Animus Classics Journal: Vol. 1, Issue 1

118
ANIMUS VOL. 1
On the Trials of Love:
By EMMA GLEN and EMILY HUDSON
College of Arts and Sciences, Oberlin College
Catullus 83
Lesbia mi praesente viro mala plurima dicit:
haec illi fatuo maxima laetitia est.
mule, nihil sentis. si nostri oblita taceret,
sana esset: nunc quod gannit et obloquitur,
non solum meminit, sed, quae multo acrior est res,
irata est: hoc est, uritur et loquitur.
Catullus 70
Nulli se dicit mulier mea nubere malle
quam mihi, non si se Iuppiter ipse petat.
dicit: sed mulier cupido quod dicit amanti
in vento et rapida scribere oportet aqua.
Catullus 60
Num te leaena montibus Libystinis
aut Scylla latrans infima inguinum parte
tam mente dura procreavit ac taetra,
ut supplicis vocem in novissimo casu
contemptam haberes, ah nimis fero corde?
†
Translator’s Note: With both our selection of poems and our method of translation, we emphasize
a different aspect of Catullus’ approach to the themes of love. The hardships of love as outlined by
Catullus in these poems are often more accessible to modern readers than his singular obsession with
Lesbia (as demonstrated, for example, in his second poem). Through our translation, we attempt to
highlight the contradiction often posed by love’s hardships by underscoring the words which express
the pain and cruelty the speaker feels he suffers at Lesbia’s hands. Furthermore, we present the poems
in an order that differs from their standard arrangement. This arrangement—83, 70, 60—brings out
the narrative thread interwoven between the three poems.
One of the challenges with translating works as popular as those of Catullus is bringing something
new to the text. We do this by maintaining a fairly literal translation of the poems, while also keeping in