Catullus 101

Cat. 101.1Multās per gentēs et multa per aequora vectus
adveniō hās miserās, frāter, ad īnferiās,
ut tē postrēmō dōnārem mūnere mortis
et mūtam nēquīquam adloquerer cinerem,
5quandōquidem fortūna mihi tētē abstulit ipsum,
heu miser indignē frāter adēmpte mihi.

Carried through many peoples and over many seas, I come, brother, for these sad funeral rites, to present you with the last gift owed to the dead and to speak in vain to your silent ashes, since fortune has taken you yourself from me, alas, poor brother, unjustly taken from me.

Note. Catullus' brother died in the Troad, near Troy, and Catullus visited his grave on his way to or from Bithynia. vectus: 'carried', by land and sea. advenio … ad īnferiās: 'I come for the offerings to the dead'. ut … dōnārem … adloquerer: purpose clauses. postrēmō … mūnere mortis: 'with the last gift owed to death'. mūtam … cinerem: 'the silent ashes'; Catullus treats cinis as feminine. tētē: an emphatic form of tē. adempte: vocative participle, 'taken from me'.

Cat. 101.7Nunc tamen intereā haec, prīscō quae mōre parentum
trādita sunt trīstī mūnere ad īnferiās,
accipe frāternō multum mānantia flētū
10atque in perpetuum, frāter, avē atque valē.

Yet now, meanwhile, accept these offerings, which by the ancient custom of our fathers have been handed down as a sad gift for the rites, wet through with a brother's tears, and for ever, brother, hail and farewell.

Note. haec … accipe: 'accept these (offerings)': wine, milk, honey and flowers poured or laid at the tomb. prīscō … mōre parentum: 'by the ancient custom of our ancestors'. tradita sunt: 'have been handed down'. frāternō multum mānantia flētū: 'dripping heavily with a brother's tears'. avē atque valē: 'hail and farewell', the words spoken at a Roman funeral, here for ever.