Catullus 101 is an elegiac poem written by the Roman poet Gaius Valerius Catullus. It is addressed to Catullus' dead brother or, strictly speaking, to the "mute ashes" which are the only remaining evidence of his brother's body.

Context

The tone is grief-stricken and tender, with Catullus trying to give the best gift he had to bestow (a poem) on his brother, who was taken prematurely. The last words, " Hail and Farewell" (in Latin, ''ave atque vale''), are among Catullus' most famous; an alternative modern translation might be "I salute you...and goodbye". The

meter The metre (or meter in US spelling; symbol: m) is the base unit of length in the International System of Units (SI). Since 2019, the metre has been defined as the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum during a time interval of of ...

elegiac couplet The elegiac couplet or elegiac distich is a poetic form used by Greek lyric poets for a variety of themes usually of smaller scale than the epic. Roman poets, particularly Catullus, Propertius, Tibullus, and Ovid, adopted the same form in L ...

, which was usually employed in love poetry, such as Catullus' addresses to Lesbia. However, the elegiac couplet was originally used by ancient Greek poets to express grief and lamentation, making it an entirely suitable form to express Catullus' mourning.

Text

Oxford Latin Dictionary The ''Oxford Latin Dictionary'' (or ''OLD'') is the standard English lexicon of Classical Latin, compiled from sources written before AD 200. Begun in 1933, it was published in fascicles between 1968 and 1982; a lightly revised second edition ...

'', (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1982, reprinted 1985) p. 965, entry on ''ipse'', meaning 5 ("the actual").

Another elegy

This is one of three

poem Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

s in which Catullus tries to cope with the loss of his brother. The other poems are Catullus 65 and 68B. The cause of his brother's death is unknown; he apparently died before 57 BC in

Bithynia Bithynia (; ) was an ancient region, kingdom and Roman province in the northwest of Asia Minor (present-day Turkey), adjoining the Sea of Marmara, the Bosporus, and the Black Sea. It bordered Mysia to the southwest, Paphlagonia to the northeast a ...

, a northwest region of modern-day Turkey, near the ancient city of

Troy Troy (/; ; ) or Ilion (; ) was an ancient city located in present-day Hisarlik, Turkey. It is best known as the setting for the Greek mythology, Greek myth of the Trojan War. The archaeological site is open to the public as a tourist destina ...

Modern translations

In addition to its inclusion among the many translations of Catullus' collected poems, Catullus 101 is featured in ''Nox'' (2010), a book by Canadian poet and classicist Anne Carson that comes in an accordion format within a box. ''Nox'' concerns the death of Carson's own brother, to which the poem of Catullus offers a parallel. Carson provides the Latin text of 101, word-by-word annotations, and "a close and almost awkward translation". The poem was also adapted in 1803 by the Italian poet

Ugo Foscolo Ugo Foscolo (; 6 February 177810 September 1827), born Niccolò Foscolo, was an Italian writer, revolutionary and poet. He is especially remembered for his 1807 long poem ''Dei Sepolcri''. Early life Foscolo was born in Zakynthos in the Ionia ...

as the

sonnet A sonnet is a fixed poetic form with a structure traditionally consisting of fourteen lines adhering to a set Rhyme scheme, rhyming scheme. The term derives from the Italian word ''sonetto'' (, from the Latin word ''sonus'', ). Originating in ...

"In morte del fratello Giovanni" ("Un dì, s'io non andrò sempre fuggendo/di gente in gente..."), which commemorates the death of the poet's brother, Giovanni Foscolo.

Aubrey Beardsley Aubrey Vincent Beardsley ( ; 21 August 187216 March 1898) was an English illustrator and author. His black ink drawings were influenced by Woodblock printing in Japan, Japanese woodcuts, and depicted the grotesque, the decadent, and the erotic. ...

made a translation of the poem, with an accompanying drawing, which he published in volume 7 of the ''

Savoy Savoy (; )  is a cultural-historical region in the Western Alps. Situated on the cultural boundary between Occitania and Piedmont, the area extends from Lake Geneva in the north to the Dauphiné in the south and west and to the Aosta Vall ...

'' (November 1896). It was also used as a shadowhunters farewell in '' The Shadowhunter Chronicles'' by Cassandra Clare.

Musical settings

This poem, as translated by

, was set by the composer

Ned Rorem Ned Miller Rorem (October 23, 1923 – November 18, 2022) was an American composer of contemporary classical music and a writer. Best known for his art songs, which number over 500, Rorem was considered the leading American of his time writing i ...

under the title "Catullus: On the Burial of his Brother". The Austrian music group Dargaard have performed this poem in song on their album '' Rise and Fall'', naming it "Ave Atque Vale". Composer Frank Brickle set it for voice and two guitars in tribute to his mentor, Milton Babbitt. The Norwegian band Tristania used "ut te postremo donarem mortis" in the choir of the song "Angina" from the album '' Beyond the Veil'' (1999); the band is famous for using the Latin choirs in their songs.

Notes

# The intensive pronoun ''ipse'' (''ipsum'') in this context contrasts the ash to the actual person who existed.

Bibliography

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External links

*
Poem 101 at Perseus, ed. E. T. Merrill
{{Catullus C101 Poems about death Laments Works about brothers Articles containing video clips