Catullus 13: An Easier Prose Adaptation

Catullus trolls his friend Fabullus by inviting him to a swanky dinner—if only he’d bring all its components, from the salt to the entertainment. It’s a fun poem, and it has some great tie ins to the fly coming out of the empty wallet. Who knew insects were associated with being broke for so long? I certainly didn’t the first time I read this poem years and years and years ago in college. I remember the verb afferre giving me some trouble, especially that funky future perfect form, so it gets lots of repetitions in a variety of forms for this short adaptation.

I also set this poem in the baths since there’s some fun poetry about hanging around baths and bathrooms for dinner invitations. So, I couldn’t help but have Catullus be loafing about waiting to see someone he could invite over for dinner. I focused primarily on the dialogue, though, to get lots of banter and vocabulary in.

Sometime ago, I created a tiered reading for this poem. It could be prereading activity to read tier one and then read this adaptation before reading tier 2. Either way, now there’s even more Catullus 13 supports out there. I hope you enjoy this one.

Hopefully Catullus 14 won’t take me quite so long to put together as getting around to this one did. I’m enjoying the project, but life is full, and this no small undertaking. If you would like to return to Catullus 12, click this link.

Catullus 13: An Easier Prose Adaptation

Catullus in balneīs est quia cēnāre[1] vult, sed pecūniam nōn habet. Catullus amīcōs expectat quia apud[2] domum amīcī īre ad cēnandum[3] vult. Catullus ipse bonam atque magnam cēnam[4] nōn habet.

Catullus exspectat, sed amīcōs nōn videt. Per balnea ambulat, exspectāns. Catullum exspectandī taedet.

Catullus amīcum suum, nōmine Fabullum,[5] tandem videt.

“Mī Fabulle,[6] tē vīsō, gaudeō!” Catullus rīdēns exclāmat.

Fabullus Catullum videt et salūtat.

“Quid est nōvī apud tē?”[7] Fabullus rogat.

Catullus rīdēns respondet, “Mē rogātō, gaudeō. Fabulle, mī Fabulle venuste[8] et optimē et lepidē, vīsne cēnāre[9] mēcum?”

Magnā cum suspīciōne Fabullus Catullum īnspicit. Rogat, “Apud tē?[10] In domō tuō?”

Catullus respondet, “Sīc, apud mē, tū cēnābis bene!”[11]

Adhūc suspīciōsus, Fabullus rogat, “Quandō apud tē cēnābō?”[12]

Catullus respondet, “Sī dī favent tibi—et mihi—paucīs diēbus.[13] Aut hodiē, sī vīs.”

Fabullus rīdet, “Dī mihi faveant[14] quia ego velim scīre quālem cēnam tū parāre possīs.”

Catullus dīcit, “Hahahae! Nārrem tibi quālem cēnam parem! Ad domum meam venī, et affer bonam atque magnam cēnam.[15] Sī tēcum attuleris[16] hanc cēnam nōn sine candidā puellā[17] et sī tēcum attuleris vīnum et sāl[18]—ō, et quaesō, rogō ut cachinnōs quoque afferās[19]—cum omnibus quae iam nārrāvī, tū cēnābis bene apud mē.”[20]

Fabullus rīdet et rīdet et rīdet. “Et tū in balneīs ambulās et exspectās quia cēnam habēre vīs, sed tū nōn habēs!”

Catullus superbus nōn est. Catullus omnēs in balneīs spectat. Catullus quoque rīdet. Dīcit, “Ego certē volō cēnam, sed nōlō cēnāre[21] cum illīs hominibus. Spectā, Fabulle, nōn possunt natāre! Et quam clāmōsī sunt! Itaque, Fabulle, noster venuste[22] amīce, omnia haec, inquam, sī tū attuleris,[23] certē cēnābis bene.”[24]

Fabullus rīdet, “Et tū quoque cēnābis bene![25] Num tū saltem potes afferre sāl atque vīnum?”[26]

Catullus sacculum[27] suum Fabulō dēmōnstrat. Dīcit, “Nōn possum afferre sāl nec vīnum;[28] nam sacculus Catullī tuī plēnus arāneārum est.[29] Quōmodo possim emere sāl atque vīnum sine[30] pecūniā?”

Fabullus rogat, “Bene, tabernārius certē vult pecūniam… sed cūr tū nōn saltem potes afferre tēcum cachinnōs?”[31]

Catullus rīdēns respondet, “Quia ego numquam lepidus sum. Sed… sī tū haec attuleris, contrā accipiēs merōs amōrēs.”[32]

Fabullus respondet, “Tē nōn amō; amīcī sumus.”

