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: Choliambic. 5. ut fit: as is 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. 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 quo‘que cf. quoi, ib. 21. manticae quod: see on libelli 1. 8. - The mantica was a dou ble bag slung over the shoulder so that one part hung before, the other part behind. The reference is to the familiar fable of Esop, 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, ὄμμα πάσης χθονός. 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. 11. 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. retu v salve with a glad welcome. 13. Lydiae: see on 21. 11. The Etruscans once habited 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. 8 f. Catullus jokes at his own expense, as if his illness were a punishment for his impatience in waiting for the banquet.-10. Sestianus: of Sestius. Probably P. Sestius is meant, who was a tribune of the plebeians in 57 B. c. and exerted his influence for the recall of Cicero from exile. In the following year he was defended by Cicero from a charge of assault in the extant oration Pro P. Sestio. — dum volo: while I was looking forward.—11. Antium: unknown. petitorem: may be a plaintiff in a case at law, or a candidate for office. neni: cf. 11. 19, where the word is applied to wretched poets. The bad quality of Sestius's writings was more than once mentioned by Cicero in his letters. 13. gravido: = grave do. With the chilling effects of Sestius's poorly written speech, cf. Swift (Martin, p. 221): 'The cold conceits, the chilling thoughts I found my head began to swim; A numbness crept through every limb.' -12. ve 14. usque: cf. 5. 9. -15. otio: cf. Celsus 4. 5, in gravidine primo die quiescere.que et: et et; not used by Cicero or Caesar. — urtica: Pliny says that nettles were good for a cough.-16. tibi:= the villa (cf. es ulta in vs. 17). — 17. peccatum: his sin consisted in coveting a good dinner and in wasting his time over such trash as Sestius's speech. 18. nefaria: for the lengthening of the final syllable in thesis before two or more consonants at the beginning of the next word, see on 4 9, Propontida. - nefaria scripta: cf. 11. 12, sacrum libellum. -19. recepso:= recepero; cf. A. & G. 128, e, 3.- quin ferat: depending on nec deprecor. —20. non mi, sed ipsi Sestio: an unexpected turn, πарà πрoσdοκίαν. 21. vocat: sc. ad cenam. 17. This exquisite little love-song, with which Horace, 15, may be compared, well entitles Catullus to the epithet given him by Tennyson, 'tenderest of Roman poets.' It is not known whether the poet has given us a purely imaginary scene, or is celebrating the actual love of a friend. The Greek name Acme suggests a freed woman. Metre Phalaecean or Hendecasyllabic (p. 3, § 14). 1. Acmen: with Greek ending, cf. A. & G. 37. -amores: here the person loved, but cf. 10. 9, and 15. 6.-3. perdite: to distraction; frequently used of lovers. Cf. Ter. Phor. 82, hanc amare coepit perdite. - 5. quantum (sc. pote) qui pote plurimum perire: 'as fondly as the fondest lover can' (Ellis). - pote: sc. est; the adjective pote, like potis, is of all genders. The required form of esse is frequently omitted. Cf. Enn. 10. 3. — perire: to be dead in love.— 6. Libya: Libya was not the only part of Africa known as the home of lions; cf. Hor. 5. 15, Iubae tellus (Mauretania), leonum arida nutrix. India tosta: cf. Verg. Geor. 4. 425, torrens sitientis Sirius Indos. - 8. Amor: assumed to be present in person; cf. M. Prior in Golden Treasury, No. 137: 'Fair Chloe blush'd: Euphelia frown'd: I sung, and gazed; I play'd and trembled: Remark'd how ill we all dissembled.' – sinistra ut ante, dextra sternuit adprobationem: sneezing was considered a good omen among both Greeks and Romans. A familiar passage is Xen. Anab. 3. 2. 9, τοῦτο δὲ λέγοντος αὐτοῦ πτάρνυταί τις· ἀκούσαντες δ ̓ οἱ στρατιῶται πάντες μια ὁρμῇ προσεκύνησαν τὸν θεόν. Then Xenophon declared that it was a good omen. Before our poem opens, Love had sneezed on the left to the love protestations of Septumius; he now sneezes on the right. As the left was the lucky side to the Romans, while the Greeks considered the right to be lucky, he has now, by sneezing on both sides, made the good omen complete. Cf. Tennyson, Edwin Morris: as. 'Shall not Love to me, As in the Latin song I learnt at school, Sneeze out a full God-bless-you right and left?' ... 11. pueri: cf. puella in 2 and 3; Hor. 2. 1, gracilis puer of Pyrrha's lover. ocellos saviata: cf. 8. 9. 12. illo: cf. illa, 7. 6. — purpureo:= roseo; cf. Carmen 64, 49, tincta roseo conchyli purpura fuco.-13. sic. . . ut: so surely .. vita: frequently used as a term of endearment. Septumille: cf. Veraniolum, 9. 17. — 16. medullis: cf. Verg. Aen. 4. 66, ēst mollis flamma medullas. -17 f. Love impartially grants his good omen (bonum auspicium) to Acme's declaration as he had done before to Septumius's. — 20. amant amantur: cf. Theoc. 12. 16, ἀντεφίλησ ̓ ὁ φιληθείς. -21. misellus: enamored. · 22. Syrias Britanniasque: your Syrias and your Britains. This reference enables us with probability to assign the poem to 55 B. C.; for in this year Crassus assumed command in Syria and Caesar crossed into Britain, and thus both countries were prominent in the minds of young Romans desirous of seeking their fortunes. Syria was proverbially a seat of oriental luxury, and Britain was thought to possess boundless treasures until the second expedition of Caesar in the next year. In 54 B. C. Cicero wrote to a friend (ad Fam. 7. 7. 1), in Britannia nihil esse audio neque auri neque argenti. - 24 facit: centres. delicias: in a different -- meaning from that of 2 and 3.-25. With this interrogative ending cf. 8. 18. See the introductory note on 14. The poem, as Ellis says, 'expresses the natural gladness of an eager temperament escaping from official duties neither remunerative nor, as regards Memmius, congenial.' Metre Phalaecean or Hendecasyllabic (p. 3, § 14). 3. Zephyri: Favonius, cf. 13. 2. aureis: see on marei, 4 23.-4. linquantur: see on liquisse, 14. 6. - Phrygii campi: cf. Bithynos campos, 14. 5. 5. aestuosae cf. 6. 5. Strabo, the geographer, describes the plain about Nicaea as unhealthy in summer. -6. claras urbes: i. e. Smyrna, Ephesus, Miletus, etc., cities which Ovid (16. 21) called magnificas Asiae urbes.-7. praetrepidans : excited with anticipation. —8. studio vigescunt: are keen with eagerness.· 9. comitum: the colleagues of Catullus on Memmius's staff. 11. diversae: separate. 19. Cicero has apparently rendered Catullus some service as a lawyer (patronus, vs. 7), for which Catullus here expresses thanks in a manner characteristic of his ardent nature. Cicero was considerably older than the young men of the literary circle to which Catullus belonged, a company of poets, politicians, statesmen, and critics, including Cornificius (15), Licinius Cal |