How Many Kisses, Catullus? Catullus 7

Counting Kisses: Catullus’ Original to His Girlfriend Lesbia

Name: Catullus Date:  84 – 54 BCE Region:  Verona / Cisalpine Gaul [modern northern Italy] Citation:  Poem 7

Lesbia, you ask me how many kisses

I want—and how many are too many for me.

I want as great a number as sands in the Saharan desert

Between the Oracle of Ammon

And the sacred tomb of ol’ Battus.

As great a number of stars in the dead of night

That watch over the meetings of secret lovers.

That’s the number of kisses your Catullus wants to kiss,

Enough kisses that nosy people cannot count

Nor evil tongues can curse.

Counting Kisses: Catullus’ Original to His Girlfriend Lesbia

Quaeris, quot mihi basiationes

tuae, Lesbia, sint satis superque.

Quam magnus numerus Libyssae harenae

lasarpiciferis iacet Cyrenis

oraclum Jovis inter aestuosi

et Batti veteris sacrum sepulcrum;

aut quam sidera multa, cum tacet nox,

furtivos hominum vident amores:

tam te basia multa basiare

vesano satis et super Catullo est,

quae nec pernumerare curiosi

possint nec mala fascinare lingua.

Catullus [Gaius Valerius Catullus; 84 – 54 BCE, modern Italy] was a Roman statesman born in Verona [modern Italy] who lived during the tumultuous last days of the Roman Republic.  His poetry offers rare insight into the lives of people who lived during his time period. Like Propertius and Tibullus, Catullus used a pseudonym for the objects of his attention; many of his love poems were addressed to either “Lesbia” or “Juventius.”

Find Me Somebody to Love: A 12th century Love Poem

Cupid, Find Me Somebody to Love

Name: [Unknown]  Date:  12th – 13th century CE Region:  [Unknown, Europe] Citation: Ellis, R. Epigrammata Codicis Bodleiani Rawl. BN 109 #2 [1]

Cupid, hold your fire!

For neither my boyfriend

Nor my girlfriend

Stays true to me.

Hold your fire, hold your fire!

What’s my type? A person who loves!

May I find one soon.

But should I date someone

Who ghosts me? NOPE!

Hold your fire, hold your fire!

For I will not cherish a person

Who I’d “love that I had dated once.”

Did I just say, “a person I love”?

Nope! I’m not in love.

Hold your fire,  hold your fire,

Or find me an equal.

Please don’t do this—I’m telling you—please stop!

Or, Cupid,

find me an equal.

---

 [1] Published in Anecdota Oxoniensia Vol 1, Part 5.  (1885) p. 17.

Latin Text:

Tela, Cupido, tene, quoniam non ille nec illa

sustinet esse meus, vel mea. Tela tene,

tela tene! Quid amo? Quod amat?

Non absit. At huius

quod fugit, huius ero? Non ero. Tela tene,

tela tene! Quia non teneo quod amo tenuisse.

An dixi quod amo? Non amo! Tela tene,

tela tene, vel tange parem. Nec feceris imo,

dico tibi, sine! Vel tange, Cupido, parem.

Love Shakes Me to the Core: Sappho 47

Name: Sappho Date: d. 570 BCE Region: Lesbos [modern Greece] Citation: Fragment 47

Love shook my heart

the way the wind strikes the trees on the mountaintop.

 Ἔρος δ᾿ ἐτίναξέ μοι

φρένας, ὠς ἄνεμος κὰτ ὄρος δρύσιν ἐμπέτων.

Amor animum meum quatit, velut

ventus quercos in montis summo impulit.

Sappho [d. 570 BCE, modern Greece] was universally applauded by the ancient world as the “Tenth Muse.” Because she was one of the earliest Greek lyric poets, there is very little definitive information on Sappho’s life.  It is generally agreed that Sappho was a wealthy noblewoman from the island of Lesbos who had three brothers and a daughter named Kleis. She used her prominent social position to support a cohort of other women artists, and composed many poems about them, expressing her love for them, praising their beauty, and celebrating their marriages. Whereas earlier Greek poetry was epic poetry with serious themes of gods, warfare, and the state, Sappho’s lyric poetry was emotional, intimate and personal. Her poetry centered around womanhood and womanly love, providing rare insight into the time period. The modern terms “sapphic” and “lesbian” reveal the longevity of her impact upon modern culture. Unfortunately, although her poetry was universally revered by the Greeks and Romans alike, Sappho’s works only exist as fragments, adding mysterious allure to her larger-than-life status but unfortunately hindering our understanding of her life and thoughts.

W/W: A Bittersweet Farewell, Sappho fr. 94

A Bittersweet Farewell

Name: Sappho Date:   d. 570 BCE Region:   Lesbos [modern Greece] Citation:    Fragment 94

“I wish I were dead,” she wept as she left me.

