List of poems by Catullus explained

This article lists the poems of Catullus and their various properties.

Catullus' poems can be divided into three groups:^[1]

• the polymetrics (poems 1 - 60)
• the long poems (poems 61 - 68)
• the epigrams (poems 69 - 116)

Historical context

Catullus (c. 84 BC – c. 54 BC) lived in the waning days of the Roman Republic, just before the Imperial era that began with Augustus. Catullus is the chief representative of a school of poets known as the poetae novi or neoteroi, both terms meaning "the new poets". Their poems were a bold departure from traditional models, being relatively short and describing everyday occurrences and intense personal feelings; by contrast, traditional poetry was generally large and epic, describing titanic battles among heroes and gods. These avant-garde poets drew inspiration from earlier Greek authors, especially Sappho and Callimachus; Catullus himself used Sapphic meter in two poems, Catullus 11 and 51, the second of which is almost a translation. His poems are written in a variety of meters, with hendecasyllabic verse and elegiac couplets being the most common by far.

Catullus is renowned for his love poems, particularly the 25 poems addressed to a woman named Lesbia, of which Catullus 5 is perhaps the most famous. Scholars generally believe that Lesbia was a pseudonym for Clodia and that the name Lesbia is likely an homage to Sappho, who came from the isle of Lesbos. Catullus is also admired for his elegies, especially Catullus 101 and Catullus 96, for his hymn to his homeland, Sirmio, in Catullus 31, and for his many depictions of everyday life in ancient Rome, such as Catullus 4, Catullus 10, and Catullus 13. Finally, he was well-nigh infamous even in his own time for his fierce, sometimes obscene, invectives against faithless friends (e.g., Catullus 12, Catullus 16, and Catullus 116), faithless lovers (Catullus 8, Catullus 30, Catullus 58, and Catullus 70), corrupt politicians (Catullus 28, Catullus 29), and bad poets (Catullus 14 and Catullus 44).

Catullus was admired in ancient times for his elegantly crafted poems, and inspired many of the next generation of poets, especially Ovid, Tibullus, and Sextus Propertius. Even Virgil and Horace are also known to have adopted some elements of his poetry, although the latter was also critical of his work. Martial seems to be the only later Latin poet to be influenced significantly by Catullus. Catullus is mentioned by a few other Roman scholars, such as Pliny the Younger and Quintilian, and by St. Jerome. Since Catullus' work was not adopted as part of a classical curriculum, it was gradually forgotten over time, although one Bishop Rather of Verona is said to have delighted in reading his poems c. 965 AD. That changed c. 1300 AD, with the discovery of a manuscript that contained 116 poems by Catullus.

Main list

The table below lists all of Catullus' extant poems, with links to the full text, the poetic meter, the number of lines, and other data. The entire table can be sorted according to any column by clicking on the arrows in the topmost cell. The "Type" column is color-coded, with a

green font indicating poems for or about friends, a magenta font marking his famous poems about his Lesbia, and a red font indicating invective poems. The "Addressee(s)" column cites the person to whom Catullus addresses the poem, which ranges from friends, enemies, targets of political satire, and even a sparrow.

Poem !! Text !! First line !! Meter^[2] !! # lines !! Type !! Themes !! Addressee(s) !! Reading

