Catullus 1 is a poem by Roman poet Gaius Valerius Catullus (– BCE) written in hendecasyllabic meter, a common form in his poetry.
Although it was traditionally arranged first among his poems, though it was not necessarily the first poem that he wrote. It is dedicated to Cornelius Nepos, a historian and minor poet, though some consider Catullus's praise of Cornelius's history of the Italians to have been sarcastic.
The poem alternates between humility and a self-confident manner; Catullus calls his poetry "little" and "trifles", but asks that it remain for more than one age. This understatement is likely deliberate; Catullus knows very well the quality of his poetry, and also the provocative form it has. He also calls his work "new"; the poems are recently made and therefore new, but they are also new as some of the first examples of Neoteric poetry in the Latin language.
Text LineLatin textEnglish translation1cui dono lepidum novum libellumTo whom do I dedicate this new, charming little book2aridaAbout this term see article: modo pumice expolitumjust now polished with a dry pumice stone?3Corneli tibi namque tu solebasTo you, Cornelius, for you were accustomed4meas esse aliquid putare nugasto think that my nonsense was something,5iam tum cum ausus es unus Italorumeven then when you alone dared to unfold 6omne aevum tribus explicare cartisthe entire history of the Italians in three papyrus rolls,7doctis Iuppiter et laboriosislearned, by Jupiter, and full of labor.8quare habe tibi quidquid hoc libelliTherefore, have for yourself whatever this is of a little book,9qualecumque quod o patrona virgoof whatever sort; which, O patron maiden,10plus uno maneat perenne saeclomay it remain everlasting, more than one lifetime.
Translations Earliest translation in English can be found in the anonymous novel The Adventures of Catullus, and History of his Amours With Lesbia. Intermixt With Translations of his Choicest Poems. By Several Hands. Done From the French (London: printed for J. Chantry, 1707), the translation from French of galant novel by Jean de La Chapelle «Amours de Catulle» (1680):https://archive.org/details/bim_eighteenth-century_the-adventures-of-catull_la-chapelle-m-de-jean_1707/page/268/mode/2up?q=Cornelius+Nepos To whom should I but to Cornelius make A Present of my little merry Book. Who will protect it for its Author's sake, And on each Page just sinish'd kindly look. Since thou Cornelius hast been pleas'd to think My triffing ludicrous Essays, Not wholly undeserving Pen and Ink, But sometimes even worthy of thy Praise; E'en then when thou of all the Roman Race The Roman Annals dunst indite, With such a learned and laborious Grace As ravishes our Ears and Sight. Wherefore accept it whatsoe'er its Faulrs, Whate'er its Exellencies be, Pallas will sure proplong the Verse and Thoughts, Beyond and Age that are insicrib'd to thee.
Notes "To unfold the entire age in three papyrus rolls" can be less literally rendered as "To give an account of all recorded history in three volumes", and refers to Cornelius Nepos' Chronica ("Annals"), an exhaustive three-volume history of the Greco-Roman world. O does not appear in any extant manuscripts, but is supplied by modern editors on the assumption that it was in the original, based on context and metrical concerns. The "patron maiden" may be either Minerva or one of the Muses.
Bibliography
References
External links
Catullus 1 for Catullus 1 translated into 13 languages.