Catullus 8

Cat. 8.1Miser Catulle, dēsinās ineptīre,
et quod vidēs perīsse perditum dūcās.

Wretched Catullus, stop playing the fool, and count as lost what you see has perished.

Note. The metre is the choliamb ('limping iambic'): the last foot drags with a heavy syllable. Miser Catulle: Catullus addresses himself, a technique he uses again in 76. dēsinās: jussive subjunctive, 'you should stop'. quod vidēs perīsse: 'what you see has perished'; perditum dūcās, 'count it as lost'.

Cat. 8.3Fulsēre quondam candidī tibi sōlēs,
cum ventitābās quō puella dūcēbat
5amāta nōbīs quantum amābitur nūlla.

Bright suns once shone for you, when you kept going wherever the girl led, the girl loved by us as no girl will ever be loved.

Note. Fulsēre = fulsērunt, from fulgeō, 'shine'. ventitābās: frequentative of veniō, 'you kept coming'. amāta nōbīs quantum amābitur nūlla: 'loved by us as much as no woman will be loved'; nōbīs is a dative of agent and a poetic plural for 'me'.

Cat. 8.6Ibi illa multa tum iocōsa fīēbant,
quae tū volēbās nec puella nōlēbat.

Then there were those many playful things, which you wanted and the girl did not refuse.

Note. iocōsa: playful things, the love affair. quae tū volēbās nec puella nōlēbat: a gentle understatement, 'which you wanted and the girl did not refuse'.

Cat. 8.8Fulsēre vērē candidī tibi sōlēs.

Truly bright suns shone for you.

Note. The repeated line marks the end of the happy memory; vērē now stresses that it was all real.

Cat. 8.9Nunc iam illa nōn vult: tū quoque, impotēns, nōlī,
10nec quae fugit sectāre, nec miser vīve,
sed obstinātā mente perfer, obdūrā.

Now she no longer wants it: you too, since you cannot help yourself, must not want it either; do not chase the one who runs away, do not live in misery, but endure with a resolute mind, stand firm.

Note. illa: 'she'. impotēns: 'powerless (over yourself)', i.e. unable to control your feelings. nōlī: imperative of nōlō, 'do not want'. sectāre: imperative of the deponent sector, 'chase'. obstinātā mente: 'with a stubborn mind'. obdūrā: 'be hard, hold out', the key word of the poem.

Cat. 8.12Valē, puella!

Goodbye, girl!

Note. Valē: 'goodbye', the imperative of valeō, 'be well'.

Cat. 8.12Iam Catullus obdūrat,
nec tē requīret nec rogābit invītam:
at tū dolēbis, cum rogāberis nūlla.

Catullus now stands firm; he will not look for you or ask for you against your will: but you will be sorry, when no one asks for you at all.

Note. Catullus now speaks of himself in the third person. invītam: 'unwilling', i.e. if you are unwilling. cum rogāberis nūlla: 'when you are not asked at all'; nūlla works almost like an adverb, 'not at all'.

Cat. 8.15Scelesta, vae tē!

Wretched woman, woe to you!

Note. vae tē: 'woe to you'; vae usually takes a dative, but the accusative appears in colloquial Latin.

Cat. 8.15Quae tibi manet vīta!

What life is left for you!

Note. Quae … vīta: 'what a life', an exclamation. manet: 'awaits'.

Cat. 8.16Quis nunc tē adībit?

Who will come to you now?

Note. A run of short questions follows, each picturing what she will lose. adībit: future of adeō, 'approach, visit'.

Cat. 8.16Cui vidēberis bella?

To whom will you seem pretty?

Note. vidēberis: future passive, 'will you seem'.

Cat. 8.17Quem nunc amābis?

Whom will you love now?

Cat. 8.17Cuius esse dīcēris?

Whose will you be said to be?

Note. Cuius esse dīcēris: 'whose will you be said to be?', i.e. whose girl.

Cat. 8.18Quem bāsiābis?

Whom will you kiss?

Cat. 8.18Cui labella mordēbis?

Whose lips will you bite?

Note. Cui lābella mordēbis: 'whose lips will you bite?', literally 'for whom'. lābella is a diminutive of labra.

Cat. 8.19At tū, Catulle, dēstinātus obdūrā.

But you, Catullus, be resolved and stand firm.

Note. dēstinātus: 'determined'. The last line returns to the opening address and to the command obdūrā: but the questions just before suggest how hard it is.