Notes to Catullus, Carmina3

lugeo, -ere, luxi, luctum
mourn, grieve, lament; lugete is the present active imperative.
Venus, , -eris, f.
Venus, the Roman goddess of love, beauty, fertility; the word also refers to qualities associated with the goddess: charm, grace, amours.
Cupido, -inis, m.
Cupid, the winged god of love, son of Venus. The enclitic –que brings the names of the gods together, capturing their close connection (see also Carmina 13.12).
quantum, relative pronoun
which amount of; with est, followed by the partitive genitive hominum venustiorum.
venustus, -a, -um,
charming, attractive, graceful; a comparative here, it modifies hominum. Venustus occurs often in the Carmina; as a pun on Venus’ name, it invites another meaning: more devoted to Venus. The line is noteworthy for its -um word endings (homoioteleuton), the mournful sounds suggesting grief.
passer, -eris m.
small bird; it is usually taken to be a sparrow. The repetition of passer at the beginning of lines 3-4 sounds like a lament, a calling upon the dead (see Carmina 101.2,6,10).
morior, -iri, mortuus/a sum
deprived of life, dead.
puella, -ae f.
girl, sweetheart (in Roman love poetry); female child; girl; daughter. Although the poet doesn't name her here, the puella is Lesbia, the true subject of his poem (see ll. 4, 17).
deliciae, -arum, f. pl.
pleasure, delight; darling; pet (animal). Catullus opened Carmina 2.1 with the same phrase in a different mood, envying the lively sparrow's access to Lesbia's person and affection.
qui, quae, quod relative pronoun
who, which; that, what; the antecedent is passer in line 4.
plus, pluris
more. Comparative of multus, it introduces the ablative of comparison.
ille, illa, illud pronoun
that one. Illa, the subject of the verb amabat, refers to the unnamed Lesbia.
oculus, oculi, m.
eye; ablative of comparison with suis.
suus, a, um reflexive possessive adjective
his own, her own, its own; modifies oculis in an ablative of comparison construction.
mellitus, -a, -um
honey-sweet.
nosco, -ere, novi, notum
know, be acquainted with. Understand puellam (or dominam) with suam. Norat is the syncopated form of the pluperfect active tense (noverat) .
ipse, ipsa, ipsum pronoun adjective
self; actual; the very one. Note the embracing word order: ipsam, which opens the line, modifies the last word, matrem.
tam . . . quam correlative adverb
as . . as; comparative construction with bene.
nec conjunctive adverb
and not; nor.
sese reflexive pronoun
him/herself; i.e., passer. A variant of the accusative se; in scansion it elides with a[b].
gremium, -i, n.
lap; bosom; note the elision between gremio and illius (Lesbia).
moveo, -ere, movi, motum
move, stir, arouse. Note the tense of the verb.
circumsilio, -ire, --
hop about, jump around.
huc adverb
to this place; here.
modo . . . modo correlative adverb
now, at one moment ... at another. Note how the double elision (modo huc modo illuc), repetition and homoioteleuton convey the bird's movements.
illuc adverb
to that place, there. Note the parallel with illuc and unde below in l. 12.
solus, -a, -um
only; alone.
domina, -ae, f.
mistress, lady, wife. Elsewhere Catullus uses this term for Lesbia (Carmina 68B.68 and 156); perhaps he understands that his relationship with her is not unlike her pet bird's.
usque , adverb
continuously; all the time. Translate with pipiabat.
pipio (I)
chirp, cheep. The verb is onomatopoeic, adding sound to the description of the sparrow's movement. The word only occurs elsewhere in Columella (8.5.14), where it is applied to chickens.
qui, quae, quod
who, which, that, what; known as the connecting relative pronoun, or “linking qui,” when used as the subject of a sentence, it should be translated as is.
eo, ire, ivi, itum
go.
iter, itineris, n.
journey, way, road.
tenebricosus, -a, -um
shadowy, dark, shrouded; an unusual substitution for tenebrosum.
unde adverb
whence, from where; the line is quoted in Seneca's Apocolocyntosis 11.
nego (I)
deny; say not; refuse; followed by indirect statement.
redeo, -ire, -ii, -itum
return, come back; an infinitive in indirect statement.
quisquam, quaequam, quicquam pronoun
any, anyone, anything; subject of the infinitive in indirect statement. Even in myth, mortals do not return from the Underworld. While several heroes descended to the Underworld and returned, only two women did so: Alcestis (Euripides), assisted by Heracles, and Eurydice (Ovid, Metamorphoses 10.1-85), assisted by Orpheus.
at conjunction
but; indicates a change in subject, from description to direct address.
vobis personal pronoun
you; 2nd person plural, dative of reference (specifically of disadvantage). The addressees are malae tenebrae.
male adverb
badly, wrongly; unfortunately; from malus -a –um. With sit, the optative subjunctive, it is a curse. Note how the doleful repetitions: male . . .malae (l.13) and male (l. 16), emphasize the lament.
tenebra, -ae f.
darkness; with malae it is the antecedent of quae (l. 14).
Orcus, -i, m.
Orcus, god of the underworld who punished broken oaths; it came to mean the place itself (as Hades).
bellus, -a, -um
pretty, beautiful, handsome; smart; translate as a substantive with omnia. It is echoed in l. 15, where it is limited by the dative of reference (mihi).
devoro, (I)
devour, swallow.
aufero, -ferre, abstuli, ablatum
carry away, steal.
factum, -i n.
deed.
misellus, -a, -um
poor little; a colloquial expression, it is the diminutive of miser.
opera, -ae, f.
care; pain; work; an ablative of agency, it is addressed to the bird.
fleo, -ere, -evi, -etum
cry, mourn. Flendo = gerund, ablative of means.
turgidulus, -a, -um
poor swollen; diminutive of turgidus.
rubeo, -ere, --
be red; redden; blush.
ocellus, -i, m.
little eye (emotional language); darling. The closing paired diminutives (turgiduli) suggest the poet's real goal -- to recover the attention of his puella.


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