Nūllī sē dīcit mulier mea nūbere mālle
quam mihi, nōn sī sē Iuppiter ipse petat.
Dīcit: sed mulier cupidō quod dīcit amantī,
in ventō et rapidā scrībere oportet aquā.
notes
Lesbia has made a bold promise to Catullus, invoking the almighty Jupiter to emphasize the extent of her devotion, but Catullus, along with his readers, soon discovers that her declaration was just a lie that changed as fast as the waters and the winds. As this poem reveals, Lesbia can both enchant and destroy Catullus with only her words.
Meter: elegiac couplets
1 Nūllī: first dative singular after nūbere (the second dative is mihi, line 2).
1 dīcit: introduces indirect statement (sē…mālle); the verb is critical to the poem and Catullus repeats it for emphasis in line 3.
1 mulier mea: “my woman” or even “my wife”; in the polymetrics Catullus often refers to Lesbia as mea puella (Cf. 2.1 and 3.3).
1 nūbere: “to marry” + dative; complementary infinitive (AG 456) after mālle.
2 quam: “other than.”
2 nōn sī…petat: “not if (Jupiter) should seek”; present subjunctive in a future less vivid condition (AG 516.b).
3 cupidō…amantī: “to a desirous lover”; dative singular.
3 quod: “that which” or “what”; direct objective (accusative singular) of dīcit.
4 oportet: “it is fitting” + infinitive.
vocabulary
nūbō nūbere nūpsī nūptum: get married
Iuppiter Iovis m.: Jupiter or Zeus, chief of the Olympian gods; by metonymy, the weather, wind, sky
cupidus –a –um: desirous, eager
amāns –antis: sweetheart, lover
rapidus –a –um: strongly flowing, swiftly moving, rapid; scorching, consuming