Catullus 49

Thanks to Cicero

Catullus, Carmina: selections. Latin text with a sentence-by-sentence English translation, notes and vocabulary.

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Cat. 49.1Disertissime Rōmulī nepōtum,
quot sunt quotque fuēre, Mārce Tullī,
quotque post aliīs erunt in annīs,
grātiās tibi maximās Catullus
5agit pessimus omnium poēta,
tantō pessimus omnium poēta
quantō tū optimus omnium patrōnus.

Most eloquent of the descendants of Romulus, all who are, all who have been, Marcus Tullius, and all who will be in other years to come, Catullus, the worst poet of all, gives you his warmest thanks, as much the worst poet of all as you are the best advocate of all.

Note. A thank-you note to Cicero (Marcus Tullius), for some unknown favour. Disertissime: vocative superlative of disertus, 'most eloquent'. Rōmulī nepōtum: 'of the descendants of Romulus', i.e. Romans. tantō … quantō: 'by as much … as'. Catullus calls himself the worst poet, Cicero the best patrōnus, advocate; scholars still argue whether the praise is sincere or ironic.

Vocabulary

disertus, -a, -um	eloquent, skilled in speaking
nepōs, nepōtis, m.	grandson
quot (indecl.)	how many
sum, esse, fuī, futūrus	be
que, enclitic conj.	and
post, adv.	after, later; prep. with acc., after, behind
alius, -a, -ud	another, other; aliī ... aliī, some ... others
in, prep. with acc. and abl.	with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
annus, -ī, m.	year
grātia, -ae, f.	favor; gratitude, thanks; plur., thanks; grātiās agere, to give thanks, thank; grātiam referre, to return a favor, show gratitude, requite
tū, tuī, pers. pron.	thou, you
magnus, -a, -um	large, big, great, mighty; loud
agō, agere, ēgī, āctus	drive; do; pass, lead; grātiās agere, see grātia
malus, -a, -um	bad
omnis, -e	all, every
poēta, -ae, m.	poet
tantus, -a, -um	so great or much
quantus, -a, -um	how great or much?
bonus, -a, -um	good
patrōnus, -ī m.	patron, protector

Catullus, Carmina: selections. Latin text: E. T. Merrill (Boston, 1893), public domain; digital text from the Perseus Digital Library, CC BY-SA. Word analysis: LatinCy, then every word checked and corrected by hand. Vocabulary: F. Ritchie (1903, public domain) and entries written for this app. English translation, notes and grammar hints: written for this app.