9

Catullus celebrates the return of his friend Veranius from administrative duty in Spain. He is overjoyed to welcome Veranius home and to hear all about his time abroad. 

Meter: hendecasyllabics

1: Vērānī: vocative singular; Catullus mentions Veranius in Poems 12, 28, and 47.

1: omnibus ē meīs amīcīs…mīlibus trecentīs: “from all my 300,000 friends”

2: antistans mihi: “standing out to me”; mihi is an ethical dative or a dative of advantage (AG§ 376)

3: vēnistīne: “did you come?”; -ne introduces a “yes” or “no” question

3: domum: “home”; accusative of place to which

4: (ad) frātrēsque ūnanimōs: “and (your) like-minded bothers”

4: (ad) anumque mātrem: “and (your) old mother”

6: Vīsam tē incolumem: “I will go and see you safe and sound”; vīsam is first singular future tense

6: Hibērum…loca, facta nātiōnēs: “the places, deeds, (and) peoples of the Spanish”; Hibērum is genitive plural

7: nārrantem: “talking (of)”; present active participle, modifying tē in line 6

8: ut: “as” 

8: applicānsque collum: “and drawing close your neck”; applicāns modifies “I”, the subject of suāviābor (line 9)

9: iūcundum ōs: “pleasant mouth”; direct object of suāviābor (line 9); iūcundum is placed so that it could also modify collum (line 8)

9: suāviābor: “I will kiss”; first singular future deponent verb

10: quantum est: “however many there is”

10: hominum beātiōrum: “of rather blessed people”; partitive genitive after quantum; beātiōrum is a comparative genitive plural 

11: mē: “than I”; ablative of comparison

11: quid…laetius est beātiusve: “what is happier or more blessed?”; laetius and beātius are comparative neuter nominative singular forms