CATULLUS 68 - Scuola Normale Superiore

have been well placed to provide him with it. But he could also have asked for a selection of good classical
poetry. The mention of ‘the poets of old’ in line 7 would seem to support our hypothesis (B), that Manlius
should have asked for some sort of poetry in particular – but we cannot tell whether this was classical or
(more likely perhaps) contemporary poetry.
But what are the munera Veneris? In Greek poetry the phrase ‘the gift(s) of Aphrodite’ refers either to lovemaking
itself or to something or someone that is an accessory to it: a partner, marriage or sex-appeal (see
further the Commentary on line 10). In short, munera Veneris could stand either for sex itself, or else for
something that would have enabled Manlius to have his share of it (a partner, a rendez-vous vel sim.). This
would allow for a very broad range of interpretations, but not all of these may be possible in view of the rest
of the poem. Once again, it is worthwhile to go through the passages that might reflect on this request. There
are two of these. Manlius is described as lying alone in his bed, deserted or else shunned by all; deprived of
love and sex, he is unable to sleep (lines 7f.). He has asked Catullus for the munera Veneris (line 10); the
poet apologizes that he is unable to provide these because his brother’s death has put an end to all his erotic
pursuits (lines 15-32).
It is very unlikely that munera Veneris should stand for love-poetry. First of all, there would be no parallels
for such a usage, and it is easy to see why: unlike sex-appeal, marriage or a partner, love-poetry does not
tend to make it easier for its recipient to obtain sexual satisfaction. Moreover, it is not easy to see what kind
of love-poetry could soothe Manlius’ sufferings, as they are described in lines 7f. He would hardly want to
read about others enjoying the same pleasures from which he has been barred himself. Finally, this
interpretation would be at odds with the terms in which Catullus rejects Manlius’ request for he munera
Musarum. The death of Catullus’ brother put an end to the erotic delights which he had occasion to enjoy as
a young man (lines 15-26), so that it is not shameful but sad that all the best young men in Verona spend
their nights alone (27-30); therefore Manlius will forgive him for not providing the gifts (i.e. those of Venus)
that his bereavement has deprived him of (31f.). Catullus cannot give to Manlius what his bereavement has
deprived him of, that is, the erotic games which he had enjoyed so often in the past; and lines 27-30 confirm,
if it needs to be confirmed at all, that these games were not literary pastimes, but very real erotic adventures.
Several interpretations have been proposed along these lines. Rather straightforwardly, some have taken
munera Veneris simply to mean ‘love-making’. 121 Having been deprived of sex for some reason or another,
Manlius would have asked Catullus to have pity on him and to make love to him himself. This interpretation
has the advantage of hermeneutical simplicity: munera Veneris is taken in the most fundamental and most
frequent sense of the Greek phrase ‘the gifts of Aphrodite’. However, there are difficulties of a different sort.
121 Thus Kinsey 1967, Most 1981, Forsyth 1987 and Morgan 2008.
58