Catullus respīrat, “Seu quid suāvius ēlegantiusve est!”[33]

Fabullus rogat, “Exspectā, tū sacculum plēnum arāneārum[34] habēs et affēre sāl ad cēnandum[35]nōn potes, sed tū aliquid suāvius ēlegantiusve[36] habēs? Quid est hoc?”

Catullus rīdēns respondet, “Dīcam. Nam unguentum dabō.[37] Et optimum est unguentum quod Venerēs Cupīdinēsque meae puellae dōnāvērunt.”[38]

Fabullus iterum suspīciōsus rogat, “Quōmodo unguentum[39] olet?”

Catullus respondet, “Cum tū unguentum olfaciēs,[40] Fabulle, deōs rogābis ut faciant tē tōtum nāsum.[41]

Fabullus nāsum[42] suum tangit. Rogat, “Dīcisne mē habēre magnum nāsum?[43] Et vīsne mē afferre cēnam?”[44]

Catullus bracchium amīcō capit, et dīcit, “Eāmus! Magna atque bona cēna[45] nōs exspectat—et nāsum[46] tibi.”

[1] To dine

[2] At

[3] To dine

[4] Good and great dinner

[5] Fabullus, Catullus’s friend

[6] My Fabullus

[7] With you, at your house

[8] My charming Fabullus

[9] To dine

[10] With you, at your house

[11] At my house/with me, you will dine well

[12] Will I dine with you

[13] If the gods favor you (and me) in a few days.

[14] Let the gods favor me

[15] Bring a good and great dinner

[16] If you will have brought with you

[17] Not without a shining girl

[18] And if you will have brought the wine and salt

[19] You bring laughter

[20] You will dine well with me, at my house

[21] To dine

[22] Our charming

[23] If you will have brought these things, I say

[24] You will dine well

[25] You will dine well

[26] To bring salt and wine

[27] A small sack, akin to a modern wallet

[28] To bring salt nor wine

[29] For the wallet of your Catullus is full of spiderwebs.

[30] Salt and wine without

[31] To bring laughs (laughter)

[32] If you will have brought these these, in return you will receive true loves.

[33] Or whatever is more delightful and elegant.

[34] A wallet full of spiderwebs

[35] To bring salt to dine

[36] More delightful or elegant

[37] For I will give you a perfume in

[38] The perfume which the Venuses and Cupids gave to my girl

[39] Perfume

[40] When you will smell the perfume

[41] You will ask that the gods make you all nose

[42] Nose

[43] Big nose

[44] To bring dinner

[45] A great and good dinner

[46] Nose

Catullus 13: English Word Order

Mī Fabulle, cēnābis bene apud mē paucīs diēbus, sī d(e)ī favent tibi, sī attuleris bonam atque magnam cēnam tēcum, nōn sine candidā puellā et vīnō et sale et omnibus cachinnīs. Noster venuste (amīce), inquam, sī attuleris haec, cēnābis bene; nam sacculus tuī Catullī est plēnus arāneārum. Sec contrā accipiēs merōs amōrēs, seu quid est suāvius -ve ēlegantius: nam dabo unguentum, quod Venerēs -que Cupīdinēs dōnā(vē)runt; cum tū olfaciēs unguentum, rogābis deōs ut faciant tē, Fabulle, tōtum nāsum.

Catullus 13: Original Poem

Cēnābis bene, mī Fabulle, apud mē
paucīs, sī tibi dī favent, diēbus,
sī tēcum attuleris bonam atque magnam
cēnam, nōn sine candidā puellā
et vīnō et sale et omnibus cachinnīs.
Haec sī, inquam, attuleris, venuste noster,
cēnābis bene; nam tuī Catullī
plēnus sacculus est arāneārum.
Sed contrā accipiēs merōs amōrēs,
seu quid suāvius ēlegantiusve est:
nam unguentum dabŏ, quod meae puellae
dōnārunt Venerēs Cupīdinēsque;
quod tū cum olfaciēs, deōs rogābis
tōtum ut tē faciant, Fabulle, nāsum.

The image for this title page comes from the British Library’s catalogue of illuminated manuscripts. I am grateful that the image is dedicated to the public domain. I have done minor photoshop editing to clarify the image, crop it, and add a heading for the poem.