Nevertheless, take these things (Catullus 101)
The elegy set at his brother’s funeral rite is one Catullus’ most profound and best loved poems. Emotional restraint and the honoring of the rite itself are the keys to its effect, argues Gillian Pinkham. Catullus 101, read, translated, and discussed by Gillian Pinkham.
Multas per gentes et multa per aequora vectus
advenio has miseras, frater, ad inferias,
ut te postremo donarem munere mortis
et mutam nequiquam alloquerer cinerem,
quandoquidem fortuna mihi tete abstulit ipsum, 5
heu miser indigne frater adempte mihi.
nunc tamen interea haec, prisco quae more parentum
tradita sunt tristi munere ad inferias,
accipe fraterno multum manantia fletu,
atque in perpetuum, frater, ave atque vale! 10
latin-poetry-podcast Said,
May 17, 2012 @ 1:41 pm
Nice job bringing in the cultural context, which is essential for appreciating this poem fully, I think. The Latin sounds wonderful.