Cat. 92.1Lesbia mī dīcit semper male nec tacet unquam
dē mē: Lesbia mē dispeream nisi amat.Lesbia always speaks ill of me and never stops talking about me: I'll be damned if Lesbia doesn't love me.Note. dispeream nisi: 'may I die if … not'; a colloquial oath. dīcit male: 'speaks ill'. Cat. 92.3Quō signō?By what sign?Note. Quō signō: 'by what sign?', the imagined friend's question. Cat. 92.3Quia sunt totidem mea: dēprecor illam
adsiduē, vērum dispeream nisi amō.Because my case is just the same: I curse her constantly, but I'll be damned if I don't love her.Note. sunt totidem mea: 'my symptoms are the same'. dēprecor: 'I curse'. adsiduē: 'constantly'.
Lectitō › Catullus › Poems (selections) › Catullus 92
Catullus · Carmina: selections
Catullus 92
Proof of love
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Read in LectitōLatin vocabulary for this passage (21 words)
| ego, meī, pers. pron. | I |
| dīcō, dīcere, dīxī, dictus | say, speak; diem dīcere, to appoint or set a day |
| semper, adv. | always |
| male, adv. | badly, ill |
| neque or nec, conj. | and not, nor; neque ... neque, neither ... nor; neque enim, for ... not |
| taceō, -ēre, -uī, -itus | be silent |
| umquam, adv. | ever |
| dē, prep, with abl. | down from, from, out of; about, concerning, of |
| dispereō, -īre, -iī | perish utterly, be ruined; dispeream nisi: may I die if not, I'll be damned if not |
| nisi, conj. | if not, unless |
| amō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | love |
| quī, quae, quod, interrog. pron. adj. | what? |
| signum, -ī, n. | sign, signal |
| quia (conj.) | because |
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| totidem (indecl.) | just as many |
| meus, -a, -um | my, mine |
| dēprecor, -ārī, -ātus sum | beg to be spared, plead |
| ille, illa, illud, dem. pron. | that; he, she, it, they; ille ... hīc, see hīc |
| assiduē (adv.) | constantly, continually |
| vērum (conj.) | but, but in fact; nōn modo ... vērum etiam: not only ... but also |
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.