CATVLLVS LI

Ille mī pār esse deō vidētur,

ille, sī fās est, superāre dīvōs,

quī sedēns adversus identidem tē

     spectat et audit

dulce rīdentem, miserō quod omnīs

ēripit sēnsūs mihi: nam simul tē,

Lesbia, aspexī, nihil est super mī

            .         .         .

lingua sed torpet, tenuis sub artūs

flamma dēmānat, sonitū suōpte

tintinant aurēs, geminā teguntur

     lumina nocte.

Ōtium, Catulle, tibī molestum est;

ōtiō exsultās nimiumque gestīs;

ōtium et rēgēs prius et beātās

     perdidit urbēs.

 

Meter: sapphic (named after the Greek lyric
poetess Sappho from the island Lesbos)

 

N.B. ellisions:   (l.07) Les bi ās pe xi

                        (l.12) mo les test

                        (l.13) ō ti e xul tās

                        (l.14) ō ti et

 

cat51.mp3 (0.7MB)

  

CATVLLVS LXXXV

Ōdī et amō. Quārē id faciam fortasse requīris?

Nescio, sed fierī sentiō et excrucior.

 

Meter: elegiac couplet, a Greek variation on the dactylic hexameter used in epic;

commonly used for drinking songs, epitaphs, love poems, lamentations, etc.

 

N.B. ellisions:   (l.1) Ō de ta mō; Quā rid

                        (l.2) sen ti et


cat85.mp3 (0.2MB)