Skip to content

Catullus 5

Lesbia
Lesbia (1878) John Reinhard Weguelin. This pseudonym associates her with Lesbos, referring either to the island’s great poet Sappho, or to the beauty contests that took place there.

mea atque amemus,

senum severiorum

omnes unius aestimemus !

soles occidere et redire possunt:

cum semel occidit brevis lux,

nox est perpetua una .

da mi mille, deinde centum,

dein mille altera, dein secunda centum,

deinde usque altera mille, deinde centum.

dein, cum milia multa

conturbābimus illa, ne

aut ne quis malus possit,

cum tantum esse basiorum.

What conjugation is vivo, vivere, vixi, victum?
3rd
What form of a 3rd conjugation verb ends in -am, -as, -at, -amus, etc.?
Present Subjunctive
What do you call a 1st person jussive subjunctive?
Hortatory


Ovid says that Lesbia was a pseudonym that Catullus gave his beloved (Tristia 2.427-8). According to Apuleius (c.124CE-170), her real name was Clodia (Apol. 10). Later scholars have identified her with a sister of the P. Clodius Pulcher, Cicero’s political rival who came to a bad end.
Several of the poems give the impression that Lesbia was married. The Clodia with whom she is usually identified was married to her dull cousin, Q. Metellus Celer, but caused a scandal by her adulterous affairs.
What kind of genitive is this?
Genitive of value or price. Cf. J&S 69. In Catullus’ day, a Roman Legionary earned 10 asses a day (so common soldiers were NOT well paid!). As of Sextus PompeySextus Pompey bronze as, struck in Sicily 43-36 B.C., obverse:- Laureate head of Janus with features of Pompey the Great, reverse:- Prow of Galley, PIVS above IMP below
What case/cases take this form?
Dative and ablative plural
With what word should you take this pronoun?
Dormienda
What form consists of the verb stem plus the endings –ndus, -nda, -ndum?
Gerundive
What conjugation is formed by the gerundive with the verb to be?
Passive Periphrastic
So, if we take nobis with dormienda, what kind of dative is it?
Dative of agent.
Roman erotic art tends to emphasize sexual positions over romantic kissing but Catullus and Ovid celebrate locking lips with a passion! Polyphemus and Galatea kissingPolyphemus and Galatea kissing. Fresco from Pompeii, House of the Ancient Hunt (VII, 4, 48). This rare example of a passionate embrace is now in the Gabinetto Segreto in the Museo Archeologico Nazionale, in Naples
What 2 forms are spelled thus?
Future perfect indicative and perfect subjunctive.
The meter requires a long –i- here in the penultimate syllable but the form is nonetheless a future perfect indicative here. By Catullus’ day, the short i of the future perfect was often treated as long for metrical purposes.
What is the verb mood (indicative, imperative, or subjunctive)?
Subjunctive
What constructions pair ne with the subjunctive?
Indirect command (in negative), negative purpose clause, verb of fearing clause, [less commonly: prohibitions, exhortations, jussive phrases (ne plus perfect subjunctive).
Which construction is most likely here?
Negative purpose clause.
Here invidere has the sense to cast the evil eye (or cast spells). Spells were believed to gain power and efficacy if they included precise numbers to help target the object of their magic. MedeaMedea (1866-68) Frederick Sandys. Medea may have been one the greatest witches of antiquity but her power did not bring her happiness in love.
Here we have an example of subjunctive by attraction. Sciat is in subjunctive form because it has been attracted into the same mood as sciamus and possit.