Catullus 68:119-160

119 nam nec tam carum confecto aetate parenti una caput seri nata nepotis alit, qui cum diuitiis uix tandem iuuentus auitis nomen testatas intulit in tabulas, impia derisi gentilis gaudia tollens, suscitat a cano uolturium capiti:	For it not so dear in the fulfilled life of a parent is the life of a grandson-come-lately an only daughter nourishes, who, with ancestral riches only barely, at the end, a youth enters his name on the will and testament, stealing impious joy from a scorned relation, rouses the vultures from the gray-haired head:
125 nec tantum niueo gauisa est ulla columbo compar, quae multo dicitur improbius oscula mordenti semper decerpere rostro, quam quae praecipue multiuola est mulier. sed tu horum magnos uicisti sola furores, ut semel es flauo conciliata uiro.	Not any wife was so gladdened  by a snowy dove, who they say always snatches kisses more than is prudent with a nipping beak, than a woman who is especially promiscuous. But you alone overcome their great love frenzies, as once you were bought and paid for by a golden-haired man.
131 aut nihil aut paulum cui tum concedere digna lux mea se nostrum contulit in gremium, quam circumcursans hinc illinc saepe Cupido fulgebat crocina candidus in tunica.	You to whom my worthy light conceded either nothing or very little, she brought herself into my lap, she who was shining forth, whome Cupid was circling here and there often, brilliant white in a perfumed tunic.
135 quae tamen etsi uno non est contenta Catullo, rara uerecundae furta feremus erae ne nimium simus stultorum more molesti. saepe etiam Iuno, maxima caelicolum, coniugis in culpa flagrantem concoquit iram, noscens omniuoli plurima furta Iouis.	And if she is nevertheless not satisfied by Catullus, I will bear the rare deceptions of a modest mistress lest we are too stupid in an aggravating manner. Even often Juno, the greatest of the female heaven- dwellers, stomachs the flaming wrath of a wife in blaming mode, knowing of the many affairs of the gallivanting Jupiter.
141 atqui nec diuis homines componier aequum est, * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *	But it is not fair for humans to be compared to the gods,
142 ingratum tremuli tolle parentis onus. nec tamen illa mihi dextra deducta paterna fragrantem Assyrio uenit odore domum, sed furtiua dedit mira munuscula nocte, ipsius ex ipso dempta uiri gremio.	to lighten the reluctant burden of a fearful parent. Nevertheless, she, led not by a parental hand, she comes to my fragrent house, smelling of Syria, but she gave me a marvelous present in the furtive night, herself, taken away from lap itself of her husband.
147 quare illud satis est, si nobis is datur unis quem lapide illa dies candidiore notat. hoc tibi, quod potui, confectum carmine munus pro multis, Alli, redditur officiis, ne uestrum scabra tangat rubigine nomen haec atque illa dies atque alia atque alia.	Wherefore that is enough, if that day is given to me alone which day she marks with a shining jewel. This, Allius, because I was able, gift made of a song  for many services is delivered to you, lest this day and that and some and others touch your name with a scabby blight.
153 huc addent diui quam plurima, quae Themis olim antiquis solita est munera ferre piis. sitis felices et tu simul et tua uita, et domus in qua lusimus et domina,	Here let the gods give out as many as possible, which gifts Thetis was once accustomed to give to ancient pious ones. May you be happy, both you and your life, both the house in which we played and our mistress,
157 et qui principio nobis terram dedit aufert, a quo sunt primo omnia nata bona, et longe ante omnes mihi quae me carior ipso est, lux mea, qua uiua uiuere dulce mihi est.	and he who first gave and brought the world to me, from which all good things are first brought forth, and before all, she who is dearer to me than him, my shinding light, for because she is alive, to live is sweet to me.

Catullus 110 - 114

Catullus 110


AVFILENA, bonae semper laudantur amicae:
     accipiunt pretium, quae facere instituunt.
tu, quod promisti, mihi quod mentita inimica es,
     quod nec das et fers saepe, facis facinus.
aut facere ingenuae est, aut non promisse pudicae,
     Aufillena, fuit: sed data corripere
fraudando officiis, plus quam meretricis auarae
     quae sese toto corpore prostituit.

Aufilena, good girl friends are always praised:
 They accept their price for that which they set out to do.
You, because you promised, you are enemy to me because you lied,
  Because you do not give and often carry off, you make an outrage.
Either it was right for a freeborn to do it,
 or it was not right for a chaste woman to promise.
Aufilena: but to steal the things given for services
by cheating, that is more given to  a greedy whore
 who sells herself with her whole body.

Catullus 111

AVFILENA, uiro contentam uiuere solo,
     nuptarum laus ex laudibus eximiis:
sed cuiuis quamuis potius succumbere par est,
     quam matrem fratres efficere ex patruo…

Aufilena, to live content with a single man
is the greatest glory out of all the extreme glories of married women.
But it is equal to succumb to the power of whomever,
than for a mother to produce brothers from an uncle...

Catullus 112

MVLTVS homo es, Naso, neque tecum multus homo
     te scindat: Naso, multus es et pathicus.

