CATULLUS 68 - Scuola Normale Superiore

I propose a twofold solution. There is, on one hand, a minimal position. Some highly distressing event has
changed Manlius’ life for the worse. He is now single and is shunned by potential partners or people in
general, or else he has been abandoned by his partner not too long ago (desertum, line 6); he spends his
nights lying awake all alone (lines 5f.); and he cannot soothe his troubled mind by reading classical poetry
(lines 7f.). All of this is stated explicitly. On the other hand, it is possible to join up these small pieces of
information into a coherent story. Manlius could have been abandoned (desertus) by his lover, which could
have left him utterly shattered, and he could ask Catullus for some alternative erotic pleasures, the munera
Veneris mentioned in line 10. If our Manlius is the same person as the Manlius Torquatus who is the
bridegroom in poem 61 and L. Manlius Torquatus, praetor in 49 (see pp. 38-43 above), then it is possible that
he should have had some sort of trouble with his young wife Vibia Aurunculeia. 105 Roman wives had the
right to divorce their husband unilaterally, but in a relatively patriarchal society the biggest threat to a
husband may have been a wife who chose to wreak havoc upon his reputation and his peace of mind, witness
the cases of Clodia Metelli and of Messalina. 106
Manlius’ misfortune is described in strong terms in lines 1-4, but that does not rule out such an erotic
interpretation – nor should Catullus be taken, as Quinn would have it, to criticize Manlius implicitly through
these words for reacting so strongly to such a minor event. Other members of Catullus’ circle were deeply
shaken when they lost their beloved: Calvus mourned obsessively his dead wife Quintilia (carmen 96), while
Catullus describes himself as gravely ill and even on the verge of death after his affair with Lesbia has ended
(76.15-26). Those who believe that Manlius’ sufferings are excessive for someone who has problems merely
of a romantic nature should think twice.
But while it is absolutely plausible both (1) that desertum in line 6 should refer to Manlius’ abandonment by
his partner and (2) that this abandonment should be the misfortune that is referred to in the initial lines of the
poem, we cannot be certain even about the first assumption. As for the second, it would be quite possible for
Manlius to have experienced some other sort of misfortune – for example illness, financial ruin, family
trouble or a political setback – and to have been left by his partner, or by all potential partners, in the
subsequent turmoil. Many possibilities remain open, and will remain so as long as we do not discover more
about the life of Manlius, that is to say, probably forever.
*****
105 The principal MSS call her Iunia (61.16) Aurunculeia (61.82f.), but two cognomina would be surprising; hence
Syme (ap. Neudling 1955: 185) conjectured Vibia.
106 On divorce cfr. Treggiari 1991: 435-482; for the relevant legislation see Dig. 24.2 and 50.16.191.
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