Catullus 51

Cat. 51.1Ille mī pār esse deō vidētur,
ille, sī fās est, superāre dīvōs
quī sedēns adversus identidem tē
spectat et audit
5dulce rīdentem, miserō quod omnīs
ēripit sēnsūs mihi: nam simul tē,
Lesbia, adspexī, nihil est super mī
lingua sed torpet, tenuis sub artus
10flamma dēmānat, sonitū suōpte
tintinant aurēs, geminā teguntur
lūmina nocte.

That man seems to me to be equal to a god, that man, if it is right to say it, seems to surpass the gods, who, sitting opposite you, again and again watches and hears you laughing sweetly, which tears all my senses from me in my misery: for as soon as I have looked at you, Lesbia, there is nothing left of me, but my tongue grows numb, a thin flame runs down through my limbs, my ears ring with their own sound, and my eyes are covered with a double night.

Note. Catullus' version of a famous poem by the Greek poetess Sappho, in her own metre, the Sapphic stanza. Ille mī pār esse deō vidētur: 'that man seems to me to be equal to a god'. sī fās est: 'if it is right (to say so)'. dulce rīdentem: 'sweetly laughing'; dulce is an adverbial accusative. misero quod omnīs ēripit sēnsūs mihi: 'which tears all my senses from me, poor wretch'. simul: 'as soon as'. nihil est super mī: 'there is nothing left of me'. The symptoms follow: numb tongue, a flame running through the limbs, ringing ears, blindness. geminā … nocte: 'with a double night', i.e. both eyes are covered.

Cat. 51.13Ōtium, Catulle, tibi molestum est:
ōtiō exsultās nimiumque gestīs.

Leisure, Catullus, is bad for you: in leisure you run riot and are too restless.

Note. The last stanza turns on Catullus himself. ōtium: leisure, freedom from public business; Roman moralists saw it as a danger. exsultās … gestīs: 'you run riot and are too restless'.

Cat. 51.15Ōtium et rēgēs prius et beātās
perdidit urbēs.

Leisure has ruined kings before now, and prosperous cities.

Note. prius: 'before now'.