 You are a lot of man, Naso, and many a man does not
tear you: and Naso, you are quite a bottom.


Catullus 113

CONSVLE Pompeio primum duo, Cinna, solebant
     Maeciliam: facto consule nunc iterum
manserunt duo, sed creuerunt milia in unum
     singula. fecundum semen adulterio.

Cinna, in the first consulship of Pompey, two men were accustomed
to Maeclia: now again with haim made consul
the two men remain, but a thousand in one sprang up from each.
His seed breeds adultery.

Catullus 114

FIRMANVS saltu non falso Mentula diues
     fertur, qui tot res in se habet egregias,
aucupium omne genus, piscis, prata, arua ferasque.
     nequiquam: fructus sumptibus exsuperat.
quare concedo sit diues, dum omnia desint.
     saltum laudemus, dum modo ipse egeat.

They report, truthfully,  that wealthy Mentula
is rich because of his land, who holds for himself so many outstanding things,
every kind of poultry, fish, fields, and wild growing lands.
In vain: in costs he surpasses his income.
Therefore I permit that he is rich, while he lacks everything.
Let us praise the pasture, while he alone is in need.

Questions and answers on "Catullus in Performance" by Skinner

1.         Does Quinn’s thesis that Catullus and the neoterics undertook the “writing of poetry as an artistic practice” reduce the neoteric poems to artifacts “that make one statement only, always the same statement”?  (Phaedrus, quoted in “The Hermeneutics of the Libellus,” page xxx).

I consider that there isn’t a text out there that exists on one level and makes only one statement. The other layers may not have been in intentional, but even if Catullus had written his poems for one audience, one performance, intending to produce one effect, they would still not be artifacts that made one statement only.  

2.         What effect did Catullus’ training in ancient rhetorical theory have on his poetry?  Should we appreciate his poems in the same manner as we appreciate the speeches of Cicero “with respect to the implied original performance”?  (Fitzgerald 6, quoted in “The Hermeneutics of the Libellus” on page xxi).

The context of the original poems presented in performance lend another shade to the possibilities of interpretation. Yes, when considering the poems, scholars should consider what they sounded like to an audience, in a knowledgable crowd, as well as the impression they may have made on a solitary reader.

 3.         If Lesbia is a scripta puella, “or symbol of the poetic product” (“The Hermeneutics of the Libellus,” page xxx), does Professor Skinner think that the Lesbia poems were never intended for performance?

The Lesbia poems may have been a deliberate cultivation of a persona rather than a outpouring of unbridled emotion, but if that were so, it would make them more likely to have been intended for performance. If you are going to fabricate a love affair, the whole point is that other people watch you do it. It seems possible that just as many of the friendships referenced in the poems were perhaps more aspirational than actual, the grand passion maybe have been a fabrication as well, and would necessitate public recognition.

 4.         Does Professor Skinner think the reader/listener/performer has an active role in a poem, or is that role limited to extracting the poet’s intentions from the text itself?  Upon consideration of her comments in “Catullus in Performance,” consider her comments in “The Hermeneutics of the Libellus” on pages xxxiv to xxxv) regarding the “authorial audience” “defined by the form and intentionality of the text.”

 Professor Skinner examines the effect that the poems may have had on the audience, and so consider the audience essential to constructing the meaning of the poem. She mentions Catullus 4, where the audience may have known Catullus’s history and could picture exactly the boat he was describing. Catullus may have crafted or performed that poem knowing what the audience would know, but even if he did, he could still not control how the poem would be received, nor guarantee that everyone listening would have the same level of knowledge.

5.         In her discussion of Catullus 16, Professor Skinner says that “[e]rotic versiculi were a contrasting way of relaxing inhibitions” and argues, citing Amy Richlin, that “[s]atire afforded a kind of catharsis for rage and anxiety.”  Is erotic elegy a literary form of Freudian therapy to relieve neuroses caused by repression of the “pleasure principle”?

There is an exquisite thrill in having one’s own thoughts expressed by someone else. I think the erotic elegies produce that kind of thrill, one that obviates Tennyson’s distress that he “would that he could find the words for the thoughts that arise in him.” However, the premise of this question rests on the assumption of repression of emotions is common and that it is detrimental. I am persuaded that the first is accurate. In other words, I don’t give credence to the idea that Roman men were stoppered volcanoes of emotion looking for a release of pressure in erotic elegy. I find it more likely that  they expressed a common feeling and emotion, and the value came from the thrill of those common emotions being expressed well.

6.         Like Shane, I offer a bonus question.  Would you teach Catullus 16 in a high school Latin class?

Yes, in translation, with the first and last lines softened.

Questions and Answers on the Skinner Overview of Scholarship on the Catullan Question

1) Although Skinner is summarizing the work of others in this chapter she still has a recognizable presence. How would you characterize that presence and what does it contribute?

Skinner continues to make her presense known through her style of writing, her references to her own work, and her commentaries on the authors. Her style of writing is in the first person, and she mentions in several instances her general opinions on Catullan scholarship. Concerning the “Catullan question”, she comments that it is absurd to imagine that there is only one, and she also brings in some sarcasm towards the end when she comments on how it has taken 150 years to get scholarship on the question to where it is today.

