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Catullus and the Emperor Hadrian himself understood that racy verse is no proof of the immorality of the author (1-4).  Acknowledging such verses openly is a sign of innocence; hiding them would be a sign of guilt (5-6).

(1)

Sed sumne ego ineptus …: suddenly, in the middle of the expositions relating to literary history, a brief sarcastic question is launched at the accusers (Hunink).

ineptus: "pedantic," in saying things that everyone attending the trial already knows.

calumniōsī: supply estisne.

quī haec: supply dixī.

quī etiam haec: supply dixistī.

ūllum specimen mōrum: "any indication of a person's personal mōrēs."

versibus lūdere: subject of sit.

(2)

Catullum: via metonymy, his poetry.

malivolīs: "detractors," "malicious critics."

Nam castum … necesse est: Catullus 16.5–6.

(3)

Dīvus Adriānus: the adjective is functional here: it places the example of Hadrian beyond the human level. Hadrian was known as a lover of Greek culture and literature in general; his biographer in the Historia Augusta even adds: in voluptatibus nimius; nam et de suis dilectis multa versibus composuit. Amatoria carmina scripsit. ("He ran to excess in the gratification of his desires, and wrote much verse about the subjects of his passion. He composed love-poems too." 14.9); the last phrase may be a gloss (Hunink).

Vocōnī: there is no mention of this writer elsewhere. He can hardly be identified with Voconius Romanus, the fellow student of Pliny the younger, who must have been some fifteen years older than Hadrian, and who is not mentioned after Bk. Ill of the letters (AD 101) and the fourth letter to Trajan (AD 99-101) (B/O).

mūnerārētur: here deponent (B/O). mūneror + acc. + abl. "to adorn x with y." 

forent ... habenda: "were to be considered,” "ought to be considered."

lepidiōra: "rather witty," "amusing."

(4)

id genus: "of this type," i.e., erotic verse. The scanty remains of Hadrian's verse contain nothing that belongs to this genre (Hunink). On the construction, see note on 3.9.

legere mē meminī: the stative sense of meminī seems to here transfer to its complementary infinitive: "I remember that I have read."

audē ... dīcere id male fierī: "dare to say that this is done badly." One manuscript reads audes igitur, "will you then dare...?"

sīs = sī vīs.

id ... quod: “(the same) thing which,” i.e., the act of writing frisky poems.

imperātor et cēnsor: the censorship was never held by Hadrian. 

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This passage, at least, is the only evidence that would support such a view, and considering the silence of the inscriptions it would be absurd to insist on a literal interpretation of the words of Apuleius. Domitian had made himself censor perpetuus (Dio Cass. 47.4), but his successors let the office lapse. Trajan was offered it, but refused it (Plin. Pan. 45). The powers of the censor from the time of Domitian onward were, however, all held by the princeps, apparently ex officio without any further enactment (cp. Greenidge, Roman Public Life, p. 347). Apuleius' language, therefore, although it is the language of flattery and not literally correct, is not seriously inaccurate. He wishes to speak of Hadrian as the guardian of public morals and therefore calls him censor. As a matter of fact Hadrian's private morals were far from edifying. But it is natural that Apuleius should speak of him in terms of flattery. He had been a popular emperor and was the adoptive father of the reigning princeps (B/O).

memoriae: "for posterity" LS memoria II. The deified emperor not only wrote verses such as these but evidently considered them a proud part of his legacy rather than hiding them away or ordering them to be burned.

(5)

Cēterum: "furthermore"; adverbial, proceeding to the next point (LS ceterus II.A.3).

quicquam ... quod: "anything that."

factum: supply esse for the indirect statement after sciat. The subject is quod.

culpātūrum: supply esse for indirect statement after putas, "will declare (something) a crime" LS culpo II.

sciat: subj. in a relative clause of characteristic with an indefinite antecedent.

tantō ... quantō: (with the comparatives) "that much more ... the more ...."

sānctiōrēs: "more innocent," "blameless," or "virtuous” (OLD sanctus 4).

apertiōrēs: "more open," "undisguised," or "frank."

simplicius: "more straightforward," "guileless," or "candid."

professī: "openly declared," LS profiteor II.E.

(6)

dissimulāre et occultāre peccantis: dissimulāre et occultāre is to be taken collectively as the singular subject of an implied est. peccantis is genitive of characteristic of the substantival present participle > pecco, "to do wrong," so: "to hide and dissemble (is characteristic) of a guilty (person)." This is a common construction with a subject infinitive (AG 343.c). The same construction is used in the following clause.

naturā: adverbial, "naturally," or "by nature's dispensation" (Jones).

distribūta: "are allotted to" + dat. (OLD distribuo 1.b, used of functions etc.). The participle is neuter plural nominative, agreeing collectively with vox and silentium. Each noun has a dative indicating what it is allotted to or belongs together with.