Catullus 2 is a poem by
Roman poet
Gaius Valerius Catullus (''c''. 84 – ''c''. 54 BCE) that describes the affectionate relationship between an unnamed ''puella'' ('girl', possibly Catullus' lover,
Lesbia), and her pet
sparrow. As scholar and poet John Swinnerton Phillimore has noted, "The charm of this poem, blurred as it is by a corrupt manuscript tradition, has made it one of the most famous in Catullus' book." 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 ...
of this poem is
hendecasyllabic, a common form in Catullus' poetry.
This poem, together with Catullus' other poems, survived from antiquity in a single manuscript discovered ''c''. 1300 CE in
Verona
Verona ( ; ; or ) is a city on the Adige, River Adige in Veneto, Italy, with 255,131 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region, and is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and in Northeast Italy, nor ...
, from which three copies survive. Fourteen centuries of copying from copies — the "corrupt manuscript tradition" mentioned above — left scholars in doubt as to the poem's original wording in a few places, although centuries of scholarship have led to a consensus critical version.
HTML page version of "Notes on the text, interpretation, and translation problems of Catullus", by S.J. Harrison and S.J. Heyworth, from an Oxford University Web site, accessed February 10, 2007 Research on Catullus was the first application of the genealogical method of
textual criticism
Textual criticism is a branch of textual scholarship, philology, and literary criticism that is concerned with the identification of textual variants, or different versions, of either manuscripts (mss) or of printed books. Such texts may rang ...
.
Lines 1–10 represent the preserved core of the poem. Lines 11–13 are denoted as "Catullus 2b" and differ significantly in tone and subject from the first 10 lines. Hence, these latter three lines may belong to a different poem. In the original manuscripts, these thirteen lines were combined with
Catullus 3, which describes the death of Lesbia's sparrow, but the two poems were separated by scholars in the 16th century.
Latin text
The following Latin text is taken from the 2003 critical edition of D. F. S. Thomson, with macrons added by Wikipedia.
The following lines 11–13 (Catullus 2b) refer to the
Greek myth
Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of ancient Greek folklore, today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology. These stories concern the ancien ...
of
Atalanta
Atalanta (; ) is a heroine in Greek mythology.
There are two versions of the huntress Atalanta: one from Arcadia (region), Arcadia, whose parents were Iasus and Clymene (mythology), Clymene and who is primarily known from the tales of the Caly ...
, a young princess who was remarkably swift of foot. To avoid marriage, she stipulated that she would marry only a man who could beat her in a footrace; suitors who failed to defeat her would be put to death. The hero
Melanion
:''The name Hippomenes may also refer to the father of Leimone.''
In Greek mythology, Hippomenes (; ), also known as Melanion (; Μελανίων or Μειλανίων), was a son of the Arcadian AmphidamasApollodorus, 3.9.2 or of King Megare ...
(also known as
Hippomenes
:''The name Hippomenes may also refer to the father of Leimone.''
In Greek mythology, Hippomenes (; ), also known as Melanion (; Μελανίων or Μειλανίων), was a son of the Arcadian AmphidamasApollodorus, 3.9.2 or of King Megare ...
) wooed Atalanta, who fell in love with him. During the race, Melanion threw a golden apple to distract her; stooping to pick it up, Atalanta lost the race, possibly deliberately so that she could marry him. The final line refers to undressing on the wedding night.
Poetic features
Catullus was renowned for his meticulous care in crafting poems, even those with seemingly trifling content. Various artful devices are woven into the text of this poem, composed in
hendecasyllabic verse. Lines 2–4 represent a
tricolon crescens, in which the three relative clauses become gradually longer in length: ''quem ludere'', ''quem in sinu tenere'', and ''cui primum digitum dare appetenti et acris solet incitare morsus''. The repeated "eee" sounds (corresponding to the letter "i" in Latin) evoke the songbird's peeping (''pipiabat'' in
Catullus 3), e.g., (''quicum ... in sinu ... cui primum ... appetenti ... acris ... nitenti ... iocari'').
