CATULLUS 68 - Scuola Normale Superiore

One is the theme of human and divine relationships, of what could be termed ‘social interaction’. Catullus’
liaison with Lesbia is compared explicitly to the marriage of Protesilaus and Laodamia, and to that of Jupiter
and Juno. All three are presented in a positive light, even the last one of the three: the supreme god may be a
notorious philanderer, but his marriage is treated as the prototype of all marriages and love-affairs, human or
divine. Hercules’ marriage to Hebe also receives a brief mention (line 116). Lesbia’s cuckolded husband
receives no consideration – we only know that he exists because Catullus gloats that he has snatched her
from his very lap (146); nor do Lesbia’s other lovers, who are not mentioned anywhere at all – we only get to
know Catullus is not enough for Lesbia on his own (135). In case there remains space for any
misunderstanding, I would like to add that they have not been airbrushed out by Catullus: he has simply
ignored them, as one can ignore almost any obstacle when one is in love. It is a more impressive feat of
selective thinking that Catullus extols his own adulterous relationship with Lesbia (lines 135-148, esp.
143ff.), while using strong terms to denounce that of Paris and Helen (103f.). Evidently he has not stopped to
think about the potential implications of his opinion about them.
Another type of relationship prominent in the poem is that between peers: the friendship between Allius and
Catullus; the bond between Catullus and his brother; and the solidarity of the Greek heroes who went to fight
under Troy (cfr. lines 101-104). Once more the figures who do not fit into the pattern are passed over
quickly, not only Paris, but also Eurystheus (114). The hyper-optimistic quality of this poem also explains a
glaring omission, that while we get to know that before Allius entered the scene Catullus could not start a
relationship with Lesbia, and that he was desperate about this (cfr. lines 51-56 and 67), but we are not told
who was not letting them get together, how, why. After Allius’ intervention and the happy first rendez-vous
such questions evidently ceased to matter. In short, the poem describes mankind attaining happiness through
love and through friendship.
Another red thread running through the text, though a much more elusive one, is an attention to beauty,
movement, thought, knowledge, development. Lesbia’s beauty is described in two memorable passages
(lines 70-72 and 133f.). Laodamia is pulcerrima, ‘most beautiful’ (105). No more is said explicitly about
these matters, but I believe that with its images depicting the beauty of nature (57-62), the pleasures of love
(125-130) and happiness in general (63-65, 119-124) and with its choice assortment of delightful thought,
rhythm, sound and language the poem depicts, celebrates and enacts human happiness. There are dark
patches, to be sure – the loss of life under Troy, and Laodamia’s bereavement and unhappy widowhood – but
these do not weigh up against Catullus’ happiness with Lesbia, they do not threaten their present and future
joys.
Catullus 68b is, in short, a celebration of happiness attained through love and through friendship. I see it as a
true literary masterpiece.
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