Most scholars have separated Catullus 2 and Catullus 2B for reasons that are now, to me anyway, clear having (finally) read both poems. If joined, the last three lines are a weird ending to a poem addressed to a sparrow. They just don’t make sense together. These three lines also seem a little weird floating out in isolation from anything else: I want more backstory, Catullus! What exactly is so pleasing to you, darn it?!
If you haven’t read these three lines, you’ll soon understand how frustratingly vague they are. Also, at first, I was honestly confused at what the puellae were doing… but then I got it. Tricky Catullus. The key word, to me, is the word mālum, which, when coupled with a quick girl and that apple being golden, sure helps make the connection to the myth of Atalanta and Hippomenes. However, the poem references neither name. Nor does it make explicit the comparison between their wedding night and what Catullus might just find so pleasing. One can intuit.
Of course, beyond intuition, one of the joys of vagueness and uncertainty is the ability to vastly creative in my interpretation. So, I imagined a scene where Lesbia was feeling a little vulnerable and wanted some assurances of Catullus’ affection for her. To help provide the context for the Atalanta reference, I fleshed out a skeletal version of that story and inset it within this situation. The story incorporates pieces of the poem until Catullus recites the whole poem near the end.
Also, if the loosening of girdles isn’t up your alley, well, this poem isn’t for you—nor is Catullus ipse. Not really, anyway. Issues beyond loosened girdles are a problem for future me.
If you would like to reread Catullus 2, visit this link. Otherwise, carry on to Catullus 2B! If you’d like to skip ahead to Catullus 3, you can do so here.
Catullus 2B: An Easier Prose Story
Catullus dē rogātō Lesbiae cōgitat, et Lesbia respōnsum exspectat. Lesbia manūs Catullī spectat, sed Catullus caelum spectat. Catullus diū[1] nōn respondet.
Catullus tandem respondet, “Bene rogās, Lesbia. Quid grātum est mihi?[2] Multa grāta mihi sunt. Passer grātus tuus mihi est, et Minerva grāta mihi est quia mūsa mea est. Liber lepidus grātus mihi est… Multa grāta mihi sunt.”
Lesbia nōn rīdet. Lesbia Catullum spectat. Rogat, “Estne Cornēlius grātus tibi? Tū dēdicāvistī librum novum eī.”
Catullus rīdet et rīdet, sed respondet, “Nēmō scit, et ego hoc sēcrētum in lūcem numquam prōferam,[3] etiam tibi.”
Lesbia nōn gaudet. Lesbia nōn rīdet. Lesbia voluit librum dēdicātum eī esse, sed nōn erat. Lesbia amārī vult. Lesbia frontem contrahit.[4]
Catullus Lesbiam frontem contrahentem[5] videt et subitō exclāmat, “Et Lesbia—quam grāta mihi Lesbia est! Grātissima est!”
“Egone?” rogat Lesbia.
“Tū grāta mihi certē es!” Catullus exclāmat.
“Et? Quōmodo grāta sum?” Lesbia rogat.
“Bene,” Catullus respondet, “fāma est Atalantam nōluisse esse uxōrem.”
Lesbia paulō īrātior est quia dē aliā fēminā Catullus iam dīcit, nōn dē Lesbiā et dē amōre Catullī. Dē hōc scīre vult. Respondet, “Multī hanc fābulam nārrant et ferunt.[6] Itaque, dē Atalantā et Hippomenā iam sciō.”
Catullus rīdet, “Bene, rogō ut tū ipsa fabulam mihi nārrēs!”
Lesbia (adhūc frontem contrahēns)[7] respondet, “Atalanta mālum aureolum[8] habēre voluit. Itaque mālum cēpit, et Hippomenēs victor erat.”
Catullus bāsium Lesbiae dat[9] et respondet, “Rēctē dīcis! Sed… Quis erat rapidior? Atalanta pernīcissima puella erat, sed Hippomenēs quoque rapidus erat.”
Lesbia rīdet, “Bene, certē Atalanta pernīcior[10] quam Hippomenēs erat quia Hippomenēs requīrēbat illud mālum aureolum. Hippomenēs rapidus erat, sed Atalanta pernīcior certē erat.”
Catullus exclāmat, “Ō illud mālum aureolum! Quam pulchrum erat! Quam optimum erat illud mālum quod…”[11]
Subitō, Catullus rīdet et Lesbiam capit. Lesbia iam quoque rīdet. Catullus Lesbiam amplectitur[12] et dīcit, “…illud malum quod soluit[13] illam zōnam[14] Atalantae!”
Lesbia rīdet et respondet, “Atalanta uxor esse diūtissimē[15] nōlēbat. Illa zōna ligāta diū[16] erat.”
“Et zōna tua, Lesbia?” Catullus rīdēns rogat.
“Exspectā, Catulle, tū adhūc nōn mihi dīxistī: Quomodo grāta ego sum?” Lesbia rogat.
“Bene, mea pulchra et cārissima Lesbia,” Catullus dīcit, “tū tam grāta es mihi quam illī hominēs ferunt illud aureolum mālum fuisse[17] puellae pernīcī, illud mālum quod soluit zōnam diū ligātam Atalantae.”
Lesbia rīdet, et Catullō bāsium dāns respondet, “Egone? Egone mālum aureolum sum?”
“Certē,” rīdet Catullus, “et ego ipse tē mālum cārum capiam et solvam zōnam tuam ligātam diūtius!”[18]
[1] For a long time
[2] What is pleasing to me?
[3] I will never bring this secret forward into the light (i.e., I’m not telling).
[4] Frowns
[5] Frowning
[6] They tell, or they relate; a synonym here for nārrant and fāma est, not carry or bear.
[7] Frowning
[8] Golden apple
[9] Kisses; literally, gives a kiss to
[10] Quicker; a synonym for rapidus and celer
[11] Which; it’s antecedent is mālum.
[12] Hugs
[13] Loosened, untied
[14] Girdle; it’s not a particularly sexy word in English now, but it definitely had some sizzling pizzazz back then.
[15] For a very long time, the longest time; a superlative
[16] The girdle bound/tied for a long time
[17] To have been; here, was
[18] For too long or for rather long; a comparative
Catullus 2B in English Word Order
Est tam grātum mihi quam (hominēs) ferunt aureolum mālum fuisse pernīcī puellae, quod (mālum) soluit zōnam ligātam diū.
Catullus 2B
Tam grātum est mihi quam ferunt puellae, pernīci aureolum fuisse mālum, quod zōnam soluit diū ligātam.
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.
