Catullus 90 Translation
Introduction
This is another one of Catullus’s poems that focuses on the man he hates: Gellius. In this one, he addresses Gellius’s incestuous relationship with his mother. In the poem, Catullus talks about the relationships resulting in the birth of a child. He hopes that the child becomes a Magian, which is a reference to the Magi from the Zoroastrian of what we now know as Iran. Catullus refers to Persia and how the Magians understood the art of soothsaying or fortune-telling.
Catullus is not wishing a good thing on “the unholy commerce” which is evident when he talks about “the unnatural religion of the Persians” in line four. He believes that relationships and religion are both unnatural. In line three he tells the reader that the Magian has to be the child of a son and mother because the religion is so unnatural. In line five, he refers to the acceptable hymns that they sing to the gods.
In line six, he refers to the altar that was used to melt fat caul. A caul has two meanings. One is a headdress that women wear. The other is the membrane that covers a fetus. While Persian women did wear headdresses, Catullus is most likely referring to the amniotic membrane that covers newborn babies, especially since he called the caul “fat.”
Catullus has serious issues with Gellius, who has so many unnatural sexual relationships with men and women. In his poem, Catullus talks about Gellius having relationships with men and with other family members. This poem shows some cultural elements as well as the thoughts on sexuality. Catullus shows that he (and probably other Romans) did not think highly of the Persians.
The Romans did use the recommendations of soothsayers, so that wouldn’t have been the problem. What would be problematic is the burning of the caul. Babies were usually enclosed in them, so Catullus could be suggesting that Gellius’s child might burn other children!
Carmen 90
Line | Latin text | English translation |
|---|---|---|
1 | NASCATVR magus ex Gelli matrisque nefando | FROM the unholy commerce of Gellius and his mother |
2 | coniugio et discat Persicum aruspicium: | let a Magian be born, and learn the Persian art of soothsaying; |
3 | nam magus ex matre et gnato gignatur oportet, | for a Magian must be the offspring of mother and son, |
4 | si uera est Persarum impia religio, | if the unnatural religion of the Persians is true, |
5 | gratus ut accepto ueneretur carmine diuos | so that their child may worship the gods with acceptable hymns, |
6 | omentum in flamma pingue liquefaciens. | whilst melting the fat caul in the altar flame. |
