6

Catullus addresses this poem to his friend Flavius, imploring him to share the not-so-secret news about his new lover. After chastising Flavius for his shameful silence, Catullus insists that Falvius’ bed, pillows, and very own body give away the reality of the affair. In the end, Catullus reassures Flavius that he wants to hear (and write about) Flavius' love affair, whether good or bad. Catullus' use of crude language, such as febrīculōsī

scortī (lines 4-5) and latera ecfutūta  (line 13), largely contrast with more sophisticated features in the middle section of the poem, such as his personification of the bed (lines 7-8) and the imagery of shaken pillows and a shaking couch (lines 9-11). This framing of artful poetry within vulgar, invective verses produces a sense of irony, contributing further to Catullus’ teasing of his friend.

Meter: hendecasyllabics

1: Flāvī: vocative singular; an acquaintance of Catullus known only from this poem

1: dēliciās tuās: “your delight, your darling”; dēliciāe is an irregular noun with a plural form and a singular meaning; direct object of velles (line 3).

2: nī sint: “if she were not”; the verb is plural because the subject refers back to dēliciās tuās (line 1); ni sets up a mixed condition with sint (present subjunctive) and velles and posses (imperfect subjunctives) in line 3;  illepidae (“uncharming”) and inēlegantēs (“inelegant”) also describe Flavius’ love

4: nescio quid febrīculōsī scortī: “some feverish courtesan”; febrīculōsī scortī is a partitive genitive (AG§ 346) after the indefinite nescio quid, the direct object of dīligis (line 5)

5: hoc pudet fatērī: “this causes (me) shame to confess”; fatērī is deponent present infinitive

6: tē nōn…iacēre: “(that) you did not lie”; indirect statement introduced by clāmat (line 7)

6: viduās…noctēs: “for celibate nights”

7: tacitum cubīle: “quiet bed”; subject of clamat 

8: fragrans: “fragrant (with)” + ablative; present active participle modifying cubile (line 7)

9: pulvīnusque … attrītus: “both the cushion and the creaking”; both subjects of an understood clamat

9: peraequē: “equally” 

9: et hic et ille: “both this and that” 

10: tremulīque quassa lectī: “ shaken (creaking) of the trembling bed”; quassa modifies argūtātio (line 11)

11: argūtātio inambulātiōque: “creaking and the pacing motion”; both nouns are nominative singular

12: valet: “(nothing) is strong enough (to)” + infinitive; note the repetition of nil and nīhil

13: latera ecfutūta: “(your) sides exhausted from sexual activity”; direct object of pandās

13: pandās: “you would (not) expose”; Catullus reverts to  an archaic use of the present subjunctive (and not the imperfect subjunctive)  in a present contrary-to-fact condition

14: nī tū…faciās: “if you had not committed”; another archaic use of the present subjunctive in a present contrary to fact condition (AG§ 513)

14: quid… ineptiārum: “any cleverness”; ineptiāe is an irregular noun with a plural form and a singular meaning; ineptiārum is a partitive genitive with quid; after nī, quid = aliquid

15: quidquid habēs bonī malīque: “whatever you have (of) good and evil”; bonī malīque is partitive genitive after quidquid