Poem 76
Maximo Fenn /
- Created on 2020-05-29 18:34:12
- Aligned by Maximo Fenn
Latin
English
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 .
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 .
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 .
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 .