An Absurd Comparison (Catullus 43)
In poem 43 Catullus mounts an effective attack against his nemesis Mamurra by attacking Mamurra’s girlfriend Ameana. The wit in the invective comes from the blatant use of ad hominem arguments, and of litotes, or understatement, argues Kathryn Joseph. Her translation brilliantly conveys the scabrous tone of the original.
Salve, nec minimo puella naso
nec bello pede nec nigris ocellis
nec longis digitis nec ore sicco
nec sane nimis elegante lingua,
decoctoris amica Formiani.
Ten provincia narrat esse bellam?
Tecum Lesbia nostra comparatur?
O saeclum insapiens et infacetum!
Image: Portrait of a woman from Fayyunm, Egypt (Greco-Roman). Source: Susan Liston.