The Carmina of Caius Valerius Catullus Part 31

A mighty man thou art, Naso, yet is a man not mighty who doth stoop like thee: Naso thou art mighty--and pathic.

CXIII.

Consule Pompeio primum duo, Cinna, solebant Mucillam: facto consule nunc iterum Manserunt duo, sed creverunt milia in unum Singula. fecundum s.e.m.e.n adulterio.

CXIII.

TO CINNA.

Pompey first being chosen to Consul, twofold (O Cinna!) Men for amours were famed: also when chosen again Two they remained; but now is each one grown to a thousand Gallants:--fecundate aye springeth adultery's seed.

In the first consulate of Pompey, two, Cinna, were wont to frequent Mucilla: now again made consul, the two remain, but thousands may be added to each unit. The seed of adultery is fecund.

CXIIII.

Firmano saltu non falso Mentula dives Fertur, qui tot res in se habet egregias, Aucupium, omne genus piscis, prata, arva ferasque.

Nequiquam: fructibus sumptibus exuperat.

Quare concedo sit dives, dum omnia desint. 5 Saltum laudemus, dum modo _eo_ ipse egeat.

CXIIII.

ON MAMURRA'S SQUANDERING.

For yon Firmian domain not falsely Mentula hight is Richard, owning for self so many excellent things-- Fish, fur, feather, all kinds, with prairie, corn-land, and ferals.

All no good: for th' outgoing, income immensely exceeds.

Therefore his grounds be rich own I, while he's but a pauper. 5 Laud we thy land while thou lackest joyance thereof.

With Firmian demesne not falsely is Mentula deemed rich, who has everything in it of such excellence, game preserves of every kind, fish, meadows, arable land and ferals. In vain: the yield is o'ercome by the expense.

Wherefore I admit the wealth, whilst everything is wanting. We may praise the demesne, but its owner is a needy man.

CXV.

Mentula habes instar triginta iugera prati, Quadraginta arvi: cetera sunt maria.

Cur non divitiis Croesum superare potissit Vno qui in saltu totmoda possideat, Prata, arva, ingentes silvas saltusque paludesque 5 Vsque ad Hyperboreos et mare ad Oceanum?

Omnia magna haec sunt, tamen ipse's maximus ultro, Non h.o.m.o, sed vero mentula magna minax.

CXV.

OF THE SAME.

Mentula! masterest thou some thirty acres of gra.s.s-land Full told, forty of field soil; others are sized as the sea.

Why may he not surpa.s.s in his riches any a Croesus Who in his one domain owns such abundance of good, Gra.s.s-lands, arable fields, vast woods and forest and marish 5 Yonder to Boreal-bounds trenching on Ocean tide?

Great are indeed all these, but thou by far be the greatest, Never a man, but a great Mentula of menacing might.

Mentula has something like thirty acres of meadow land, forty under cultivation: the rest are as the sea. Why might he not o'erpa.s.s Croesus in wealth, he who in one demesne possesses so much? Meadow, arable land, immense woods, and demesnes, and mora.s.ses, e'en to the uttermost north and to the ocean's tide! All things great are here, yet is the owner most great beyond all; not a man, but in truth a Mentule mighty, menacing!

CXVI.

Saepe tibi studioso animo venante requirens Carmina uti possem mittere Battiadae, Qui te lenirem n.o.bis, neu conarere Telis infestis icere mi usque caput, Hunc video mihi nunc frustra sumptus esse laborem, 5 Gelli, nec nostras his valuisse preces.

Contra nos tela ista tua evitamus amictu: At fixus nostris tu dabi' supplicium.

CXVI.

TO GELLIUS THE CRITIC.

Seeking often in mind with spirit eager of study How I could send thee songs chaunted of Battiades, So thou be softened to us, nor any attempting thou venture Shot of thy hostile shaft piercing me high as its head,-- Now do I ken this toil with vainest purpose was taken, 5 (Gellius!) nor herein aught have our prayers availed.

Therefore we'll parry with cloak what shafts thou shootest against us; And by our bolts transfixt, penalty due thou shalt pay.

Oft with studious mind brought close, enquiring how I might send thee the poems of Battiades for use, that I might soften thee towards us, nor thou continually attempt to sting my head with troublesome barbs--this I see now to have been trouble and labour in vain, O Gellius, nor were our prayers to this end of any avail. Thy weapons against us we will ward off with our cloak; but, transfixed with ours, thou shalt suffer punishment.

NOTES

EXPLANATORY AND ILl.u.s.tRATIVE

Carmen ii. v. 1. Politian, commenting on Catullus, held in common with Lampridius, Turnebus and Vossius that Lesbia's sparrow was an indecent allegory, like the "grey duck" in Pope's imitation of Chaucer. Sannazarius wrote an Epigram smartly castigating Politian, the closing lines of which were to the effect that the critic would like to devour the bird:--

Meus hic Pulicia.n.u.s Tam bellum sibi pa.s.serem Catulli Intra viscera habere concupiscit.

Martial says:

"Kiss me and I will give you Catullus's sparrow,

by which he does not mean a poem.

And in the Apoph.o.r.eta:

"If you have such a sparrow as Catullus's Lesbia deplored, it may lodge here."

Chaulieu has a similar Epigram:--

Autant et plus que sa vie Phyllis aime un pa.s.sereau; Ainsi la jeune Lesbie Jadis aima son moineau.

Mais de celui de Catulle Se laissant aussi charmer, Dans sa cage, sans scrupule, Elle eut soin de l' enfermer.

Heguin de Guerle however sees nothing to justify this opinion, remarking that Catullus was not the man to use a veil of allegory in saying an indecency. "He preferred the bare, and even coa.r.s.e, word; and he is too rich in this style of writing to need the loan of equivocal pa.s.sages."

v. 12. The story of the race between Hippomenes and Atalanta, and how the crafty lover tricked the damsel into defeat by the three golden apples is well known. Cf. Ovid. Metam. lib. x. v. 560, et seq. According to Vossius the gift of an apple was equivalent to a promise of the last favour. The Emperor Theodosius caused Paulinus to be murdered for receiving an apple from his Empress. As to this, cf. the "Tale of the Three Apples," in _The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night_ (Sir Richard Burton's Translation, Benares, 1885-8, 16 volumes), vol. i. p. 191. Cf. also note to C. lxv. v.

19.

v. 13. Virgins wore a girdle, generally of wool, for wool by the ancients was supposed to excite love, which the bridegroom the first night unbound in bed. Both in Greek and in Latin the phrase _to undo the zone_ was used to signify the loss of virginity.

C. vi. v. 8. Some say this is the spikenard, and the same with the Syrian _malobathrum_. But any rich odour was termed Syrian, by the Romans, who were extravagantly fond of perfumes; and used them, according to Vulpius, as provocatives to venery.

v. 9. _Pulvinus_, not _pulvinar_. Cf. carmen lxiiii. v. 47, post.

C. vii. v. 6. Battus (in Libyan) Bahatus, a chief, a ruler.--Halevy Essai, p. 164.--_R. F. B._