Catullus 51 Article Index for
Catullus
Shopping
Catullus
Website Links For
Catullus
 

Information About

Catullus 51




Ille mi par esse deo videtur,

ille, si fas est, superare divos,

qui sedens adversus identidem te

spectat et audit



dulce ridentem, misero quod omnis

eripit sensus mihi: nam simul te,

Lesbia, aspexi, nihil est super mi



lingua sed torpet, tenuis sub artus

flamma demanat, sonitu suopte

tintinant aures, gemina et teguntur

lumina nocte.



Otium, Catulle, tibi molestum est:

otio exsultas nimiumque gestis:

otium et reges prius et beatas

perdidit urbes.



LITERAL ENGLISH TRANSLATION

That fellow seems to me to be equal to a god,

That fellow, if it is divinely right, to surpass the gods,

Who sitting opposite you repeatedly

Sees you and hears you


Laughing sweet, which in my wretched state steals

All sense from me: for as soon as I looked upon you,

Lesbia, nothing is enough for me


My tongue grows numb, A thin flame

Seeps beneath my limbs, my ears ring

With their own sound, my eyes are covered

With twin night.


Leisure, Catullus, is bothersome to you:

In leisure you exult too much and without restraint:

Leisure has ruined both former kings

And cities once wealthy.



SEE ALSO