She said this to me and more.

Lamenting the terrible things that we’ve suffered, 

She said, “O Sapph’! I am not leaving you willingly!”

But I replied,

“Go on now, and keep in mind

How much I have cherished you.

Or if you can’t, I want you to remember

All of the good things that we had, too.

You were wearing crowns of violets and roses and crocuses by my side,

You were wearing perfume fit for a queen,

Upon a soft bed

You were satisfying

The yearnings of your heart.”

 

τεθνάκην δ’ ἀδόλως θέλω· ἄ με ψισδομένα κατελίμπανεν πόλλα καὶ τόδ’ ἔειπέ̣ μοι· ̔ ὤιμ’ ὠς δεῖνα πεπόνθαμεν, Ψάπφ’, ἦ μάν σ’ ἀέκοισ΄ ἀπυλιμπάνω.’ τὰν δ’ ἔγω τάδ’ ἀμειβόμαν· ̔ χαίροισ’ ἔρχεο κἄμεθεν μέμναισ’, οἶσθα γὰρ ὤς σε πεδήπομεν· αἰ δὲ μή, ἀλλά σ’ ἔγω θέλω ὄμναισαι... [1] . . . καὶ κάλ’ ἐπάσχομεν· πο̣λλοις γὰρ στεφάνοις ἴων καὶ βρόδων κροκ̣ίων τ’ ὔμοι . . .πὰρ ἔμοι περεθήκαο, καὶ πό̣λλαις ὐπαθύμιδας πλέκταις ἀμφ’ ἀπάλαι δέραι ἀνθέων ἔ̣βαλες πεποημμέναις, καὶ πο̣λ̣λ̣ῳ. . . μύρῳ βρενθείῳ...... ἐξαλείψαο κα̣ὶ βασι̣ληίῳ, καὶ στρώμναν ἐπὶ μολθάκαν ἀπάλαν... ἐξίης πόθο̣ν.. νίδων…

“O utinam mortuam essem!” Hoc multis cum lacrimis dicto, illa me relinquit, multa de terribilis quae passae sumus querens, “O Psappham!”  Illa mi dicit, se non sua sponte me relinquere. Sed ego contra: “Valeas, et quantum te coluerim in animo habeto. Aut, si hoc nequeas, Velim, si te omnia bona  quae inter nos fieri soleant, memineris. Coronas violarum  rosarumque  crocorumque multas  mecum gerebas Et serta floribus multa in collo tenero  te ornabant, et tibi tempora multo regibus decente nardo destillabant, et in lecto molle  tibi desiderium tuum allevabas. Translated into Latin by Kris Masters

Sappho [d. 570 BCE, modern Greece] was universally applauded by the ancient world as the “Tenth Muse.” Because she was one of the earliest Greek lyric poets, there is very little definitive information on Sappho’s life.  It is generally agreed that Sappho was a wealthy noblewoman from the island of Lesbos who had three brothers and a daughter named Kleis. She used her prominent social position to support a cohort of other women artists, and composed many poems about them, expressing her love for them, praising their beauty, and celebrating their marriages. Whereas earlier Greek poetry was epic poetry with serious themes of gods, warfare, and the state, Sappho’s lyric poetry was emotional, intimate and personal. Her poetry centered around womanhood and womanly love, providing rare insight into the time period. The modern terms “sapphic” and “lesbian” reveal the longevity of her impact upon modern culture. Unfortunately, although her poetry was universally revered by the Greeks and Romans alike, Sappho’s works only exist as fragments, adding mysterious allure to her larger-than-life status but unfortunately hindering our understanding of her life and thoughts.

---

 [1] This poem was found in a fragmentary state, with numerous words unintelligible or missing.

M/M: Our Hearts Will Light the Way, A Fragment from Valerius Aedituus

Our Hearts Will Light the Way: An Early Roman Poet to His Boyfriend

Name: Valerius Aedituus Date:  1st century BCE Region: Rome [modern Italy]  Citation: Aulus Gellius, Attic Nights 19.9.12

Phileros, you hold up a torch,

But we don’t need it.

The flame that shines in our hearts

Will produce enough light for us as we travel.

No raging wind can extinguish it;

Nor can the sudden rainstorm quench it.

Only Venus herself, if she is willing, can.

No other force can quench this fire between us.

Our Hearts Will Light the Way: An Early Roman Poet to his Boyfriend

 

Qui faculam praefers, Phileros, quae nil opus nobis?

Ibimus sic, lucet pectore flamma satis.

Istam nam potis est vis saeva extinguere venti

Aut imber caelo candidus praecipitans,

At contra hunc ignem Veneris, nisi si Venus ipsa,

Nullast quae possit vis alia opprimere.

