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Catullus 31
Home to Sirmio
Catullus, Carmina: selections. Latin text with a sentence-by-sentence English translation, notes and vocabulary.
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Read in LectitōCat. 31.1Paene īnsulārum, Sirmiō, īnsulārumque
ocelle, quāscumque in liquentibus stagnīs
marīque vāstō fert uterque Neptūnus,
quam tē libenter quamque laetus invīsō,
5vix mī ipse crēdēns Thȳniam atque Bīthȳnōs
līquisse campōs et vidēre tē in tūtō!
Sirmio, jewel of all peninsulas and islands that either Neptune carries in clear lakes and on the vast sea, how gladly and how happily I look on you again, hardly believing that I have left Thynia and the Bithynian plains and see you in safety!
Note. Back home on his peninsula on Lake Garda after a year's service in Bithynia. The metre is the choliamb, as in poem 8. Paene īnsulārum … ocelle: 'little eye (i.e. jewel) of almost-islands and islands'. uterque Neptūnus: Neptune of the lakes and Neptune of the sea. quam tē libenter quamque laetus invīsō: 'how gladly and how happily I come to see you'. Thȳniam atque Bīthȳnōs … campōs: the province he has left.
Cat. 31.7Ō quid solūtīs est beātius cūrīs,
cum mēns onus repōnit, ac peregrīnō
labōre fessī vēnimus larem ad nostrum
10dēsīderātōque adquiēscimus lectō?
O what is more blessed than cares set free, when the mind lays down its burden, and, tired from toil abroad, we have come home to our own hearth and rest in the bed we have longed for?
Note. Ō quid … beātius: 'O, what is more blessed than …?'. solūtīs … cūrīs: ablative of comparison, 'than cares set free'. vēnimus: perfect, 'we have come', as the metre shows (vē- is long). larem ad nostrum: 'to our hearth', the Lar being the household god. dēsīderātō … lectō: 'in the bed we have longed for'.
Cat. 31.11Hoc est quod ūnum est prō labōribus tantīs.
This is the one thing that makes up for such great labours.
Note. Hoc est quod ūnum est: 'this is what alone is (a reward)'.
Cat. 31.12Salvē, ō venusta Sirmiō, atque erō gaudē;
Greetings, lovely Sirmio, and rejoice in your master;
Note. erō gaudē: 'rejoice in your master', dative with gaudeō. ō venusta Sirmiō is vocative.
Cat. 31.13gaudēte vōsque, ō Lȳdiae lacūs undae;
and you, waves of the Lydian lake, rejoice;
Note. Lȳdiae lacūs undae: the waves of the lake are 'Lydian' because the Etruscans of the region were believed to have come from Lydia.
Cat. 31.14rīdēte, quidquid est domī cachinnōrum.
laugh, all the laughter there is at home.
Note. quidquid est domī cachinnōrum: 'whatever there is of laughter at home'; domī is locative.
Vocabulary
| paene, adv. | almost, nearly |
| īnsula, -ae, f. | island |
| que, enclitic conj. | and |
| ocellus, -ī m. | little eye; darling, jewel |
| quīcumque, quaecumque, quodcumque | whoever, whatever |
| in, prep. with acc. and abl. | with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on |
| liqueō, -ēre, licuī | be clear; parum liquet, it is not clear |
| stagnum, -ī n. | pool, standing water |
| mare, maris, n. | sea |
| vāstus, -a, -um | waste, huge, enormous, vast |
| ferō, ferre, tulī, lātus | bear, bring |
| uterque, utraque, utrumque | each, either, both |
| quam, adv. | how? as; than; with superl., as ... as possible |
| tū, tuī, pers. pron. | thou, you |
| libenter, adv. | willingly, gladly |
| laetus, -a, -um | glad, joyful |
| invīsō, -ere, -vīsī, -vīsus | go to see, visit |
| vix, adv. | with difficulty, scarcely, hardly, barely |
| ego, meī, pers. pron. | I |
| ipse, ipsa, ipsum, intensive pron. | self, himself, herself, itself, themselves; often to be rendered by very |
| crēdō, -dere, -didī, -ditus | believe |
| atque, ac (conj.) | and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants) |
| Bīthȳnus, -a, -um | Bithynian, of Bithynia in northern Asia Minor |
| linquō, -ere, līquī | leave |
| campus, -ī, m. | plain, field |
| et, conj. | and; et ... et, both ... and |
| videō, vidēre, vīdī, vīsus | see; pass., seem |
| tūtum, -ī n. | safety, a safe place; in tūtō: in safety |
| ō (interj.) | O! oh! |
| quis, quid, interrog. pron. | who? which? what? |
| solvō, solvere, solvī, solūtus | loosen, unbind, release; pay; with or without nāvem, cast off, set sail, put to sea |
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| beātus, -a, -um | happy, blessed |
| cūra, -ae f. | care, concern (cūrae esse: to be a concern) |
| cum, conj. | when, while, after; since; although |
| mēns, mentis f. | mind, spirit |
| onus, oneris n. | load, weight |
| repōnō, -pōnere, -posuī, -positus | put or set back; store up or away |
| peregrīnus, -ī, m. | stranger, foreigner |
| labor, -ōris, m. | labor, toil |
| fessus, -a, -um | exhausted, worn out, weary |
| veniō, venīre, vēnī, ventus | come |
| lār, laris m. | Lar, a household god; lār familiāris: one's home |
| ad, prep. with acc. | to, toward; at, near; for |
| noster, -tra, -trum | our |
| dēsīderō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | long for, miss; require |
| acquiēscō, -ere, -quiēvī | rest; find peace; die |
| lectus, -ī m. | bed, couch |
| hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron. | this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| ūnus, -a, -um | one; only, alone |
| prō, prep. with abl. | before, in front of; for, in behalf of; for, as; in return for, for |
| tantus, -a, -um | so great or much |
| salveō, -ēre | be well; salvēre iubeō: I greet, I hail |
| venustus, -a, -um | charming, attractive, graceful |
| erus, -ī m. | master, owner |
| gaudeō, gaudēre, gāvīsus | be glad, rejoice |
| vōs | plur. of tū |
| Lȳdius, -a, -um | Lydian; here Etruscan, since the Etruscans were thought to come from Lydia |
| lacus, -ūs, m. | lake |
| unda, -ae, f. | wave |
| rīdeō, rīdēre, rīsī, rīsus | laugh |
| quisquis, quidquid (quicquid) | whoever, whatever |
| domus, -ūs, f. | house, home |
| cachinnus, -ī m. | loud laugh, guffaw |