Mon 28 Apr 2008
The Poems of Catullus: 5, Vivamus, mea Lesbia, atque amemus
Posted by catullus under The Poems of CatullusComments Off
Catullus 5, Vivamus, mea Lesbia, atque amemus, read and discussed by Amanda Hayes.
Vivamus mea Lesbia, atque amemus,
rumoresque senum seueriorum
omnes unius aestimemus assis!
soles occidere et redire possunt:
nobis cum semel occidit breuis lux,
nox est perpetua una dormienda.
da mi basia mille, deinde centum,
dein mille altera, dein secunda centum,
deinde usque altera mille, deinde centum.
dein, cum milia multa fecerimus,
conturbabimus illa, ne sciamus,
aut ne quis malus inuidere possit,
cum tantum sciat esse basiorum.
Gaius Valerius Catullus (ca. 84 – 54 BC) is one of the most beloved of Latin poets with modern audiences because of his elegance and wit, and the directness and intensity of his loves, friendships and hatreds. Nearly lost forever in the middle ages, his work survived thanks to a single manuscript, an anthology that may or may not have been arranged by Catullus himself. No titles exist, so the poems are known unromantically to scholars by their order in the manuscript, from 1 to 116, and by their first lines. Podcasts were recorded for Prof. Francese’s Introduction to Roman Poetry class.
