Hūc est mēns dēducta tuā mea, Lesbia, culpā
atque ita sē officiō perdidit ipsa suō,
ut iam nec bene velle queat tibi, sī optima fīās,
nec dēsistere amāre, omnia sī faciās.
notes
Catullus discusses the effects that Lesbia’s “blame” has had on him. It has affected his mind. He does not know whether to wish well or badly for her. It appears as though Catullus has already lost Lesbia. He effectively describes the internal struggle of a betrayed lover and speaks not only for his time but even for our own.
Meter: elegiac couplets
1 Hūc: “to this point.”
1 est … dēducta: “(my mind) has been led down.”
2 sē: “itself”; direct object of perdidit.
2 officiō … suō: “by its own duty”; this phrase combined with sē and ipsa emphasizes Catullus’ sense of self-responsibility even though he acknowledges that Lesbia is also at fault.
3 ut…nec: introduces a negative result clause (AG 537.a) with a present subjunctive verb queat.
3 bene velle … tibi: “to wish you well.”
3 sī optima fīās: “if you should become the best”; fīās is a present subjunctive in a future-less-vivid condition (AG 516.b).
4 omnia: “all (bad) things”; direct object of faciās.
4 sī faciās: “if you should do”; faciās is a present subjunctive in a future-less-vivid condition.