Skinner references her own work on only a handful of occasions, most notably in the beginning, when she declares that she will not take a stand on the question since the overview is for students and she wishes to allow them room to form their own conclusions.

In addition, she evaluates the work of several of the contributers after summarizing their conclusions. While does not declare a verdict for them, her valuation of each’s contributions is inescapable.

2) If we took the liber Catulli as it stands today, and scrambled it, what would be lost?

Ask Gaisser stated in the article last week, each poem can change with the reader and with the context in which it is read. To our benefit or otherwise, the present liber Catulli carries meaning within its structure and changing that structure would lose that meaning. The variation can mean many things and may or may not be unintentional, but a book of Catullan poems in which each topic was covered thoroughly and then abandoned when paint a picture of Catullus as an obsessive who dropped completely a subject when it was done. The jumble of poems concerning Lesbia produces an effect similar to the movie 500 Days of Summer, where it was not the linear progression but the emotional moments that took turns raising themselves in the author’s memory or experience. A liber Catulli that placed the poem concerning his brother at the beginning would take on a different tone than the one where you encounter a grieving Catullus already after you have read him when he was joyful.

While much would be lost, I suspect a similar allotment would be gained. Our impressions of Catullus would be different, but not nonexistent. As we read Catullus and as we form theories about his style, education, and intention, we create an image of Catullus that we have no method of verifying. A different order would merely produce in us a different mental image, one perhaps equally accurate.

3) How would an editor’s arrangement of the liber Catulli be recognizably different from the author’s arrangement?

We may or may not know the author’s arrangement, so the present arrangement might, in fact, be an editor’s arrangement. But for the purposes of this question, it would depend on the editor. If you imagine that each scholarly contributor to the Catullan question was instead the editor of the poems instead of their analyst, I suppose some of the editors would place them in chronological order. Some ad hoc editors would group them thematically. At least one would amuse himself by arrange the poems by theme so the scheme resembles that of elegiac meter. And considering the state of other collections from around that time in history, at least one editor would put them in descending order of length.

4) Schmidt veiws 9, 12, and 13 as a “structural pivot” and part of an “architectonic design.” How do you evaluate this claim? (Yes, you can interpret this question in a couple of different ways… Take your pick.)

To evaluate the claim, you would first determine what precisely Schmidt intends by his criticism. Once that is determined, you would look at the other poems that resemble 9,12, and 13 and examine them for similar characteristics, and then look at the overarching design to see if the nature of collection truly hinges on those poems.

5) Let’s pretend that authorial intent for the present grouping and ordering of Catullus were proven beyond a shadow of a doubt tomorrow. What would the scholarly community do with that information? What would be the next intellectual step? In particular, how do you think our understanding of 51 would change?

The scholarly community, once it was convinced that the order was intentional, would then proceed to theorize as to the reasons behind the order of the poems. The next intellectual step might be to reexamine other poets and their works, to see if anyone else used a similar chaotic pattern. As for Poem 51, the otium stanza is presently occasionally discounted by scholars owing to the possibility that its placement is not deliberate. Were it known to be deliberate, it might be taken as a change of direction, a moment of self-flagellation, or a moment when Catullus give himself to self-loathing.

Presentation on Gaisser Chapter 6

Interpretive Approach: Reader Response Criticism

Textual citation contributes meaning, according to modern scholars who invoke reader response criticism to maintain that meaning is contributed when and if the reader recognizes the reference. The test of an interpretation’s validity is if it makes sense in the context of the poem and the work.

Gaisser’s Argument

Catullus’ poems are a system, and they are more powerful when taken as a whole. Catullus’ poems are not a closed system – they are filled with references and allusions to and translations of other poetry, both in Latin and Greek, and particularly the poetry of Sappho.

Textual citation contributes meaning, according to modern scholars who invoke reader response criticism to maintain that meaning is contributed when and if the reader recognizes the reference. The test of an interpretation’s validity is if it makes sense in the context of the poem and the work.

Vocabulary and meter

Poem 70

Uses the same meter, structure and vocabulary as the Callimachus poem

Differs from Callimachus poem by being present and personal and switches the gender of the actors. The differences are striking because of the established similarities.

Poem 101

Uses the same vocabulary as the opening of the Odyssey by Homer and similar vocabulary to a passage from the Aeneid. Aeneas is discoursing with the dead, but Catullus, in his less magical age, can only interact with ashes. Odysseus also had a partially failed journey as he made him home but did not bring his comerades home safely. The reference to Troy in the poem by Homer invokes the reader’s memory of Catullus’ brother’s death at Troy.

Translations

Poems 50 and 51

Poem 50 is a cover letter, reminding his friend of the fun they had with playing with poetry.Poem 51 is a translation from Sappho. The translation mimics Sappho’s meter, strophe, and narrative content. Catullus’ poem differs in the exact structure and is more personal, naming names. Catullus also changes the gender of the observer and adds an additional stanza. If we consider the cover letter and translation the opening moves of a poetry game, and giving Lesbia the name he does evokes both Clodia and Sappho. The final stanza sets the poem firmly in the frame of leisure.

