Carmina

Catullus

Catullus, Gaius Valerius. The Carmina of Caius Valerius Catullus. Burton, Sir Richard Francis, translator. London, Printed for the Translators, 1894.

  1. These now unglueing from thy claws restore,
  2. Lest thy soft hands, and floss-like flanklets score
  3. The burning scourges, basely signed and lined,
  4. And thou unwonted toss like wee barque tyned
  5. 'Mid vasty Ocean vexed by madding wind!
  1. Furius! our Villa never Austral force
  2. B roke, neither set thereon Favonius' course,
  3. Nor savage Boreas, nor Epeliot's strain,
  4. But fifteen thousand crowns and hundreds twain
  5. Wreckt it, —Oh ruinous by-wind, breezy bane!
  1. Thou youngling drawer of Falernian old
  2. Crown me the goblets with a bitterer wine
  3. As was Postumia's law that rules the feast
  4. Than ebriate grape-stone more inebriate.
  5. But ye fare whither please ye (water-nymphs!)
  6. To wine pernicious, and to sober folk
  7. Migrate ye: mere Thyonian juice be here!
  1. Followers of Piso, empty band
  2. With your light budgets packt to hand,
  3. Veránius best! Fabúllus mine!
  4. What do ye? Bore ye enough, in fine
  5. Of frost and famine with yon sot?
  6. What loss or gain have haply got
  7. Your tablets? so, whenas I ranged
  8. With Praetor, gains for loss were changed.
  9. "O Memmius! thou did'st long and late
  10. . . me supine slow and . . . "
  11. But (truly see I) in such case
  12. Diddled you were by wight as base
  13. Sans mercy. Noble friends go claim!
  14. Now god and goddess give you grame
  15. Disgrace of Romulus! Remus' shame!
  1. Who e'er could witness this (who could endure
  2. Except the lewdling, dicer, greedy-gut)
  3. That should Mamurra get what hairy Gaul
  4. And all that farthest Britons held whilòme?
  5. (Thou bardache Romulus!) this wilt see and bear?
  6. Then art a lewdling, dicer, greedy-gut!
  7. He now superb with pride superfluous
  8. Shall go perambulate the bedrooms all
  9. Like white-robed dovelet or Adonis-love.
  10. Romulus thou bardache! this wilt see and bear?