CATULLUS 68 - Scuola Normale Superiore

(1958: 103) and Trappes-Lomax (2007: 244, whom I quote) point out, “if the antecedent is attracted into the
relative clause, it becomes part of that clause and must take its case from it”, as does e.g. munera in line 154;
in other words, the case of dedit at 44.9 is very different from that of dies or diem here because the former is
a finite verb, while the latter is a noun, and nouns are declined as a matter of course to suit their grammatical
context. I find this convincing and prefer the conjecture diem, even though it is not clear how this could have
yielded dies. Alternatively, one could follow R. Fisch, Baehrens and Trappes-Lomax and let dies and notat
exchange places, but that would make it even harder to account for the iter corruptionis.
149 hoc … munus I.e. the praise of Allius in lines 41-148. The vivid demonstrative creates an atmosphere
of immediacy, as if the poet was speaking himself and pointing to what he had just written. A frequent use of
demonstratives is one of Catullus’ ways of reaching a colloquial, almost conversational tone, and he likes to
put them at the start of the verse. Forms and derivatives of hic are found in this position no less than 49
times: see also lines 26, 32, 34, 36, 152 and 153.
Once again O uses an ambiguous abbreviation, h’ , which could either be interpreted as hoc (also found in
GR – this is surely what it stands for), or as haec.
quod potui A set phrase, sometimes used as a polite excuse and often parenthetically, as is its twin quoad
potui; no doubt both expressions were proper to the language of polite conversation. quod potui is also found
at Verg. Ecl. 3.70f. quod potui, puero … mala decem misi, Sen. Benef. 3.30.1 id quod potui et id quod feci,
Ov. Her. 8.5 and Epic. Drusi 237.
Muretus wrote quo potui ‘as far as I could’, and quo is re-proposed by Fröhlich (1849: 266), but quod makes
sense, and the set expression should be preserved.
From the Augustan period onwards it becomes quite common for a poet to speak of the limitations imposed
by his abilities: compare Hor. Sat. 2.1.12f. cupidum … uires / deficiunt, Epist. 2.1.258f. nec meus audet / rem
temptare pudor quam uires ferre recusent and A.P. 38f. sumite materiam uestris, qui scribitis, aequam /
uiribus et uersate diu, quid ferre recusent, Manil. 5.477 si tanta operum uires commenta negarint and Lucan.
1.66 tu satis ad uires Romana in carmina dandas.
confectum ‘Made’, ‘brought into being’, ‘brought about’. Elsewhere the verb is often used for composing
literary works (OLD s.v. conficio, 3).
carmine Apparently ‘by singing’, ‘by poetry’ rather than ‘by a poem’: see on line 7.
150 pro multis … officiis ‘Many dutiful deeds’ imply more than having found a house in which Catullus
could meet Lesbia. Allius must have helped Catullus on other occasions as well – or this one occasion is
generously multiplied by the poet.
Alli The manuscripts have aliis, which would offend not against the grammar or the metre, but against the
sense: Catullus has set out to praise Allius for his help on one particular occasion, after which he can thank
him for his help in general (see the previous note), but not for his help on many other occasions. Moreover,
we may expect the addressee to be named after the change of address in the previous line, and also in the
245