Poem 11

Linked by meter to poem 51 and the two have been taken as the beginning and end of the affair. Both use identidem and both are translations from Sappho and change the gender of the speaker. Both characters in Catullus’ poem are double-gendered: Catullus is the victim twice and Lesbia the destroyer twice.

Poems 65 and 66

Cover letter to a translation to a friend; poem 66 is a translation from Callimachus. The intertexts of poem 65 are similes, invoking characters and stories told in other poems. The first simile refers to a character in the Odyssey, and the second refers to a story from Aetia by Callamachus. In poem 65, the translation of Callimachus poems also evokes the loss of Catullus’ brother. The themes of loss and grief in poem 65 recall the content of Catullus’ other poems.

Timelines

Poem 64

The intertext is the story. The story of the Argos, of Medea after Jason, of Ariadne and Theseus, and the how the Argo is the very first ship, but the poem ends with its maiden voyage. The story starts with dicuntur, which marks it as allusive from the beginning. The wedding night of a passenger on the Argos is covered with a tapestry that tells the story of Theseus and includes his swift ship. Time is jumbled here. The allusions superimpose “the chronologically impossible voyages of Theseus and Jason.”

• Specify the scholarly contribution that the study makes

Scholarly Contribution

·         Purposes and types of allusions in Catullus

·         Insight into the education and poetic style of Catullus

·         Model for an effective use of reader response criticism

Brief Critique

This is an excellent article. It is focused, clearly argued, and the structure is linear and foundational. The citations are relevant, support the argument, and the scope of the allusions follow a logical progression.

Questions

1. How does Gaisser back up her claims in this article?

·         By showing specific relationships (vocabulary, context, poetic structure) that clearly show that Catullus must have put some conscious effort in reflecting the themes and content of already existing poems and other works.

·         By side-to-side analysis of the Catullan poem and the poem he was trying to emulate. Intertextuality, in its purest form.

·         By assessing their alleged Greek and Roman models, showing us where a line might correlate to a Homeric of Sapphic line, where it might diverge and why. 

·         A very detailed textual exegesis of individual words and phrases, such as multa, examining allusions to writers such as Homer, Callimachus and Sappho.

·         Explores the importance of meter, poetic structure and Catullus’ creative translations with his own variations of Callimachus. 

·         Intertextual references (Sappho, Homer, Ennius, Vergil) and presents

·         A side-by-side comparison with Catullus to makes her points nearly indisputable.

·         By numerous citations of other ancient writers such as Callimachus, Vergil, Homer, Sappho, etc.

·         Presents them immediately following one another so the similarities cannot be ignored. 

·         Includes references to recent scholarship, as shown in her notes at the end of the chapter, but those are significantly fewer.

2. What is the utility to Catullus in changing the gender of the authorial voice?

·         To fully compliment an author who writes in one voice.

·         Make his poem more personal (less generic) and also more emotional, as men had the tendency to mask theirs.

·         Effectively display and or justify his frantic emotional state, and his readers no doubt familiar with this trope would appreciate it. 

·         Tipping his hat to his callimachian and sapphic models, whom he wants to reflect his appreciation for, and he displays his wit in the process

·         Conforms to the elegaic convention of a female domina and her submissive male counterpart.

·         An effort by catullus to earn some sympathy from his readers, in that he is the passive one in the relationship and is being pressed upon by the more persistent lesbia.

·         Allows him to identify with the female persona, and portray emotions through her thoughts and words.

·         Reflects his relationship with lesbia in his role as both victim and active agent. It displays how (much like in 85) he's femininely receiving the brunt of woe from lesbia.

·         Plays on his role as the victim of the unfaithfulness of lesbia.  This turns the tables on the gender roles of the romans, which were similar to the ones in place in our time.

3. Gaisser mentions multiple ways Catullus alludes to other works in his poems. What are some of the ways?

·         The Lesbia poems are a direct reference to Sappho (Lesbia a pseudonym for Clodia as well as a descriptive term for Sappho of Lesbos). 

·         Translated a Callimachean poem in Catullus 66 and

·         Treats Callimachean themes throughout his elegies.  He also

·         Uses the same syntax and structure as various poets throughout his work, as in the epic meter in Catullus 64, reflecting Vergil and Homer.

·         Alludes in the ekphrais of the coverlet in 64 to the works of Euripides, Apollonius, Ennius

·         Alludes to his own poems on numerous occasions. 

·         Metrically (Sapphic meters of 11 and 51),

·         Adjectivally (65 with variants of quanta for Homeric (polla) and Vergil (multa))

·         Thematically (Medea figures and Callimachean ideology).

·         Constant stressing of repetitious actions(multa/polla), along with the piety to his brother and Trojan locale of his brother's death. 

·         The Sapphic allusions give physical-through Clodia- and literary, through supposed interest in Sappho- drive to his own poetic inspiration. 