		Latin: Cui dono lepidum novum libellum?		10	Friends	Gifts to friends, poems
		Latin: Passer, deliciae meae puellae		10	Lesbia	A young woman and her pet bird	Lesbia's sparrow
		Latin: tam gratum est mihi quam ferunt puellae		3	Lesbia
		Latin: Lugete, o Veneres Cupidinesque		18	Lesbia	Eulogy to the girlfriend's pet bird
		Latin: Phaselus ille quem videtis, hospites	iambic trimeter (pure iambic type)	27	Miscellaneous	An old boat, once fast, entering retirement	A little boat
		Latin: Vivamus, mea Lesbia, atque amemus		13	Lesbia	Brief lives and many kisses	Lesbia
		Latin: Flavi, delicias tuas Catullo		17	Friends	Uncovering a friend's love life	Flavius
		Latin: Quaeris quot mihi basiationes		12	Lesbia	Never growing tired of kissing	Lesbia
8		Latin: Miser Catulle, desinas ineptire	choliambic	19	Lesbia	Getting over being dumped	Himself
		Latin: Verani, omnibus e meis amicis		11	Friends	A friend's homecoming	Veranius
		Latin: Varus me meus ad suos amores		34	Invective	Caught in a boast	Varus' girlfriend
		Latin: Furi et Aureli, comites Catulli		24	Lesbia	Dumping a promiscuous girlfriend	Furius and Aurelius
		Latin: Marrucine Asini, manu sinistra		17	Invective	Shaming a napkin thief	Asinius Marrucinus
		Latin: Cenabis bene, mi Fabulle, apud me		14	Friends	Partying on a friend's dime	Fabullus
		Latin: Ni te plus oculis meis amarem		23	Invective	Despising pompous poetry	Bad poets
		Latin: Si qui forte mearum ineptiarum		3	Miscellaneous	Risqué poetry	His readers
		Latin: Commendo tibi me ac meos amores		19	Invective	Hands off my boy-toy (cf. 21)	Aurelius
		Latin: Pedicabo ego vos et irrumabo		14	Invective	Nasty reply to critics	Aurelius and Furius
		Latin: O Colonia, quae cupis ponte ludere longo	priapean (= glyconic + pherecratean)	26	Invective	My acquaintance, the utter dunce
		Latin: Aureli, pater esuritionum		13	Invective	Hands off my boy-toy (cf. 15)	Aurelius
		Latin: Suffenus iste, Vare, quem probe nosti	choliambic	21	Invective	Everyone deceives themselves	Suffenus
		Latin: Furi, cui neque servus est neque arca		27	Invective	Nasty insults to whole family	Furius
		Latin: O qui flosculus es Iuventiorum		10	Invective	Don't give in to his seductions!	Juventius
		Latin: Cinaede Thalle, mollior cuniculi capillo	iambic tetrameter catalectic	13	Invective	Give me back my stuff, expressed beautifully	Thallus
		Latin: Furi, villula vestra non ad Austri		5	Invective	Losing the farm to debt	Furius
		Latin: Minister vetuli puer Falerni		7	Miscellaneous	Out with water, in with wine!	His cupbearer
		Latin: Pisonis comites, cohors inanis		15	Invective	Screwed over by politicians	Memmius
		Latin: Quis hoc potest videre, quis potest pati?	iambic trimeter (pure iambic type)	25	Invective	Waste of money by politicians
		Latin: Alfenus immemor atque unanimis false sodalibus		12	Invective	Boyfriends can't be trusted (cf. 70)	Alfenus
		Latin: Paene insularum, Sirmio, insularumque	choliambic	14	Miscellaneous	A hymn to homecoming
		Latin: Amabo, mea dulcis Ipsitilla		11	Friends	Get ready for me	Ipsitilla
		Latin: O furum optime balneariorum		8	Invective	Father thief, son gigolo	Vibennius, Sr. and Jr.
	Latin English	Latin: Dianae sumus in fide		24	Miscellaneous	Hymn to Diana
		Latin: Poetae tenero, meo sodali		18	Friends	Please don't go	His papyrus
		Latin: Annales Volusi, cacata carta		20	Lesbia	Burning bad poetry to win love	Annals of Volusius
		Latin: Salax taberna, vosque contubernales	choliambic	20	Lesbia	Girlfriend left for richer men	Egnatius
		Latin: Male est, Cornifici, tuo Catullo		8	Friends	Why aren't you comforting me?	Cornificius
		Latin: Egnatius, quod candidos habet dentes	choliambic	21	Invective	Smiling hypocrite	Egnatius
		Latin: Quaenam te mala mens, miselle Ravide		8	Invective	Threatening a romantic rival	Ravidus
		Latin: Ameana puella defututa		8	Invective	woman asking for money (political)	Ameana
		Latin: Adeste, hendecasyllabi, quot estis		24	Invective	the effectiveness of politeness	His own verses
