.
 
.

Catullus 84

Arrius has an annoying habit of speech; he must get it from his family. Everyone is relieved that he has left Rome, but now they hear he is up to his old tricks in the East.

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!

back to the Catullus poems

 

Back to the top

Chommoda dicebat, si quando commoda vellet
dicere, et insidias Arrius hinsidias,
et tum mirifice sperabat se esse locutum,
cum quantum poterat dixerat hinsidias.
credo, sic mater, sic liber avunculus eius,.............5
sic maternus avus dixerat atque avia.
hoc misso in Syriam, requierant omnibus aures;
audibant eadem haec leniter et leviter,
nec sibi postilla metuebant talia verba,
cum subito affertur nuntius horribilis,...................10
Ionios fluctus, postquam illuc Arrius isset,
iam non Ionios esse sed Hionios.

  Back to the top
Meter: elegiacs.
1. chommoda: Arrius' mispronunciation of commoda; i.e., "hadvantages" instead of "advantages".
2. hinsidias: "hambushes" instead of "ambushes".
3. se esse locutum: indirect statement set up by sperabat.
7. hoc misso: Ablative Absolute; 
omnibus aures: literally, "the ears for everyone".
8. eadem haec: Accusative neuter plural.
9. sibi: "for themselves".
11. Ionios fluctus: Accusative plural, subject of indirect statement set up by affertur (line 10); take with esse (line 12), infinitive in indirect statement; 
isset: ivisset or iisset, pluperfect subjunctive of eo, ire.
12. Hionios: "Hionian" instead of "Ionian."
  Back to the top
back to the Catullus poems
.
 
.
.
last updated October 17, 2003
comments, corrections?