating of the eastern
waves resonates far and wide,

whether he penetrates into the Hyrcanos or the gentle Arabs,
or the arrow-carrying Parthians,
or the water which colors the delta of
the Nile colors,

whether he will go across the great Alps,
intending to see the great monument to Caesar,
or the Gallic Rhine or the horribly dis-
tant Britain,

you who are prepared to try all these things,
and whatever else the will of the gods will bring,
announce to my girl a few
nasty words.

Let her live and let her flourish with her adulterers,
whom having embraced 300 of them at the same time, she owns and keeps them,
truly loving none of them, but repeatedly breaking the groins of
all of them;

nor, let her respect my love as she did before,
which by her fault, has fallen,
just like the farthest flower of the field
has been killed by a passing plow.

Carmen 12 - ad Matrucium Asinium

Asinius Marrucinus, left hand
You do not use well: in joke and wine
You lift the napkins of the more careless.
Do you think that this is witty? It escapes you, foolish man
This thing is utterly sordid and unattractive.
Do you not believe me? Believe you brother Pollio
Who would wish that your acts of stealing
Be changed for even a talent - for the boy
Is full of charm and wit.
Therefore expect either 300 hendecasyllabic verses
Or send back the napkin to me,
Which does not move me by means of price,
But rather it is a souvenir of my friend.
For Fabullus and Veranius sent Saetaban napkins
From the Spaniards to me as a gift;
It is necessary that I love these things
As I love my little Veranius and Fabullus

Carmen 13 - ad Fabulum

You will dine well, my Fabullus, at my house
Within a few days, if the gods are favorable to you,
If you bring with you a good and ample dinner,
Not without a white(beautiful) girl
And wine and wit and all kinds of loud laughter.
If, I say, you bring these things, my charming friend,
You will dine well; for the wallet of Catullus
Is full of spiderwebs.
But in return you will receive pure/untamed affection,
Or whatever is sweeter or more elegant:
For I shall give perfume, which to my girl
Venus and Cupids have given;
When you smell this, you will ask the gods that
They make you, Fabullus, entirely a nose.

Carmen 14 - ad Caluum poetam

Although I adored you more than my eyes,
most delightful Calvus, because of that gift
I had hated you with Vatinian* hatred:
for what did I do or what did I say,
why do you ruin me with so many bad poets?
May the gods pile many adversities on that client,
who sent to you such a pack of sinners.
But if, as I do suspect, this new and choice
gift does Sulla the schoolmaster give you,
I am not upset, but rather well pleased,
since your labors haven't been wasted **.
Great gods above, that horrible and cursed little book!
Surely you sent it to your Catullus,
so that he might die, again and again, on that day,
during the Saturnalia too, the best of days!
It won't end like this for you, oh no, my clever one.
For, if there is light, to the booksellers'
shelves will I dash, and Caesius, Aquinus,
Suffenus, the entire poisonous collection:
I will repay you with these punishments.
You bad poets, meanwhile, farewell, get out of here,
go to that place, from where you got your bad feet.
Curses of our time, very bad poets.

*- Vatinius was a man he prosecuted in court.
** Catullus jokes that the book of bad poetry was
Calvus' payment for his capacities as lawyer to Sulla.

Carmen 14b

Carmen 15 - ad Aurelium

Carmen 16 - ad Aurelium et Furium

I'll bugger you and stuff your gobs,
Aurelius Kink and Poofter Furius,
For thinking me, because my verses
Are rather sissy, not quite decent.
For the true poet should be chaste
Himself, his verses need not be.
Indeed they've salt and charm then only
When rather sissy and not quite decent
And when they can excite an itch
I don't say in boys but in those hairy
Victims of lumbar scleriosis.
Because you've read of my x thousand
Kisses you doubt my virility?
I'll bugger you and stuff your gobs.

Carmen 17

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