Catullus 51

Catullus 51 is a poem written by Gaius Valerius Catullus. It is considered the first in the Lesbia cycle, and it is paralleled by what is commonly considered to be the last, Catullus 11. Moreover, it is a poetic adaptation of a fragment of one of Sappho's poems. Both Catullus and Sappho's poems express admiration for the husband of their female object of affection as they wonder how a mere mortal could converse with what they consider to be a goddess.

Text and translation

Line	Latin text	English translation
1	Ille mi par esse deo videtur,	That fellow seems to me to be equal to a god,
2	ille, si fas est, superare divos,	That fellow, if it is possible, to surpass the gods,
3	qui sedens adversus identidem te	Who sitting opposite you repeatedly
4	spectat et audit	Sees you and hears you
5	dulce ridentem, misero quod omnis	Laughing sweet, which in my wretched state steals
6	eripit sensus mihi: nam simul te,	All senses from me: for as soon as I looked upon you,
7	Lesbia, aspexi, nihil est super mi	Lesbia, nothing is left to me
8	<voces in ore>	<of the voice in my mouth>
9	lingua sed torpet, tenuis sub artus	My tongue grows numb, A thin flame
10	flamma demanat, sonitu suopte	Seeps beneath my limbs, my ears ring
11	tintinant aures, gemina et teguntur	With their own sound, my eyes are covered
12	lumina nocte.	By a twin night.
13	Otium, Catulle, tibi molestum est:	Leisure, Catullus, is bothersome to you:
14	otio exsultas nimiumque gestis:	In leisure you exult too much and without restraint:
15	otium et reges prius et beatas	Leisure has ruined both former kings
16	perdidit urbes.	And cities once wealthy.

See also

• Catullus