Lesbia made a promise to the gods, but she used the worst choice of words (see poem
49). Catullus, worried that the gods will take her literally,
asks Venus to let the vow be absolved in a different way.
Click on the words in the poem
below to get vocabulary information.
Please, if you see errors, let
me know about them so I can fix them!
Annales Volusi, cacata carta,
votum solvite pro mea puella.
nam sanctae Veneri Cupidinique
vovit, si sibi restitutus essem
desissemque truces vibrare iambos,.......................5
electissima pessimi poetae
scripta tardipedi deo daturam
infelicibus ustulanda lignis.
et hoc pessima se puella vidit
iocose, lepide, vovere divis..................................10
nunc o caeruleo creata ponto,
quae sanctum Idalium Uriosque apertos
quaeque Ancona Cnidumque harundinosam
colis quaeque Amathunta quaeque Golgos
quaeque Durrachium, Hadriae tabernam,..............15
acceptum face redditumque votum,
si non illepidum neque invenustum est.
at vos interea venite in ignem,
pleni ruris et infacetiarum
annales Volusi, cacata carta..................................20
Volusi: Genitive. Volusius was an epic poet;
cacata: 4th principal part of caco; modifies carta.
7.
daturam: sc. se and esse for indirect statement set up by
vovit (line 4).
8.
ustulanda: "to be burned"; gerundive modifying scripta (line 7).
9.
se vovere: Indirect Statement set up by vidit.
11.
Beginning of a prayer to Venus.
12.
quae: take with colis (line 14), "you who dwell/inhabit".
12ff.
Idalium, Urii, Ancon, Cnidos, Amathus, Golgi, and Durrachium were places sacred to Venus. All are direct objects of
colis; apertos: with Urios; harundinosam: with Cnidum; Hadriae tabernam: in apposition with Durrachium, "the inn of the Adriatic Sea".
16.
face: imperative setting up indirect statement, "make it so
that...". Sc.
esse with acceptum and redditum; Subject Accusative of
the indirect statement is
votum.