Valerius Aedituus [1st century BCE] Little is known about the life of the Roman poet Valerius Aedituus except that he lived during the 1st century BCE. Only fragments remain of his poetry.

M/M: Kisses Mixed With Wine, Martial 11.26

 

Name: Martial Date: c. 40 – 100 CE Region: Bilbilis, Hispania [modern Spain] Citation: Epigrams 11.26

NOTE: Although the Romans did not find the relationship between Zeus and Ganymede problematic, it is important to not romanticize this relationship in the modern world, as the massive power imbalance negates the consent of the relationship in our views. 

Telesphorus, darling, my sweet respite from stress,

My love, I’ve never felt this way before I’d embraced you,

Give me kisses that taste like wine,

Give me wineglasses that your lips have first kissed.

If you also grant me your love,

I’d say I’m better than Jupiter with his Ganymede.

O mihi grata quies, o blanda, Telesphore, cura,
    qualis in amplexu non fuit ante meo,
basia da nobis vetulo, puer, uda Falerno,
    pocula da labris facta minora tuis.
Addideris super haec Veneris si gaudia vera,
    esse negem melius cum Ganymede Jovi.

 

 

Martial [Marcus Valerius Martialis; 38 BCE – 102 CE, modern Spain] Originally from Bilbilis, Hispania, the poet Martial moved to Rome in the 60s CE to advance his career. His two extant works include de Spectaculis, a collection of poems written to commemorate the opening of the Colosseum, and a fifteen volume collection of epigrams. These poems provide valuable insight into the private lives of Romans from all of the city’s social classes.

I'm Getting To Old For This: Horace, Carm. 4.1

I’m Getting Too Old For This

Name:  Horace Date:  65 – 8 BCE Region: Venosa / Rome [modern Italy] Citation:  Songs 4.1.29-40

Neither a girlfriend

Or a boyfriend

Can tempt me now,

Nor does the hope of a mutual affection thrill me.

I’m no longer in the mood for partying

I’m too old to put springtime flowers on this old forehead of mine.

But why, Ligurinus, tell me why

I’m crying right now?

Why is my tongue tied suddenly?

At night, 

in my dreams, I hold you next to me.

I follow you through the Campus Martius,

I follow you through the waters,

As you fly from me, you cruel bird.

I’m Getting Too Old For This

Me nec femina nec puer

iam nec spes animi credula mutui               

nec certare iuvat mero

nec vincire novis tempora floribus.

Sed cur heu, Ligurine, cur

manat rara meas lacrima per genas?

Cur facunda parum decoro               

inter verba cadit lingua silentio?

Nocturnis ego somniis

iam captum teneo, iam volucrem sequor

te per gramina Martii

campi, te per aquas, dure, volubilis.         

 

Horace [Quintus Horatius Flaccus; 65 – 8 BCE, modern Italy] is known for his famous line, “Carpe Diem.” He was an Italian-born poet who lived during the rise and reign of Rome’s first emperor, Augustus. Although his life began with civil unrest and uncertainty (his father was enslaved and later freed during the civil wars of the 1st century BCE), Horace became friends with the influential entrepreneur Maecenas and earned the position in Augustus’ literary circle.  His poetry provides valuable insight into social changes that occurred during the transition from republic to empire.  

M/M: When Beautiful People Date, Greek Anthology 12.163

 

Name: Asclepiades Date:    3rd century BCE Region:    Samos [modern Greece] Citation: Greek Anthology 12.163

Love has discovered the joy in mixing something beautiful with beautiful,

Not an emerald mixed with gold,

(Which neither blooms nor stands as equal)

Nor can ebony mixed with ivory,

Nor the colors black and white together,

can compare to Cleander & Eubiotus, 

darling flowers of Persuasion and Friendship.

εὗρεν Ἔρως τί καλῷ μίξει καλόν, οὐχὶ μάραγδον

χρυσῷ, ὃ μήτ᾽ ἀνθεῖ, μήτε γένοιτ᾽ ἐν ἴσῳ,

οὐδ᾽ ἐλέφαντ᾽ ἐβένῳ, λευκῷ μέλαν, ἀλλὰ Κλέανδρον

Εὐβιότῳ, πειθοῦς ἄνθεα καὶ φιλίης.

Invenit Amor quodnam pulchro misceat pulchrum, non smaragdum,

auro, quod neque floret neque fiat compar

neque ebur ebeno, albo nigrum, sed Cleandrum

Eubioto, Suadae flores Amicitiae.

Translated into Latin by Hugo Grottius

 

 Asclepiades of Samos was a Greek lyric poet from the 3^rd century BCE. His works are preserved in the Greek Anthology, a collection of Greek lyric poetry that spans numerous genres, topics, and authors.