The Poetry of Gaius Valerius Catullus/3

Text & Translation

Meter - Hendecasyllabic

Line	Latin Text	English Translation
1	Lugete, o Veneres Cupidinesque,	Mourn, Oh Venuses and Cupids
2	et quantum est hominum venustiorum:	And all men of finer feeling
3	passer mortuus est meae puellae,	The sparrow of my girl has died,
4	passer, deliciae meae puellae,	the sparrow, my lady's pet
5	quem plus illa oculis suis amabat.	Whom she loved more than her own eyes.
6	nam mellitus erat suamque norat	For it was honey sweet and it knew its own
7	ipsam tam bene quam puella matrem,	mistress just as well as a girl her mother,
8	nec sese a gremio illius movebat,	nor would it move from her lap
9	sed circumsiliens modo huc modo illuc	but hopping around from here, to there
10	ad solam dominam usque pipiabat.	it used to constantly chirp to its mistress alone.
11	qui nunc it per iter tenebricosum	it who now goes through the dark journey
12	illuc, unde negant redire quemquam.	to that place from where they deny that anyone returns
13	at vobis male sit, malae tenebrae	but curse on you, evil shadows
14	Orci, quae omnia bella devoratis:	of hell , who devour all beautiful things:
15	tam bellum mihi passerem abstulistis	you have taken such a beautiful sparrow from me
16	o factum male! o miselle passer!	Oh what evil deeds! Oh unfortunate little sparrow!
17	tua nunc opera meae puellae	now, because of you,
18	flendo turgiduli rubent ocelli.	my girlfriends' little eyes are swollen red from weeping

Connotations of The Text

Line 1

• Veneres Cupidinesque

This was a favourite phrase of Catullus's. He also uses it in poem 13.

Lines 3-4

• passer... meae puellae - sparrow... of my girl

This anaconda conveys a rhetorical tone, something Catullus uses frequently.

Line 9

• modo huc modo illuc - now here now there

The sound of this set of words imitates the way the little bird would have hopped around when it was alive.

Line 10

• pipiabat - chirped

The sound of this word imitates the sound the little sparrow would have made. Written in scanned form - pǐpǐābǎt - the combination of longs and shorts reflect the little bird's voice.

Vocabulary

Line 1

• lugeo, lugere, luxi, luctus - to mourn
• Venus, Venus, Veneris f. (third declension) - Venus
• Cupido, Cupido Cupidinis m. (third declension) - Cupid

Line 2

• homo, homo hominis m. man, human
• venustiorus, venustiorus venustiora venustiorum - sweeter/more delightful

Line 3

• passer, passeris, m. - sparrow
• meus, mea, meum - my
• puella, puella, puellae f. - girl

Line 4

• delicia, deliciae f. - delight

Line 5

• plus, plus + Ablativus - more than
• ille, illa, ille, illud - she
• oculus, oculi m. - eye
• suus, suus, sua, suum - her
• amo, amare, amavi, amatum - Indicative Praeteritum Active - she/he/it loved

Line 6

• mellitus, mellita, mellitum - honey sweet
• novi, novisse --> Plusquamperfect noveram --> no(ve)rat+contraction norat - to acknowledge as

Line 7

• tam - so
• bene - well
• mater, matris f. - matrem -> accusativus singularis - mother

Line 8

• gremium, gremii, n. - lap, bosom, female interior
• moveo, movere, movi, motum - Indicative Praeteritum Active - she moved
• a, a+ablativus - from

Line 9

• sed - but
• circumsilio, circumsilio, circumsilire, circumsiliui - jump, hop around
• hoc - here
• illuc - there
• modo - once

Line 10

• ad, ad+accusativus - about
• solus, solus, sola, solum - only
• domina, domina, dominae f. - akkusativus singularis - mistress
• usque - constantly, continually
• pipio, pipio, pipiare, pipiavi, pipiatum - Indicative Praeteritum Active - the passer sang / was singing

External Links

• Catullus 3 A Translation of Catullus 3
• Catullus 3 Another Translation of Catullus 3