Catullus 7

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Catullus 7 is a poem by Catullus addressed to his mistress Lesbia. Similar to Catullus 5, this poem revels in counting kisses, with a touch of stellar voyeurism.

The meter of this poem is hendecasyllabic, a common form in Catullus' poetry.

Latin text and translation[]

Line Latin text English translation
1 quaeris quot mihi basiationes You ask how many kisses
2 tuae Lesbia sint satis superque Of yours, Lesbia, would be enough and more for me.
3 quam magnus numerus Libyssae harenae As great as the number of Libyan sands
4 lasarpiciferis iacet Cyrenis That lie at Cyrene producing silphium
5 oraclum Iovis inter aestuosi Between the oracle of sweltering Jupiter
6 et Batti veteris sacrum sepulcrum And the sacred tomb of old Battus,[a]
7 aut quam sidera multa cum tacet nox Or as many as the stars that, when the night is silent,
8 furtivos hominum vident amores See the secret love affairs of men:
9 tam te basia multa basiare For you to kiss so many kisses
10 vesano satis et super Catullo est is more than enough for crazy Catullus,
11 quae nec pernumerare curiosi These kisses which neither the curious can count
12 possint nec mala fascinare lingua Nor an evil tongue bewitch.

Footnotes[]

  1. ^ There are several mythological and historical figures called Battus, and it is unclear to which one Catullus was referring.

Bibliography[]

  • Johnston, PA (1993). "Love and Laserpicium in Catullus 7". Classical Philology. 88 (4): 328–329. doi:10.1086/367376. S2CID 162290715.
  • Arkins, B (1979). "Catullus 7". L'Antiqué Classique. 48 (2): 630–635. doi:10.3406/antiq.1979.1954.
  • Segal, C (1974). "More Alexandrianism in Catullus VII?". Mnemosyne. 27 (2): 139–143. doi:10.1163/156852574X00836.
  • Segal, C (1968). "Catullus 5 and 7: A Study in Complementaries". American Journal of Philology. 89 (3): 284–301. doi:10.2307/293446. JSTOR 293446.
  • Moorhouse, AC (1963). "Two Adjectives in Catullus 7". American Journal of Philology. 84 (4): 417–418. doi:10.2307/293237. JSTOR 293237.

External links[]

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