		Latin: Salve, nec minimo puella naso		8	Invective	Insulting Mamurra's girlfriend	Ameana
		Latin: O funde noster, seu Sabine seu Tiburs	choliambic	21	Invective	Head colds and cold writing	Publius Sestius
		Latin: Acmen Septimius suos amores		26	Friends	Over-the-top love poem
		Latin: Iam ver egelidos refert tepores		11	Miscellaneous	the springtime urge to wander	His friends
		Latin: Porci et Socration, duae sinistrae		7	Invective	unworthy become rich	Porcius and Socration
		Latin: Mellitos oculos tuos, Iuventi		6	Juventius	Not tiring of kissing	Juventius
		Latin: Disertissime Romuli nepotum		7	Invective	Praise of a politician-or not
		Latin: Hesterni, Licini, die otiosi		21	Friends	Exchanging poetry between friends	Calvus
		Latin: Ille mi par esse deo videtur		16	Lesbia	The feeling of love; translation of Sappho	Lesbia
		Latin: Quid est, Catulle? quid moraris emori?		4	Invective	Suicidal thoughts at the current political situation	Self
53		Latin: Risi nescio quem modo e corona		5	Invective	The crowd's thoughts on a friend's rhetoric	Calvus, Vatinianus
		Latin: Othonis caput oppido est pusillum		7	Invective	Direct attack on Julius Caesar's followers	Otho, Libo, Sufficius, and Julius Caesar
55		Latin: Oramus, si forte non molestum est	hendecasyllabic (decasyllabic)	33	Friends	Tracking down a lover	Camerius
		Latin: O rem ridiculam, Cato, et iocosam		7	Friends	Surprise threesome	Cato
		Latin: Pulcre convenit improbis cinaedis		10	Invective	Abominable sodomites	Julius Caesar and Mamurra
		Latin: Caeli, Lesbia nostra, Lesbia illa		5	Lesbia	My (our) ex is a slut now	Caelius
		Latin: Non custos si fingar ille Cretum	hendecasyllabic (decasyllabic)	10	Friends	Tracking down a lover, part II	Camerius
		Latin: Bononiensis Rufa Rufulum fellat	choliambic	5	Invective	Adultery and graverobbing	Rufa and Rufulus
		Latin: Num te leaena montibus Libystinis	choliambic	5	Invective	Hard-hearted benefactor
		Latin: Collis o Heliconii		235	Friends	Marriage hymn on occasion of friends' wedding	Junia and Manlius
		Latin: Vesper adest, iuvenes, consurgite: Vesper Olympo	dactylic hexameter (lyric type)^[3]	66	Miscellaneous	Girls and boys share views on marriage	Wedding guests
		Latin: Super alta vectus Attis celeri rate maria		93	Miscellaneous	Attis, who castrated self to be with Cybele
		Latin: Peliaco quondam prognatae vertice pinus	dactylic hexameter (epic type)	408	Miscellaneous
		Latin: Etsi me assiduo confectum cura dolore	elegiac couplets	24	Friends	Writing poetry after his brother's death	Hortalus
		Latin: Omnia qui magni dispexit lumina mundi	elegiac couplets	94	Miscellaneous	translation of Callimachus
		Latin: O dulci iucunda viro, iucunda parenti	elegiac couplets	48	Miscellaneous
		Latin: Quod mihi fortuna casuque oppressus acerbo	elegiac couplets	40	Friends	To Mallius(?)	Mallius(?)
		Latin: Non possum reticere, deae, qua me Allius in re	elegiac couplets	120	Lesbia	To Allius, with thanks	Allius
		Latin: Noli admirari, quare tibi femina nulla	elegiac couplets	10	Invective	Clean up your act!	Rufus
		Latin: Nulli se dicit mulier mea nubere malle	elegiac couplets	4	Lesbia	Girlfriends can't be trusted (cf. 30)
		Latin: Si cui iure bono sacer alarum obstitit hircus	elegiac couplets	6	Invective	On the contagiousness of gout and stink
		Latin: Dicebas quondam solum te nosse Catullum	elegiac couplets	8	Lesbia		Lesbia
		Latin: Desine de quoquam quicqum bene velle mereri	elegiac couplets	6	Invective	Can't trust anybody
		Latin: Gelius audierat patruum obiurgare solere	elegiac couplets	6	Invective	Poor uncle	Gellius
		Latin: Huc est mens deducta tua mea, Lesbia, culpa	elegiac couplets	4	Lesbia	Helpless in love	Lesbia
		Latin: Siqua recordanti benefacta priora voluptas	elegiac couplets	26	Lesbia		The gods
		Latin: Rufe mihi frustra ac nequiquam credite amice	elegiac couplets	6	Invective	I thought we were friends!	Rufus
		Latin: Gallus habet fratres, quorum est lepidissima coniunx	elegiac couplets	6	Invective		Gallus
		Latin: sed nunc doleo, quod purae pura puellae	elegiac couplets	4	Invective
