Catullus 86 and 72
Ryan Dermody /
- Created on 2020-05-27 20:08:05
- Modified on 2020-05-27 20:15:58
- Aligned by Ryan Dermody
Latin
English
Catullus 86
Quintia formosa est multis . mihi candida , longa ,
recta est : haec ego sic singula confiteor .
totum illud formosa nego : nam nulla venustas ,
nulla in tam magno est corpore mica salis .
Lesbia formosa est , quae cum pulcerrima tota est ,
tum omnibus una omnis surripuit Veneres .
Catullus 72
Dicebas quondam solum te nosse Catullum ,
Lesbia , nec prae me velle tenere Iovem .
dilexi tum te non tantum ut vulgus amicam ,
sed pater ut gnatos diligit et generos .
nunc te cognovi : quare etsi impensius uror ,
multo mi tamen es vilior et levior .
qui potis est , inquis ? quod amantem iniuria talis
cogit amare magis , sed bene velle minus .
Quintia formosa est multis . mihi candida , longa ,
recta est : haec ego sic singula confiteor .
totum illud formosa nego : nam nulla venustas ,
nulla in tam magno est corpore mica salis .
Lesbia formosa est , quae cum pulcerrima tota est ,
tum omnibus una omnis surripuit Veneres .
Catullus 72
Dicebas quondam solum te nosse Catullum ,
Lesbia , nec prae me velle tenere Iovem .
dilexi tum te non tantum ut vulgus amicam ,
sed pater ut gnatos diligit et generos .
nunc te cognovi : quare etsi impensius uror ,
multo mi tamen es vilior et levior .
qui potis est , inquis ? quod amantem iniuria talis
cogit amare magis , sed bene velle minus .
Catullus
86
Quintia’s lovely to many . To me she’s white , long ,
and straight : I acknowledge that’s so .
But I don’t agree that’s beauty : there’s no charm ,
there’s not a speck of good taste in all of that long body .
Lesbia’s lovely , possessed of all that’s most beautiful ,
besides she alone’s stolen all charm from all other women .
Catullus 72
Once you said you preferred Catullus alone ,
Lesbia : would not have Jupiter before me .
I prized you then not like an ordinary lover ,
but as a father prizes his children , his family .
Now I know you : so , though I burn more fiercely ,
yet you’re worth much less to me , and slighter .
How is that , you ask ? The pain of such love
makes a lover love more , but like less .
Quintia’s lovely to many . To me she’s white , long ,
and straight : I acknowledge that’s so .
But I don’t agree that’s beauty : there’s no charm ,
there’s not a speck of good taste in all of that long body .
Lesbia’s lovely , possessed of all that’s most beautiful ,
besides she alone’s stolen all charm from all other women .
Catullus 72
Once you said you preferred Catullus alone ,
Lesbia : would not have Jupiter before me .
I prized you then not like an ordinary lover ,
but as a father prizes his children , his family .
Now I know you : so , though I burn more fiercely ,
yet you’re worth much less to me , and slighter .
How is that , you ask ? The pain of such love
makes a lover love more , but like less .