Catullus 83

Lesbia abuses me in front of her husband

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

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Cat. 83.1Lesbia mī praesente virō mala plūrima dīcit:
haec illī fatuō maxima laetitia est.

Lesbia says a great many nasty things about me when her husband is there: this is the greatest joy to that fool.

Note. praesente virō: ablative absolute, 'with her husband present'. mala plūrima: 'very many bad things'. illī fatuō: 'to that fool', her husband.

Cat. 83.3Mūle, nihil sentīs.

Mule, you understand nothing.

Note. Mūle: vocative, 'you mule!'.

Cat. 83.3Sī nostrī oblīta tacēret,
sāna esset: nunc quod gannit et obloquitur,
5nōn sōlum meminit, sed, quae multō ācrior est rēs,
īrāta est: hoc est, ūritur et loquitur.

If she had forgotten me and kept silent, she would be cured: as it is, because she snarls and rails, she not only remembers, but, what is much sharper, she is angry: that is, she is on fire, and so she talks.

Note. nostrī oblīta: 'forgetting me'; oblīvīscor takes a genitive. sāna esset: 'she would be sane', i.e. cured. gannit et obloquitur: 'she snarls and rails'. quae multō ācrior est rēs: 'a much sharper thing'. ūritur et loquitur: 'she burns, and so she speaks'.

Vocabulary

ego, meī, pers. pron.	I
praesēns, -sentis, adj.	present, immediate, imminent
vir, virī, m.	man
malum, -ī, n.	evil, mischief
multus, -a, -um	much, great; plur., many
dīcō, dīcere, dīxī, dictus	say, speak; diem dīcere, to appoint or set a day
hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron.	this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter
ille, illa, illud, dem. pron.	that; he, she, it, they; ille ... hīc, see hīc
fatuus, -a, -um	foolish, stupid; (as noun) fool
magnus, -a, -um	large, big, great, mighty; loud
laetitia, -ae, f.	joy
sum, esse, fuī, futūrus	be
mūlus, -ī m.	mule
nihil, n., indecl.	nothing
sentiō, sentīre, sēnsī, sēnsus	perceive, feel
sī, conj.	if
nōs	plur. of ego
oblīvīscor, -līvīscī, -lītus	forget
taceō, -ēre, -uī, -itus	be silent
sānus, -a, -um	healthy, sane (prō sānō: sensibly)
nunc, adv.	now
quod, conj.	that, in that, because
ganniō, -īre	yelp; snarl, grumble
et, conj.	and; et ... et, both ... and
obloquor, -loquī, -locūtus sum	interrupt, speak against
nōn, adv.	not
sōlum (adv.); solum, -ī n.	only (nōn sōlum … sed etiam: not only … but also); ground, soil
meminī, meminisse	remember
sed, conj.	but
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.	who, which
multō, adv.	by much or far, much, far
ācer, ācris, ācre	sharp, shrill
rēs, reī, f.	thing, matter, affair, circumstance, situation; rē vērā, in truth, in fact, really
īrāscor, īrāscī, īrātus	be angry
ūrō, ūrere, ussī, ūstus	burn
loquor, loquī, locūtus	speak

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.