Catullus 67 Translation
Introduction
In Catullus 67, the poet writes a piece that looks like nothing else he has written. In the beginning of the poem, he speaks to the door of a house. The former master of home has died, and now, a younger master is moving in, so the door changes.
The door responds and tells Catullus that the new owner is Caecilius, the poet from Catullus 35. The door defends its actions and tells Catullus that no one asks to use it, they just use it. Catullus and the door have a brief conversation that involves whether or not the door is at fault for immoral acts that take place behind it. The door does not believe it is at fault.
It turns out that some immoral acts have taken place behind the door. The woman who lives there did not lose her virginity to her husband. Catullus uses a metaphor to describe that the man of the home cannot get an erection. Catullus calls his penis a drooping dagger. So, instead, the woman of the house lost her virginity to her husband’s father. The father may have done this because his son couldn’t or because his mind was filled with blind lust. According to the door, the pair had a “vigorous thing.”
Catullus uses sarcasm when he responds by saying the father must have had extraordinary love for his son, so he urinated in his lap. According to the door, a woman named Brixia knows about the story. She also knows several other stories about adulteresses. Catullus questions what else the door knows, since it only opens and closes without leaving.
The door responds by commenting on how much the woman reveals because she doesn’t think the door listens. According to what the door has heard, this woman has also had intimate relations with a red-headed man who is tall and was once accused of impregnating a woman.
This polymetric poem is an oddity for Catullus, even though he wrote a few others. The choice of the door is unique, but not completely unusual. In Ovid’s poem about Pyramus and Thisbe, the wall is a minor character.
Carmen 67
| Line | Latin text | English translation |
|---|---|---|
| Catullus | Catullus | |
| 1 | O DVLCI iucunda uiro, iucunda parenti, | HAIL, house-door, once dear to a well-beloved husband and dear to his father; |
| 2 | salue, teque bona Iuppiter auctet ope, | hail, and may Jupiter bless you with kindly help; |
| 3 | ianua, quam Balbo dicunt seruisse benigne | you door, who once, they say, did kindly service to Balbus, |
| 4 | olim, cum sedes ipse senex tenuit, | when the old man himself held the house, |
| 5 | quamque ferunt rursus gnato seruisse maligne, | and who since then, as they tell us, are doing grudging service to his son, |
| 6 | postquam es porrecto facta marita sene. | now that the old man is dead and laid out, and you are become the door of a wedded house. |
| 7 | dic agedum nobis, quare mutata feraris | Come tell us why you are said to be changed, |
| 8 | in dominum ueterem deseruisse fidem. | and to have deserted your old faithfulness to your master. |
| Ianua | Door | |
| 9 | Non (ita Caecilio placeam, cui tradita nunc sum) | It is not — so may I please Caecilius, whose property I am now become — |
| 10 | culpa mea est, quamquam dicitur esse mea, | it is not my fault, though it is said to be mine, |
| 11 | nec peccatum a me quisquam pote dicere quicquam: | nor can any one speak of any wrong done by me. |
| 12 | uerum istius populi ianua qui te facit, | But of course people will have it that the door does it all; |
| 13 | qui quacumque aliquid reperitur non bene factum | all of them, whenever any ill deed is discovered, |
| 14 | ad me omnes clamant: ianua, culpa tua est. | cry out to me, “House-door, the fault is yours.” |
| Catullus | Catullus | |
| 15 | Non istuc satis est uno te dicere uerbo. | It is not enough for you to say that with a single word, |
| 16 | sed facere ut quiuis sentiat et uideat. | but so to do that any one may feel it and see it. |
| Ianua | Door | |
| 17 | Qui possum? nemo quaerit nec scire laborat? | How can I? No one asks or cares to know. |
| Catullus | Catullus | |
| 18 | Nos uolumus: nobis dicere ne dubita. | I wish to know — do not scruple to tell me. |
| Ianua | Door | |
| 19 | Primum igitur, uirgo quod fertur tradita nobis, | First then, that she came to us a virgin is untrue. |
| 20 | falsum est. non illam uir prior attigerit, | She did not give her maidenhead to her husband, |
| 21 | languidior tenera cui pendens sicula beta. | whose drooping dagger hung down like a soft beet |
| 22 | numquam se mediam sustulit ad tunicam; | and could never rise to the middle of his tunic; |
| 23 | sed pater illius gnati uiolasse cubile | his father is said to have violated the bed of his son |
| 24 | dicitur et miseram conscelerasse domum, | and disgraced the wretched home with his crime, |
| 25 | siue quod impia mens caeco flagrabat amore, | either because his wicked mind was on fire with blind lust, |
| 26 | seu quod iners sterili semine natus erat, | or because his son was useless and could not have children, |
| 27 | ut quaerendum unde foret neruosius illud, | and they had to find a more vigorous thing |
| 28 | quod posset zonam soluere uirgineam. | that could untie her girdle of virginity. |
| Catullus | Catullus | |
| 29 | Egregium narras mira pietate parentem. | You are talking about a father of extraordinary affection |
| 30 | qui ipse sui gnati minxerit in gremium. | who urinated in his own son’s lap. |
| Ianua | Door | |
| 31 | Atqui non solum hoc dicit se cognitum habere | And yet this not only does Brixia say she well knows, |
| 32 | Brixia Cycneae supposita speculae, | Brixia that lies close under the citadel of Chinea, |
| 33 | flauus quam molli praecurrit flumine Mella, | the town through which runs the soft stream of golden Melo, |
| 34 | Brixia Veronae mater amata meae, | Brixia dear mother of my own Verona; |
| 35 | sed de Postumio et Corneli narrat amore, | but she tells stories about Postumius, and the amours of Cornelius, |
| 36 | cum quibus illa malum fecit adulterium. | with whom she committed wicked adultery. |
| Catullus | Catullus | |
| 37 | dixerit hic aliquis: quid? tu istaec, ianua, nosti, | Here some one will say: “What, house-door, do you know all this, |
| 38 | cui numquam domini limine abesse licet, | you who never may be away from your master’s threshold, |
| 39 | nec populum auscultare, sed hic suffixa tigillo | nor hear the people talk, but fixed under this lintel |
| 40 | tantum operire soles aut aperire domum? | have nothing to do but to shut or open the house? |
| Ianua | Door | |
| 41 | saepe illam audiui furtiua uoce loquentem | I have often heard her telling these crimes of hers |
| 42 | solam cum ancillis haec sua flagitia, | with hushed voice alone with her maids, |
| 43 | nomine dicentem quos diximus, utpote quae mi | speaking of those by name of whom I spoke; she thought, no doubt, |
| 44 | speraret nec linguam esse nec auriculam. | that I had neither tongue nor ear. |
| 45 | praeterea addebat quendam, quem dicere nolo | She added besides one whom I do not choose to mention |
| 46 | nomine, ne tollat rubra supercilia. | by name, lest he should arch his red brows. |
| 47 | longus homo est, magnas cui lites intulit olim | He is a tall man, and was once troubled with a great lawsuit, |
| 48 | falsum mendaci uentre puerperium. | from a falsely imputed child-birth. |