		Latin: Lesbius est pulcer. quid ni? quem Lesbia malit	elegiac couplets	4	Lesbia	She loves her brother a little too much	Lesbius
		Latin: Quid dicam, Gelli, quare rosea ista labella	elegiac couplets	8	Invective		Gellius
		Latin: Nemone in tanto potuit populo esse, Iuventi	elegiac couplets	6	Juventius	How could you prefer him to me?	Juventius
		Latin: Quinti, si tibi vis oculos debere Catullum	elegiac couplets	4	Friends		Quintius
		Latin: Lesbia mi praesente viro mala plurima dicit	elegiac couplets	6	Lesbia	She insults me because she still cares	Lesbia's husband
		Latin: Chommoda dicebat, si quando commoda vellet	elegiac couplets	12	Invective	Making fun of pronunciation	Arrius
		Latin: Odi et amo. Quare id faciam, fortasse requiris?	elegiac couplets	2	Lesbia	Inner turmoil
		Latin: Quintia formosa est multis. mihi candida, longa	elegiac couplets	6	Lesbia	What's beauty without charm?
		Latin: Nulla potest mulier tantum se dicere amatam	elegiac couplets	4	Lesbia	Depth of my love	Lesbia
		Latin: Quid facit is, Gelli, qui cum matre atque sorore	elegiac couplets	8	Invective	Incest in the family	Gellius
		Latin: Gellius est tenuis: quid ni? Cui tam bona mater	elegiac couplets	6	Invective	Incest in the family II	Gellius
		Latin: Nascatur magus ex Gelli matrisque nefando	elegiac couplets	6	Invective		Gellius
		Latin: Non ideo, Gelli, sperabam te mihi fidum	elegiac couplets	10	Lesbia	Since she's not your relative, I thought you'd stay away	Gellius
		Latin: Lesbia mi dicit semper male nec tacet umquam	elegiac couplets	4	Lesbia	Lesbia and I are the same
		Latin: Nil nimum studeo, Caesar, tibi velle placere	elegiac couplets	2	Invective	I don't like you	Julius Caesar
		Latin: Mentula moechatur. Moechatur mentula? Certe.	elegiac couplets	2	Miscellaneous		Cock
		Latin: Zmyrna mei Cinnae nonam post denique messem	elegiac couplets	10	Invective		Volusius
		Latin: Parva mei mihi sint cordi monimenta ...	elegiac couplets	10	Miscellaneous
		Latin: Si quicquam mutis gratum acceptumve sepulcris	elegiac couplets	6	Friends	On the death of Calvus' wife	Calvus
		Latin: Non (ita me di ament) quicquam referre putavi	elegiac couplets	12	Invective	On Aemilius's oral hygiene	Aemilius
		Latin: In te, si in quemquam, dici pote, putide Victi	elegiac couplets	6	Invective		Victius
		Latin: Surripui tibi, dum ludis, mellite Iuventi	elegiac couplets	16	Juventius	Regretting a stolen kiss	Juventius
		Latin: Caelius Aufillenum et Quintius Aufillenam	elegiac couplets	8	Friends		Caelius
		Latin: Multas per gentes et multa per aequora vectus	elegiac couplets	10	Friends	An elegy for a brother	His brother
		Latin: Si quicquam tacito commissum est fido ab amico	elegiac couplets	4	Friends		Cornelius Nepos
		Latin: Aut sodes mihi redde decem sestertiis, Silo	elegiac couplets	4	Invective	Give me back my money	Silo
		Latin: Credis me potuisse meae maledicere vitae	elegiac couplets	4	Lesbia
		Latin: Mentula conatur Pipleium scandere montem	elegiac couplets	2	Miscellaneous		Cock
		Latin: Cum puero bello praeconem qui videt esse	elegiac couplets	2	Miscellaneous
		Latin: Si quicquam cupido optantique optigit umquam	elegiac couplets	8	Lesbia		Lesbia
		Latin: Si, Comini, populi arbitrio tua cana senectus	elegiac couplets	6	Invective	A fitting punishment	Cominius
		Latin: Iucundum, mea vita, mihi proponis amorem	elegiac couplets	6	Lesbia	Lifelong love	Lesbia and the gods
		Latin: Aufillena, bonae semper laudantur amicae	elegiac couplets	8	Invective		Aufillena
		Latin: Aufillena, viro contentam vivere solo	elegiac couplets	4	Invective		Aufillena
		Latin: Multus homo es, Naso, neque tecum multus homo (est quin)	elegiac couplets	2	Invective		Naso
		Latin: Consule Pompeio primum duo, Cinna, solebant	elegiac couplets	4	Invective		Maecilia
		Latin: Firmano saltu non falso Mentula dives	elegiac couplets	6	Miscellaneous		Cock
		Latin: Mentula habet instar triginta iugera prati	elegiac couplets	8	Miscellaneous		Cock
		Latin: Saepe tibi studioso animo venante requirens	elegiac couplets	8	Invective		Gellius