·         Homer and epic most notably in poem 64, which carries on epic themes. 

·         He also transmits the poems of Callimachus, 65 and 116, into Latin and changes them to fit in with his work. 

·         He also alludes to Sappho as Gaisser shows in her side by side comparison of the two. 

·         By fitting his poems in with the language, meter, and subject matter of previous writers stating that he deserves to be placed in their midst.

·         Repetition of certain key words ("multa" being the main).

·         Sapphic meter.

·         Callimachean theme.

4. What does the intertextuality in Catullus 64 add to a reading of the poem?

The intertextual allusions in Catullus 64 add a depth and richness to the poem that would not exist.  By mimicking the style and structure of the epic poems of Homer and Vergil, Catullus gives 64 a weight that his other poems seemingly do not have.

Catullus mocks Callimachus by writing the same kind of poem - a mini epic that isn't epic. It was perhaps laughable, while at the same time read as a very good book. Much like Twilight was a laughable, but serious, homage to Dracula.

Catullus 64 is an especially learned poem. Gaisser’s investigation of the allusions to the Medea story and to Euripides, Apollonius, Ennius add a great deal to our understanding of the literary background and the emotional nuances of the poem.

Catullus alludes to his own poems in reference to poem 64. His description of Ariadne’s madness, for example, seems to be related to his description of the madness of Attis in 63. Please indulge me, the literary treatment of madness is a favorite topic of mine. Ariadne laments the family and culture of Crete she has left behind in Crete, while Attis laments the state, his family, and the cultural institutions he has abandoned. Both poems demonstrate the creative use of words related to madness, including the coining of new words; a prayer to send madness or disaster to other people; and the use of meter (frequent dactyls in one, the galliamabic meter in the other) to convey an aspect of madness.

It really highlights Catullus' mastery of poetry and even his likeness to Callimachus. Catullus, like Callimachus, shows in 64 that he could have written epic but chose not to. As Gaisser points out, he successfully imitates Homer, Vergil, Ennius, and Apollonius -- probably the most major four names in epic. So, in a sense, even though 64 is an epyllion it possesses a concentration of epic themes that is beyond impressive.

64 is a formidable poem and a intense study of the heroine, which is the dominant motif of the epyllion genre.  Through an attentive use of different sources, Catullus creates a fantastical rendering of the stories of Peleus and Thetis, the Argonauts, and of Ariadne.  The greatest effect seems to be that characters, such as Medea and Ariadne, and chronological impossibilities converge to create a highly charged and multi-dimensional narrative.

As we saw in the Clausen article, Catullus is using clearly epic themes without actually writing an epic.  The characters of Theseus and Ariadne bring up mythoological references and epic themes, but his meter and the focus on the heartbreak and love place him in the realm of elegy.  Gaisser points this out to show how unique and skillful this poem was.

5. How do Catullus' translations of Sappho interpret, allude to, and mimic the original Greek?

First and foremost, Catullus translates Sappho in her original, Sapphic, meter in Catullus 51.  Additionally, Catullus’ translation of Sappho 31 in his 51^st poem very closely mimics the original, save for the fact that the gender roles are reversed for the observer and an additional stanza is added, which is not clearly related to the other three.

I can't contribute any new information (the three or four guys before me beat me to it). But yes, the meter is uniquely the same, and the gender reversal, and also the scene with the godly man and the woman are all similar.

First and foremost, Catullus translates Sappho in her original, Sapphic, meter in Catullus 51.  Additionally, Catullus’ translation of Sappho 31 in his 51^st poem very closely mimics the original, save for the fact that the gender roles are reversed for the observer and an additional stanza is added, which is not clearly related to the other three.

Catullus 51 is a creative translation of a Sapphic poem, using the same meter of Sapphic strophes. There are numerous minor variations, but the last stanza of Catullus 51 has no counterpart in the Sappho original. Part of Gaisser’s effectiveness in comparing Catullus’ and Sappho’s poems lies in her argument that Catullus 51 not only imitates Sappho, but resonates with other poems in the Catullan corpus, e.g., 50.

His use of the Sapphic meter is perhaps the most obvious similarity. As has been said, gender role reversal does occur (appropriate for poets both with homo/bisexual preferences), but both poems are also structurally and thematically linked but Catullus add his own additional stanza.

As both Phil and Gaisser state, the affinities between Sappho 31 and Catullus 51 are very close, both composed in the same meter with similar themes, and their concern with "delirious passion."  Catullus interprets this poem through his translation and of using it as a front-piece for his own emotional problems.  Gaisser does not work actively enough with the Greek text to make a more learned comparison. 

The Sapphic translations of Catullus fit in with the Sapphic meter and form.

If we look at Gaisser's example, we can see the obvious counterparts in Catullus.  Although there are minor variations, this again shows the skill of Catullus in mimicking a poet whom few were able to imitate skillfully.

Discussion of the Wiseman article

1) In Wiseman's introductory section, we find a bold claim. What is Wiseman's bold claim and what are the three assumptions he claims the Classical world has wrongly made?

