by Gaius Valerius Catullus

Latin text

Vivamus, mea Lesbia, atque amemus,
rumoresque senum severiorum
omnes unius aestimemus assis!
soles occidere et redire possunt:
nobis cum semel occidit brevis lux
nox est perpetua una dormienda
da mi basia mille, deinde centum.
dein mille altera, dein secunda centum,
deinde usque altera mille, deinde centum.
dein, cum milia multa fecerimus,
conturbabimus illa, ne sciamus,
aut ne quis malus invidere possit,
cum tantum sciat esse basiorum.

English Translation

Let us live, my Lesbia, and let us love
And let us value all rumors of strict old men
At a single penny.
Suns can set and rise again;
For us, after the death of one brief light,
We must sleep one unending night.
Give to me a thousand kisses, then a hundred;
Then another thousand, then a second hundred;
Then in between another thousand, then a hundred;
Then, when we have done many thousands,
We will confuse them, lest we know the number,
Or any evil one be able to cast the evil eye upon us,
When he knows the number of kisses.

Meter/scansion

Hendecasyllables (epigram). Trochee Dactyl Trochee Trochee Trochee.

General comments

This is a quite literal (rather than poetic) English translation of the Roman poet Gaius Valerius Catullus's poem, numbered 5, entitled "To Lesbia, About Kisses." Lesbia was a prominent Roman woman with whom Catullus had a somewhat obsessive, "love/hate" relationship. Because this poem is quite early in the collection, Catullus had not yet become bitter and angry at her. Instead, it is considered to show the "careless joy" of their first fling. It is a significant part of the collection because it is written as a love poem in epigram, indicating the level which Catullus held their relationship, and conversely, how he held the epigram style. In other words, this is a personal note to his girlfriend. It is also one of the most famous of the entire collection (probably for its comparatively wholesome content), along with the Sparrow poems (2 , 2b , and 3 ).

Sources

• Catullus website Last modified July 2004. Written by Rudy Negenborn.
• Catullus translation and text.
• Whitakers Words: An awesome online dictionary.
• Fordyce, C. J. Catullus, a commentary. Oxford University Press, Great Britain, 1961
• Lee, Guy. Catullus, a new translation. Oxford University Press, Great Britain, 1990
• Lewis, C.T. Elementary Latin Dictionary. Oxford University Press, Oxford, Great Britain, 1894
• Loeb Classical Library. Catullus translations by F.W. Cornish. Revised by G.P. Goold. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1913 (this edition 1995)
• Wiseman, T. P. Catullus and his World, a reappraisal. Cambridge University Press, Great Britain, 1985