Catullus 43, 70, 72, 86 Translation + Notes

Question 1

70
Nūllī sē dīcit mulier mea nūbere mālle
quam mihi, nōn sī sē Iuppiter ipse petat.
Dīcit: sed mulier cupidō quod dīcit amantī,
in ventō et rapidā scrībere oportet aquā

Answer 1

My woman says that she prefers to many no one
but me, not even if Jupiter himself pursues her, She says: but what a woman says to her desiring lover ought to be written in the wind and rapid water.

Question 2

70
mea modifies ____
mālle is ____, referring to ____
mihi (line 2) refers to ____
sē (line 2) refers to ____
rapidā (line 4) refers to ____
scrībere is an ____

Answer 2

mea modifies mulier
mālle is an infinitive, referring to mulier
mihi (line 2) refers to Catullus/narrator
sē (line 2) refers to mulier
rapidā (line 4) refers to aquā
scrībere is an infinitive

Question 3

72
Dīcēbās quondam sōlum tē nōsse Catullum,
Lesbia, nec prae mē velle tenēre Iovem.
Dīlēxī tum tē nōn tantum ut vulgus amīcam,
sed pater ut gnātōs dīligit et generōs.
Nunc tē cognōvī: quārē etsī impēnsius ūror,
multō mī tamen es vīlior et levior.
Qui potis est, inquis? Quod amantem iniūria tālis
cōgit amāre magis, sed bene velle minus.

Answer 3

You once said that you alone “knew” Catullus, Lesbia, and you did not wish to hold Jupiter before me. Then, I loved you not only as a common person but as a father loves sons and son-in-laws. Now I know you: therefore, although I burn more strongly with love, nevertheless, to me you are much cheaper and more fickle. How is this possible you ask? Because such an injury drives a lover to love more often, but to be less friendly.

Question 4

72
poem is addressed to ____
subject of Dīcēbās is ____
nōsse is an example of ____
sōlum agrees with ____
mē refers to ____
line 3 has ____
subject of ūror (line 5) is ____

Answer 4

poem addressed to Lesbia
subject of Dīcēbās is you/Lesbia
nōsse is an example of syncope
sōlum agrees with Catullum
mē refers to Catullus
line 3 has alliteration of “t”
subject of ūror (line 5) is I/Catullus

Question 5

86
Quīntia fōrmōsa est multīs, mihi candida, longa,
Rēcta est. Haec ego sīc singula cōnfiteor,
Tōtum illud ‘fōrmōsa’ negō: nam nūlla venustās,
Nūlla in tam magnō est corpore mīca salis.
Lesbia fōrmōsa est, quae cum pulcherrima tōta est,
Tum omnibus ūnā omnīs subripuit Venerēs.

Answer 5

Quintia is beautiful to many, she is bright, tall, and upright to me. Thus, I confess these individual features. I deny that all that is “beautiful”: for there are no charms, not a grain of salt in such a great body. Lesbia is beautiful, who is both the most beautiful of all, and steals all the Venuses from all women.

Question 6

43
Salvē, nec minimō puella nāsō
nec bellō pede nec nigrīs ocellīs
nec longīs digitīs nec ōre siccō
nec sānē nimis ēlegante linguā.
Dēcoctōris amīca Formiānī,
tēn prōvincia narrat esse bellam?
Tēcum Lesbia nostra comparātur?
Ō saeclum īnsapiēns et īnfacētum!

Answer 6

Hello, girl with neither a small nose, nor pretty feet, nor black little eyes, nor long fingers, nor a dry mouth, nor a clearly elegant language. Friend of the playboy from Formiae, does the province say that you are pretty? Does she compare you with our Lesbia? Oh the tasteless and crude generation!

Question 7

43
nec is an example of ____
case of naso is ____
ocellīs is ____, means ____
siccō modifies ____
part of speech of nimis is ____
case of amīca is ____
Formiānī modifies ____
bellam modifies ____
case of saeclum is ____

Answer 7

nec is an example of litotes
case of naso is ablative
ocellīs is diminutive, means little eyes
siccō modifies ōre
part of speech of nimis is adverb
case of amīca is vocative
Formiānī modifies Dēcoctōris
bellam modifies tēn
case of saeclum is vocative/nominative