Wiseman claims that modern readers and scholars of Latin are only relatively informed about the culture and events of the late Republic, and that we are only knowledgeable at all when compared to what we know about other time periods of Rome. He also claims that three mistaken assumptions are repeated again and again when it comes to building a picture of the world First, that the information we have of that time is privileged and indicative of the time. Second, that the end of the Republic marked a deep change in Roman life. Third, that their world is analogous to ours, and that the expectations and assumptions we have of our own world can be applied to that time period unless directly contradicted.

2) What is the purpose of Wiseman's sections titled: Cruelty and Sexual Mores? Does it help argue against any of the three assumptions?

Wiseman's Cruelty and Sexual Mores sections are deliberately shocking and provocative, and they are intended to jolt the reader out of the comfortable assumption that the Romans' world would be familiar to us. It does indeed argue directly against the third of Wiseman's assumptions, and it argues indirectly against the first two - these were the practices and mores both before and after the fall of the Republic, and just because they are not the most popular topic in the extant literature, they are no less a shaper and indicator of the culture.

Bonus: What torture method did you find most painful?

Burning and flogging with metal whips.

 

3) What approach to Catullus does Wiseman use? Feminist? New Historicism?

New Historicism - Wiesmann uses external evidence, including contemporary writers, inscriptions, and archeology to sketch out the world in which Catullus lived, and thereby to shed light on the possible interpretations and intentions of Catullus' work.

 

4) How does Wiseman use miming as a literary tool to describe Clodia (and therefore extend the description to Catullus)?

Miming works by utilizing and playing with broad stereotypes. By naming Clodia as both a participant and a writer of these mimes, Wiseman sketches a picture of Clodia as a stereotype as well. If Clodia is this stock, distasteful character, then that also says something about the poet who obsessed about her.

 

5) Having read the first two chapters of Wiseman's book, what would you guess the third chapter would concern?

The third chapter would most likely be like the second chapter: a biographical treatise on a major character in Catullus' work, possibly one of his male contemporaries.

 

6) Wiseman began his book with three assumptions, one of which that stated we assume too much incorrectly. Why, then, does it seem he makes his own assumptions without any more citation than we have already been given? (This question is too informal to be seriously dwelled upon, but the fact that he has some pretty heavy assumptions of his own strikes me as hypocritical...)

It is impossible to write while making no assumptions at all. Presumably Wiseman did not consider his assumptions to be baseless, or else he considered them to be so axiomatic they did not require substantiation.

 

7) How does Wiseman contribute to the study of elegiac traditions? Does he add anything original that may be supported in other works (say, perchance, Ovid's case, or Gallus)?

 

As these writers were also participants in the Rome in which Catullus lived, especially if one does not subscribe to Wiseman's second assumption, then the background and world-building Wiseman engages in for Catullus would also be helpful in understanding the work of Ovid or Gallus.

Sep 20 Assignment

I need to study more

1.  Catullus in Performance by Marilyn Skinner article
2. Authorial Arrangement of the Collection: Debate Past and Present by Marilyn Skinner article
3. Translate Catullus 68:119-160 and Catullus 110-114
4. Translate the poems for the commentary 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, and 110-114

Notes for the Commentary:

• Wiseman gives the historical background.
• Skinner gives theoretical background and summarizes the order of the poems
• Gaisser discusses intertextuality and all the different kinds of them

In the commentary, try to bring the intertextualities into the comments. Bring the historical background, and bring some of the theoretical analysis.

The ideal reader for the commentary is someone in Latin 201.

On the Skinner article:
The different kinds of textual audiences as actual, authoritative, narrative, and ideal audiences.

A Piece of Prufrock

And indeed there will be time
To wonder, "Do I Dare?" and, "Do I dare?"
Time to turn back and descend the stair,
With a bald spot in the middle of my hair--
...
No! I am not Prince Hamlet, nor was meant to be;
Am an attendant lord, one that will do
To swell a progress, start a scene or two,
Advise the prince; no doubt, an easy tool,
Deferential, glad to be of use,
Politic, cautious, and metickous;
Full of high sentence, but a bit obtuse
At time indeed, almost ridiculous--
Almost, at time, the Fool.

T. S. Eliot

Sep. 13 Assignment

There are many images of To Do lists on the Internet

1. Begin the Catullan commentary. Choose 50 lines for the commentary and translate.
2. Read articles and prepare questions. Send questions out by Thursday latest.
3. Read other two articles and answer questions.
3. Prepare class presentation on my article.
4. Read Hallett's paper and the response.

Attic Nights of Aulus Gellius, Book 19.9.9-11

The beginning of a semester of love poetry

I translated the following and must compare it to the Loeb translation, which was provided.

• The Loeb translation seemed very close, much closer than the Loeb translations of other authors.
• The translations of the comparative adjectives in paragraph 10 seemed to be related to the definitions I found, but not exactly.
• The translation of Aedituus' verses does not contain the charm and wordplay of the original. Neither does my own translation.

