Catullus 81 Translation
Introduction
In 81, the poet wrote about Juventius, another one of his homosexual lovers. Juventius had several other male lovers besides Catullus. In this poem, Catullus writes about one of his male lovers, who is from the “sickly region of Pisaurum.”
Catullus asks Juventius if there is someone better looking than the man from Pisaurum. He comments that the man is paler than a gilded statue. Catullus also talks about how Juventius prefers this man to him and how that creates something that Juventius does not understand.
Catullus appears to be troubled by Juventius’s choice. This poem does not have the lighthearted tone that many of his others do when he addresses them to Juventius. Instead, Juventius has chosen someone who is pale and from a sickly region. Catullus knows that there are a plethora of “pretty” fellows in the area where they live. He doesn’t understand what Juventius sees in this man and why he chose him over Catullus.
A gilded statue would be covered in gold. The man would have some color to his skin, but he would still be rather pale when considering that some people from the Meditteranean have color to their skin. Since Catullus uses the simile and hyperbole of a gilded statue, the man from Pisaurum must be good looking. But, he must not have qualities that make him likeable to Catullus. With reference to the statue, the man could be cold-hearted or he could have a dull personality, possibly like Pygmalion and his love of Galatea.
If the man from Pisaurum is from the sickly region, he could have health issues. In the final line of the poem, Catullus wonders what deeds Juventius does with the man. If the man is not healthy, Juventius could become sick and possibly Catullus, too.
Carmen 81
Line | Latin text | English translation |
|---|---|---|
1 | NEMONE in tanto potuit populo esse, Iuuenti, | COULD there not, Juventius, be found in all this people |
2 | bellus homo, quem tu diligere inciperes. | a pretty fellow whom you might begin to like, |
3 | praeterquam iste tuus moribunda ab sede Pisauri | besides that friend of yours from the sickly region of Pisaurum, |
4 | hospes inaurata palladior statua, | paler than a gilded statue, |
5 | qui tibi nunc cordi est, quem tu praeponere nobis | who now is dear to you, whom you presume to prefer to me, |
6 | audes, et nescis quod facinus facias? | and know not what a deed you do? |
