Catullus 70: Jupiter? Really Lesbia?

While working through this little poem with a Latin class today, I was struck by the thought that Lesbia (Clodia?) was probably playing Catullus all along:

Nulli se dicit mulier mea nubere malle
My woman says that she prefers to be married to no one

quam mihi, non si se Iuppiter ipse petat.
than to me, not even if Jupiter himself would seek her.

dicit: sed mulier cupido quod dicit amanti,
She says that: But what a woman says to a desirous lover,

in vento et rapida scribere oportet aqua.
she should write in the wind and rushing water.

He's astute enough to know that lovers hyperbolize in the throes of passion. But even in this realization he implies that her pillow talk is sweet to him.

So what was it exactly that Lesbia said? We can confidently dismantle the Indirect Statement construction and reassemble the likely Direct Statement antecedent:

"Mallem me nubere nulli quam tibi! Ni Iuppiter ipse me petat!"
"I would prefer to be married to no one than to you! Not even if Jupiter himself should seek me!"

But here's the thing. They all surely know their Mythology even better than us, right?

What woman who knows her Mythology seriously wants Jupiter to court her? It never turns out well for the woman. First of all, he's not available to be married. He has a wife, Juno, and she's the one who always makes Jupiter's lovers suffer cruelly in the end.

Think of the nymph Io, turned into a cow by Juno.

And then there's Semele. Juno tricks her into asking her lover Jupiter to show his godhead to her, knowing it would burn her alive.

So Lesbia tells Catullus that she would rather marry him than Jupiter. In the context of Mythology this is akin to saying "I'd rather marry you than marry Saddam Hussein!"

Starry-eyed Catullus couldn't read between the lines.

Let us Live, My Lesbia, and Let us Love. Vivamus mea Lesbia atque Amemus

By Keith Massey, PhD.  Connect with me on Google+ and Twitter. Explore my novels at Lingua Sacra Publishing.
 



The famous first line of Catullus 5.

Vivamus, mea Lesbia, atque Amemus. Let us live, my Lesbia, and let us love.

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NEW EVIDENCE FOR THE UNITY OF CATULLUS 2 AND 2B

1. Introduction

One of the most enduring controversies in Catullan studies is the question of what relationship, if any, Poem 2 has to the three lines conventionally labeled 2B. The ten lines of Poem 2 address the pet sparrow of the poet's love interest:





 
 









Passer, deliciae meae puellae,
quicum ludere, quem in sinu tenere,
cui primum digitum dare appetenti
et acris solet incitare morsus,
cum desiderio meo nitenti
carum nescio quid lubet iocari
et solaciolum sui doloris,
credo ut tum gravis acquiescat ardor:
tecum ludere sicut ipsa possem
et tristis animi levare curas!

The three lines of 2B, despite being connected to 2 in the received manuscripts (with Poem 3 following), present a sudden shift in topic, tone and grammatical subject:
 
Tam gratum est mihi quam ferunt puellae
pernici aureolum fuisse malum,
quod zonam soluit diu ligatam.

In the wake of initial suspicions regarding the manuscript presentation of their unity in the 16th century, there have been successive waves of scholarship for and against the unity of these lines up to the present day. Modern scholars have presented positions along the entire spectrum of rejecting or supporting the unity of the current texts, positing a unity but assuming a lacuna between the two, or emending the text to alleviate the apparent disjointedness of the two pieces.
I will not, in this post, revisit or assess the particular strengths and weaknesses of the previous research on this topic. All sides could probably agree that reasonable and cogent arguments have been made for multiple possible opinions. Indeed, barring the unlikely discovery of a manuscript predating those which led to the current divide, no literary or philological argument will end all debate on the matter.
What I will present here is an entirely new line of reasoning in favor of the unity of 2 and 2b. An examination of alliterative patterns used by Catullus will suggest that the three lines of 2b are indeed the conclusion of the piece.

2. Alliteration in Catullus

Like other poets, Catullus used alliteration and assonance liberally.  This stylistic effect could occur throughout the line but could also include repetitions at the beginning of successive lines.  In Poem 5, Catullus produces alliteration and assonance throughout the line, as well as displaying line initial patterns:
 
Vivamus mea Lesbia, atque amemus,
rumoresque senum severiorum
omnes unius aestimemus assis!
soles occidere et redire possunt:
nobis cum semel occidit brevis lux,
nox est perpetua una dormienda.
da mi basia mille, deinde centum,
dein mille altera, dein secunda centum,
deinde usque altera mille, deinde centum.
dein, cum milia multa fecerimus,
conturbabimus illa, ne sciamus,
aut ne quis malus inuidere possit,
cum tantum sciat esse basiorum.

Following four lines with prominent alliteration and assonance internally, Catullus closes the piece with a line initial pattern of AABBBBCDC.
This is no isolated effect. Catullus also uses alliteration and assonance to produce what appears to be intentional patterns. In Poem 40, for instance, he alternates all but one line with either a /k[w]/ or a vowel:
 
Quaenam te mala mens, miselle Ravide,
agit praecipitem in meos iambos?
Quis deus tibi non bene advocatus
vecordem parat excitare rixam?
An ut pervenias in ora vulgi?
Quid vis? Qualubet esse notus optas?
Eris, quandoquidem meos amores
cum longa voluisti amare poena.



 3. Initial Alliteration in 2 and 2B

If line initial patterns are indeed part of the inventory of literary effects Catullus employed, there emerges an intriguing proof of the unity of 2 and 2B. Note that following the first two lines, Catullus produces a consistent initial line alliterative pattern in 2.3-10:

Passer, deliciae meae puellae,
quicum ludere, quem in sinu tenere,

/p/  /q/

cui primum digitum dare appetenti
et acris solet incitare morsus,
cum desiderio meo nitenti

/c/ /et/ /c/

carum nescio quid lubet iocari
et solaciolum sui doloris,
credo ut tum gravis acquiescat ardor:

/c/ /et/ /c/

tecum ludere sicut ipsa possem
et tristis animi levare curas!

/t/ /et/ /.../


The predicted next letter, in a pattern produced by intentionality, is a /t/. Note now the first letters of 2B:

Tam gratum est mihi quam ferunt puellae
pernici aureolum fuisse malum,
quod zonam soluit diu ligatam.


Not only do we witness the predicted /t/, but the final two lines repeat the same /p/ and /q/ seen in lines 1 and 2.
Taken together, 2 and 2B produce a highly symmetrical alliterative pattern:

Passer, deliciae meae puellae,
Quicum ludere, quem in sinu tenere,

Cui primum digitum dare appetenti
ET acris solet incitare morsus,
Cum desiderio meo nitenti

Carum nescio quid lubet iocari
ET solaciolum sui doloris,
Credo ut tum gravis acquiescat ardor:

Tecum ludere sicut ipsa possem
ET tristis animi levare curas!
Tam gratum est mihi quam ferunt puellae

Pernici aureolum fuisse malum,
Quod zonam soluit diu ligatam.


6. Conclusion

Catullus certainly considered initial line alliteration and assonance to produce an effect at his artistic disposal. He also displays a marked tendency toward overall symmetry in the construction of his poetry. The observation that 2B completes 2 in a symmetrical alliterative pattern is at least suggestive evidence for the unity of the poems. Accepting them as a unified whole does not remove the very real difficulties in explaining the seeming semantic and syntactic disjointedness of the pieces. But, despite these problems, the alliterative patterns may suggest that more work should be spent in trying to make the marriage of the two somehow work.

Catullus 5: Let us Live and Love

Here's a music video I made for perhaps the most famous love poem ever written:

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