9 Sed ne nos, id est nomen Latinum, tamquam profecto vastos quosdam et insubidos anaphrodisias condemnetis, permittite mihi, quaeso, operire pallio caput, quod in quadam parum pudica oratione Socraten fecisse aiunt, et audite ac discite nostros quoque antiquiores ante eos, quos nominastis, poetas amasios ac venerios fuisse."	But lest you condemn us, who are of the Latin name, as if we were surely empty of certain aphrodisiacs and foolish, permit me, I beg, to cover my head, which they say equally in certain that Socates did during an embrrassing oration, and listen and learn from us that our forefathers, before those whom you named, were lovers and devotees of Venus."
10 Tum resupinus capite convelato voce admodum quam suavi versus cecinit Valerii Aeditui, veteris poetae, item Porcii Licini et Q. Catuli, quibus mundius, venustius, limatius, tersius Graecum Latinumve nihil quicquam reperiri puto.	Then, reclining with a covered head, he chanted in a somewhat sweet voice verses of Valerius Aedituus, an ancient poet, and likewise of Licinius Porcius and Quintus Catulus, to which I consider nothing to found more elegant, more charming, more luminous and more terse.
11 Aeditui versus: dicere cum conor curam tibi, Pamphila, cordis, quid mi abs te quaeram, verba labris abeunt, per pectus manat subito subido mihi sudor: sic tacitus, subidus, dum pudeo, pereo.	The verses of Aedituus: When I try, Pamphilius, to speak the emotion in my heart, what shall I seek for me from you? Words fail my lips, Through my breast a sudden sweat creeps: Thus silent, I am infused; while I blush, I perish.

From "Epigrammata" by Ennius and CIL I.2

A few epigrams I needed to translate for class. They explicate some of the history of elegiac poetry. Ennius was an early elegiac poet, while Scipio Hispanus was from an illustrious family.

 

From Epigrammata by Ennius

Aspicite o cives senis Enni imaginis formam, Hic vestrus panxit maxima facta patrum. Nemo me lacrimis decoret nec funera fletu Faxit, cur? volito vivos per ora virum.	Look closely, citizens, at the statue of the face of old Ennius, this garment settled with the greatest deeds of the father. No one adorns me with tears nor makes my funeral with weeping, and why? I live lives through the mouths of men.
A sole exorienta supra Maeotis paludes Nemo est quo factis aequiperare queat. Si fas endo plagas caelestum ascendere cuiquam est. Mi soli caeli maxima porta patet.	From the lonely dawn above the swamp of Maeotus, There is no one who is able to become an equal through deeds. If he does, it is divine will that ascends him to heaven above his wounds. The greatest gate to my only heaven stands open.

CIL I.2 15=Bucheler, CE 958

Cn. Cornelius Cn. F. Scipio Hispanus/pr. aid. cur. q.tr.mil. II,X vir sl. iudik/X vir sacr. fac.

Virtutes generis mieis moribus accumulavi, Progeniem genui, facta patris petiei. Maiorum optenui laudem, ut sibei me esse creatum Laetentur: stirpem nobilitavit honor.

I have added to my habits virtues of a kind, I gave birth to children who come after, I sought for the deeds of my father. I held for the praise of my ancestors, so that they are gladdened that I am born from them: honor ennobles a family.

Amores 3.9 by Ovid

Tibullus, the poet in question on the funeral pyre

This passage we started translating by sight in class.

• This is not a religious poem. He points out that the pious and poets die just as dead as the wicked.
• There are a lot of allusions, and I don't think I got them all. I should have done this earlier in the week so I could study it for the allusions and to discover what is really going on, but I have more to translate before class.