Bibliography

• Book: Forsyth PY . 1986 . The Poems of Catullus: A Teaching Text . University Press of America . Lanham, MD . 978-0-8191-5151-3.
• Book: Green P . 2005 . The Poems of Catullus: A Bilingual Edition . University of California Press . Berkeley, CA . 978-0-520-24264-7.

Further reading

The following is merely a listing of a few sources that English-speaking readers may find useful in pursuing further research on Catullus. Critical edition/textual criticism

• Book: Trappes-Lomax JM . 2007 . Catullus: A Textual Reappraisal . The Classical Press of Wales . Swansea . 978-1-905125-15-9.
• Book: Thomson DFS . 1997 . Catullus . University of Toronto Press . Toronto . 978-0-80200-676-9.

Latin editions

• Fordyce, C. J. (1961). Catullus: A Commentary by C. J. Fordyce. Oxford.
• Book: Garrison DH . 2004 . The Student's Catullus . 3rd . University of Oklahoma Press . Norman, OK . 978-0-8061-3635-6.
• Book: Ancona R . 2004 . Writing Passion: A Catullus Reader . Bolchazy-Carducci . Wauconda, IL . 978-0-86516-482-6.
• Book: Quinn K . 1976 . Catullus: The Poems . Macmillan; St. Martin's Press . New York . ASIN B000K1UE9G.

English translations

• Book: Balmer J . 2004 . Catullus: Poems of Love and Hate . Bloodaxe Books . Highgreen, Tarset, Northumberland . 978-1-85224-645-7.
• Book: Mulroy D . 2002 . The Complete Poetry of Catullus . University of Wisconsin Press . Madison, WI . 978-0-299-17770-6.
• Book: Martin C . Charles Martin (poet) . 1990 . The Poems of Catullus . Johns Hopkins University Press . Baltimore . 978-0-8018-3925-2.
• Book: Raphael F, McLeish K . 1978 . The Poems of Catullus . Jonathan Cape . London . 978-0-224-01599-8.
• Book: Sisson CH . C. H. Sisson . 1966 . Catullus . MacGibbon and Kee . London . ASIN B000PHOUEU.
• Book: Copley FO . 1957 . Gaius Valerius Catullus: The Complete Poetry . The University of Michigan Press . Ann Arbor, MI . 57010149.

Bilingual editions

• Book: Green P . Peter Green (historian) . 2005 . The Poems of Catullus: A Bilingual Edition . University of California Press . Berkeley, CA . 978-0-520-24264-7.
• Book: Sesar C . 1974 . Selected Poems of Catullus . Mason and Lipscomb . New York . 978-0-88405-077-3.
• Book: . 1931 . The Poems of Catullus . registration. Covici-Friede . New York . ASIN B000NXJ7IU.

Catullus' vocabulary

• Book: Wetmore MN . 1961 . Index Verborum Catullianus . reprint of the 1912 edition published by Yale University Press and by Oxford University Press . Georg Olms Verlagsbuchhandlung . Hildesheim . ASIN B0007ITYOI. A concordance specifying the poem, line and case in which each word appears, e.g., hortulus appears in the ablative case hortulo in line 88 of Catullus' poem 61. Definitions for the words are not given.
• Book: Mulroy DD . 1986 . Comites Catulli: Structured Vocabulary Lists for Catullus 1 - 60 . University Press of America . Lanham, MD . 978-0-8191-5448-4. This book lists the vocabulary, with definitions, needed to read Catullus' polymetric poems. After a general introduction to Catullus' vocabulary, a separate vocabulary list is given for subsets of 2 - 3 poems, e.g., poems 6 - 8 and 9 - 10. The words in each list is grouped by declension and gender for nouns and by conjugation for verbs.

Scholarship

• Book: Burl A . 2004 . Catullus: A Poet in the Rome of Julius Caesar . Carroll and Graf Publishers . New York . 978-0-7867-1472-8.
• Book: Hurley AK . 2004 . Catullus . Bristol Classical Press . London . 978-1-85399-669-6.
• Book: Claes CC . 2002 . Concatenatio Catulliana . Gieben . Amsterdam . 90-5063-288-2 .
• Book: Dettmer H . 1997 . Love by the Numbers: Form and the Meaning in the Poetry of Catullus . Peter Lang . New York . 978-0-8204-3663-0.
• Book: Gaisser JH . 1993 . Catullus and his Renaissance Readers . Clarendon Press . Oxford . 978-0-19-814882-1.
• Book: Wiseman TP . 1985 . Catullus and his World: A Reappraisal . Cambridge University Press . New York . 978-0-521-26606-2.
• Book: Harrington KP . 1963 . Catullus and His Influence . Cooper Square . 63010267.
• Book: Wheeler AL . 1934 . Catullus and the Traditions of Ancient Poetry . University of California Press . Berkeley, CA . ASIN B000QY4290.

Notes and References

1. Forsyth, pp. 2 - 3.
2. Taken from Green (2005) and checked against Forsyth (1986).
3. For the terminology of lyric vs epic, see Dettmer (1997), p. 296 note 4.