Catullus 32 Translation
Introduction
Catullus 32 is all about sex with a woman named Ipsitilla. Catullus talks about how he wants to “rest with her at noonday” and have “nine non-stop bouts of sex.” He entreats her, begs her to do this with him.
The poem is filled with sexual innuendos, where he considers Ipsitilla to be like a door, or a panel of a threshold. He wants to come at once, within the door. These are innuendos that show he wants to penetrate her and be satisfied through sexual intercourse. He’s so excited about Ipsitilla and their meeting that he talks about how he is boring a hole through his tunic and cloak. In other words, his erection must be evident.
This odd little poem has a few subtleties that might be easy to miss. He’s laying on his back, which does not match up with the idea of boring. He’s certainly not dull. Instead, his erection is ready to bore, which is a violet way to describe sex. But, he’s laying on his back, which is passive and the opposite of boring.
Another subtlety is that he requests she rest with him. This is a play on the idea of “sleeping together” as a term for having sex. He's a bit insulting in the way he approaches his desires to Ipsitilla.
Ipsitilla is also an unusual choice for a name. Scholars have looked intensively at the origin of her name. In some explanations, scholars wonder if the name has a connection to a woodworm, which is how some translations see Catullus’s description of his erection poking through his cloak. If her name does mean “woodworm,” the Catullus is expecting to bore her, like a worm would bore into wood. Interestingly, the door that Catullus mentions in the poem would most likely be made of wood, also.
Catullus does worry that Ipsitilla might leave before he is able to accomplish the feat of nine bouts of sex. His worry does not seem evident in his supine position. Catullus does show in other poems that he is not always comfortable around women. This poem shows that he clearly enjoys sex and sees himself has having a powerful member, but the fact that he’s reclining on his back, he may not know how to show his power.
Carmen 32
Line | Latin text | English translation |
|---|---|---|
1 | AMABO, mea dulcis Ipsitilla, | I entreat you, my sweet lpsitilla, |
2 | meae deliciae, mei lepores, | my darling, my charmer, |
3 | iube ad te ueniam meridiatum. | bid me to come and rest at noonday with you. |
4 | et si iusseris, illud adiuuato, | And if you do bid me, grant me this kindness too, |
5 | ne quis liminis obseret tabellam, | that no one may bar the panel of your threshold, |
6 | neu tibi lubeat foras abire, | nor you yourself have a fancy to go away, |
7 | sed domi maneas paresque nobis | but stay at home and prepare for us |
8 | nouem continuas fututiones. | nine non-stop bouts of sex. |
9 | uerum si quid ages, statim iubeto: | But if you will at all, then bid me come at once: |
10 | nam pransus iaceo et satur supinus | I am lying down after lunch, I am full and on my back, |
11 | pertundo tunicamque palliumque. | I am boring a hole through my tunic and cloak. |