Memnona si mater, mater ploravit Achillem,     et tangunt magnas tristia fata deas, flebilis indignos, Elegia, solve capillos!     a, nimis ex vero nunc tibi nomen erit! — ille tui vates operis, tua fama, Tibullus     ardet in extructo, corpus inane, rogo. ecce, puer Veneris fert eversamque pharetram     et fractos arcus et sine luce facem; adspice, demissis ut eat miserabilis alis     pectoraque infesta tundat aperta manu!	If his mother lamented Memnon, if his mother lamented Achilles, and the saddened fates touch the great goddesses, tearful Elegy, loosen your unworthy locks of hair! Now, name enough will come to you from truth! This poet of your work, your fame, Tibullus, burns in an empty funeral pyre, an empty body. Behold, the Venus's little boy carries an upturned quiver and broken bows and a torch without light; Look close, you will see how he goes and pounds his bare chest with droopy wings and a troubled hand!
excipiunt lacrimas sparsi per colla capilli,     oraque singultu concutiente sonant. fratris in Aeneae sic illum funere dicunt     egressum tectis, pulcher Iule, tuis; nec minus est confusa Venus moriente Tibullo,     quam iuveni rupit cum ferus inguen aper. at sacri vates et divum cura vocamur;     sunt etiam qui nos numen habere putent. Scilicet omne sacrum mors inportuna profanat,     omnibus obscuras inicit illa manus! quid pater Ismario, quid mater profuit Orpheo?     carmine quid victas obstipuisse feras? et Linon in silvis idem pater 'aelinon!' altis     dicitur invita concinuisse lyra. adice Maeoniden, a quo ceu fonte perenni     vatum Pieriis ora rigantur aquis —	His loose curls scatter his tears around his neck, And his words echo with agitated groans. Thus they say that he at the funeral of his brother Aeneas was marched out from under his roofs, lovely Iulus; No less is Venus confounded by the dying Tibullus, than when a wild boar destroyed the groin of her young man.  But we, the sacred poets, are called the special concern of the gods; They are those who consider us to have godliness. Of course, inoportune death profanes everything sacred, her hand strikes the obscure with everything! What did his father Ismarius, what did his mother profit Orpheus? What did it profit Orpheus that the conquered wildings were amazed? And similarly, his father Apollo was said to have celebrated Linon -  alas! - in the highest forest with his unwilling lyre. Add to this Homer, from whom, just like an unfailing spring, the mouths of poets are drenched with Pierian water --
hunc quoque summa dies nigro submersit Averno.     defugiunt avidos carmina sola rogos; durant, vatis opus, Troiani fama laboris     tardaque nocturno tela retexta dolo. sic Nemesis longum, sic Delia nomen habebunt,     altera cura recens, altera primus amor. Quid vos sacra iuvant? quid nunc Aegyptia prosunt     sistra? quid in vacuo secubuisse toro? cum rapiunt mala fata bonos — ignoscite fasso! —     sollicitor nullos esse putare deos.	Indeed here the final day caused Homer to sink into the black Avernus, the river in Hades His songs alone escaped the greedy funeral fires; the work of a poet endures, the fame of Trojan labors and the tardy textile weaving is unravlled in a nightly trick. Thus Nemesis, thus Delia will have long names, the one  a recent care, the other his first love. How do sacred things help you? Now how does the Egyptian rattle profit you? What profit is there to you to have slept apart from your lover in an empty bed? When malicious fates seize good men - pardon this confessor! - I am worried that I think that the gods are nothing.
vive pius — moriere; pius cole sacra — colentem     mors gravis a templis in cava busta trahet; carminibus confide bonis — iacet, ecce, Tibullus:     vix manet e toto, parva quod urna capit!	Live pious - and you die; While pious, cultivate sacred things - death drags the cultivator from his solemn temples into an empty tomb; Trust in the good songs - and behold, there Tibullus lies; from the whole, he scarcely remains, a poor part of him the urn captures!
tene, sacer vates, flammae rapuere rogales     pectoribus pasci nec timuere tuis? aurea sanctorum potuissent templa deorum     urere, quae tantum sustinuere nefas! avertit vultus, Erycis quae possidet arces;     sunt quoque, qui lacrimas continuisse negant. Sed tamen hoc melius, quam si Phaeacia tellus     ignotum vili supposuisset humo. hinc certe madidos fugientis pressit ocellos     mater et in cineres ultima dona tulit; hinc soror in partem misera cum matre doloris     venit inornatas dilaniata comas, cumque tuis sua iunxerunt Nemesisque priorque     oscula nec solos destituere rogos. Delia discedens 'felicius' inquit 'amata     sum tibi; vixisti, dum tuus ignis eram.' cui Nemesis 'quid' ait 'tibi sunt mea damna dolori?     me tenuit moriens deficiente manu.' Si tamen e nobis aliquid nisi nomen et umbra     restat, in Elysia valle Tibullus erit. obvius huic venias hedera iuvenalia cinctus     tempora cum Calvo, docte Catulle, tuo; tu quoque, si falsum est temerati crimen amici,     sanguinis atque animae prodige Galle tuae. his comes umbra tua est; siqua est modo corporis umbra,     auxisti numeros, culte Tibulle, pios. ossa quieta, precor, tuta requiescite in urna,     et sit humus cineri non onerosa tuo!	You, sacred poet,pyres of flames take away and do not fear to feed upon your breasts. The flames, which sustain all wickedness, would have been able to burn the golden temples of the sacred gods! She turned away her face, she who possesses the citadels of Eryx; and they are there who refuse to hold back the tears. But nevertheless this is better, than if Phaescian earth had buried you unknown in common dirt. Here, certainly, the mother pressed the little crying eyes of the fleeing and in ashes she gives her final gifts. Here the miserable sister, to share grief with the mother, comes with disordered hair hanging in pieces. And with your female kin Nemesis and Delia  unite lips to abandon the lonely pyres. Delia, withdrawing, said " I was better loved by you; you lived while I was yours in the flame." To whom Nemesis said, "Why are my losses a sorrow to you? Dying he held me in his weakening hand." Nevertheless, if from us anything remains except a name and a shadow, Tibullus will be in the Elysian field. Learned Catullus, may you come to meet Tibullus, wreathed with ivy around his youthful brow, with your Calvus. And Gallus, generous with your blood and soul, may you meet him, if the charge of desecrated friendship against is false. Your shade is courteous is polite to these poets: if just any things are a shadow of the body, elegant Tibullus, you augmented pious numbers. Rest your quiet bones and your heart in the safe urn, and let not the earth be a burden to your ashes!