Catullus’ Carmen 16? Not under 16!

Old books can hold you back in the past. Take Catullus, for instance. For years I’ve read his poems in a gorgeous 1653 edition (A Paris, chez De Luyne), wondering why people regard him as a sulphurous author—then I read a recent translation.

The 1653 edition of Catullus’ poems is a bilingual edition—the problem is, I don’t read Latin. So I have to trust M.D.M’s when he translates “paedicabo ego vos, & inrumabo” as “I’ll do weird things to you”. The MDM initials actually stand for Michel de Marolles (1600-1681), a learnt man, but a man of his time—and a priest. It’s therefore advised to read his translation with caution. Not that it ought to be softened—on the contrary! Catullus (84 BC-54 BC) was from Verona, and he’s known for his painful relationship with Lesbia, who had hundreds of lovers, an incestuous relationship with her brother and who eventually murdered her husband. So he knew the dark side of life, and of vocabulary, to such an extent that Marolles openly censored him—no translator was actually bold enough to faithfully translate Catullus until the 20^th century. Georges LaFaye is one of them, who published a translation in 2022. And boy, I hardly recognize my Catullus! I’ll let you judge for yourself, which Catullus sounds better.

1. To Aurelus and Fury alias Carmen 16 (Marolles):

I’ll do weird things to you, and I shall not spare you, infamous Aurelus, nor you dissolute Fury, who both claim I have little modesty, because my little verses are somehow sluggish. (...) I’ll do weird things to you anytime you’re ready, and I shall not spare you.

Faye’s translation:

I’ll fuck you in the ass and I will face-fuck you, Aurelus the Giton (a “giton” is a young man maintained by an elderly one), and you fucked up Fury, who claim I have little modesty because my little verses are licentious (...) I’ll fuck you in the ass and I will face-fuck you.

2. To Thalus (Marolles):

You effeminate Thalus, softer then the hair of a young rabbit, or than a goose’s bone marrow or even an earlobe... or of a spider’s web, etc. Note: Marolles left three little dots to avoid translating a full sentence (see below in brackets).

Faye’s translation:

Fucking Thallus, softer than a rabbit’s hair, a goose’s bone marrow, an earlobe (or the flabby thing of an old man), etc.

3. To Gellius (Marolles):

What should I say, Gellius, about your pinkie lips that are whiter than the winter snow when you come out in the morning after the eighth hour takes you out of your effeminate slumber? There must be something about it, or is it true what people say about it? etc. (the rest can’t be translated).

Note: Marolles here openly refuses to translate the rest of the poem and he doesn’t say why. Was it lost in time? Hum, there must be something about it. Let’s see what Faye has to say:

Faye’s translation:

What is it, Gellius? How come your pinkie lips turn white as the winter snow when you come out in the morning, when the eighth hour of a long day takes you out of your nonchalant snap? There’s a reason for that, no doubt about it. Is it true, what people say, that you swallow the big dick of a man? Yes, this is it. That’s what the exhausted sides of the little Hector and your lips soiled with sperm proclaim.

In his note about the infamous “face-fucking” poem, Marolles states: “Let’s admit Catullus uses weird terms here, as it is impossible to render them in their own significance.” To be honest, this sentence is impossible to be understood in its own significance. Anyway, for centuries Catullus’ derogatory words were ahead of their time as no one dared translating them. Nowadays, high officials publicly boast about grabbing things by the pussy, and everybody laughs; artists rub their genitals on stage and everybody applauds—Catullus’ poem would go unnoticed nowadays. Poetic times we’re living in.

T. Ehrengardt

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Catullus’ Carmen 16? Not under 16!

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Catullus’ Carmen 16? Not under 16!

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