Catullus 95 Translation
Introduction
Catullus is friends with interesting people, like the poet Cinna. In this poem, Cinna spent nine harvests-tides and winters writing a book titled Smyrna. Another man, Hortensius, who is an orator who occasionally wrote poetry published 500,000 versus in the course of one year.
In Catullus’s mind, Smyrna will be read for many centuries by people who live far away. In the poem, Catullus mentions that the poems will be read as far away as “Satrachus.” There is evidence that he is referencing an area near Cyprus. For Catullus, Cyprus would have been far away from Rome and a notable distance for a book to travel.
While Hortensius’s poetry will not travel far at all. The pages of his book will be used to wrap fish. Catullus speaks of the river Padua and says that the poems were born from the river, so they may be no better than the fish that are caught in them. Since scrap paper is used to wrap fish, it is evident that Catullus does not like the poems that Hortensius wrote.
In lines nine and ten, Catullus pronounces that he is proud of the work of his friend Cinna, but he is okay with letting the vulgar like the words of Hortensius, who he calls a “windy Antimachus” which is an interesting allusion to the poet who is best known for his learned epics. Even though Hortensius dabbled in poetry, his book must have contained more verses than an epic, to be considered windy or long-winded.
In Catullus’s mind, windy or bloated poetry isn’t worth reading. As a poet, Catullus was able to say what he needed in a minimal amount of words. He wrote poems that were two lines long. He often played with words and double entendres to get his point across in creative ways.
Carmen 95
| Line | Latin text | English translation |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | ZMYRNA mei Cinnae nonam post denique messem | My friend Cinna’s Smyrna, published at last nine harvest-tides |
| 2 | quam coepta est nonamque edita post hiemem, | and nine winters after it was begun |
| 3 | milia cum interea quingenta Hortensius uno | whilst Hortensius [has brought out] five hundred thousand |
| 4 | [ … ] | [verses] in one [year]. |
| 5 | Zmyrna cauas Satrachi penitus mittetur ad undas, | Smyrna will travel as far away as the deep-channelled streams of Satrachus, |
| 6 | Zmyrnam cana diu saecula peruoluent. | the centuries will grow grey in long perusal of Smyrna. |
| 7 | at Volusi annales Paduam morientur ad ipsam | But the Annals of Volusius will die by the river Padua where they were born, |
| 8 | et laxas scombris saepe dabunt tunicas | and will often furnish a loose wrapper for mackerels. |
| 9 | parva mei mihi sint cordi monumenta sodalis, | Let the modest memorials of my friend be dear to me, |
| 10 | at populus tumido gaudeat Antimacho | and let the vulgar rejoice in their windy Antimachus. |