Web page titled "Program II by Raymond M. Koehler" at Able Media Web site, accessed February 11, 2007
The "a" sounds may also convey images: the poet's sighs of longing; an "ouch!" at being bitten sharply (''appetenti'', "pecking" and ''acris'', "sharp"); and a comforting sound (''solaciolum'', "small comfort", and ''acquiescat'', "calms").
[
]
Influence on later poetry
This poem and the following Catullus 3 (a lament for Lesbia's sparrow) inspired a genre of poems about lovers' pets. One classical example include Ovid
Publius Ovidius Naso (; 20 March 43 BC – AD 17/18), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a younger contemporary of Virgil and Horace, with whom he i ...
's elegy on the death of his mistress Corinna's parrot (''Amores'' 2.6.). Another is Martial
Marcus Valerius Martialis (known in English as Martial ; March, between 38 and 41 AD – between 102 and 104 AD) was a Roman and Celtiberian poet born in Bilbilis, Hispania (modern Spain) best known for his twelve books of '' Epigrams'', pu ...
's epigram (Book I number CIX) on a lap dog, which refers to Catullus 2 specifically ("Issa est passere nequior Catulli", "Issa he dogis naughtier than Catullus's sparrow").
Following the printing of Catullus's works in 1472, Poems 2 and 3 gained new influence.[ S.J. Harrison Web page at Oxford University, has a link to WordPad document of "Sparrows and Apples: The Unity of Catullus 2", by S.J. Harrison; according to this Web page, the article appeared in ''Scripta Classica Israelica'', accessed February 10, 2007] From the earliest days after the re-discovery of Catullus' poems, some scholars have suggested that the bird was a phallic symbol, particularly if ''sinu'' in line 2 is translated as "lap" rather than "bosom". Other scholars, however, have rejected this suggestion.
Birds were common love-gifts in the Classical world, and several scholars have speculated that the narrator gave it to the woman; this might explain the poet's identification with the sparrow and his fond lament for the bird in Catullus 3.[ The biting it does in line 4 ties in with Catullus 8, line 18 (''cui labella mordebis'').
]
Manuscript tradition
A key question concerns the unity of this poem. In the copies derived from the original V manuscript, poems 2 (lines 1–10 below), 2b (lines 11–13 below), and Catullus 3 appear as one poem under the title "Fletus passeris Lesbie" (Lament for Lesbia's Sparrow). Shortly before 1500, Catullus 3 (the lament) was separated from Catullus 2/2b by Marcantonio Sabellico, which has been supported by scholars ever since.[
Scholars have argued over whether the last three lines (2b) belong to a different poem, and whether words are missing between poems 2 and 2b. Scholars suggest that missing words (a ''lacuna''), or a variant reading/rearrangement of the received text, would smooth the presently abrupt transition between lines 10 and 11.][ As noted above, there is some manuscript evidence for missing words after line 10. However, scholar S.J. Harrison, who believes the 13 lines are unified, has argued that "there seems to be no vital gap in content which short lacuna would supply" and if the missing words are many, then it is impossible to guess what they were and the poem must be accepted as simply broken into fragments.][
Catullus 2 and 2b differ significantly in their tone and subject. Catullus 2 is addressed directly to the bird ("with you") and describes its loving, playful relationship with the poet's girlfriend. By contrast, Catullus 2b mentions neither bird nor girlfriend, introducing a ]simile
A simile () is a type of figure of speech that directly ''compares'' two things. Similes are often contrasted with metaphors, where similes necessarily compare two things using words such as "like", "as", while metaphors often create an implicit c ...
to the story of Atalanta
Atalanta (; ) is a heroine in Greek mythology.
There are two versions of the huntress Atalanta: one from Arcadia (region), Arcadia, whose parents were Iasus and Clymene (mythology), Clymene and who is primarily known from the tales of the Caly ...
, and seems to be written in the third person ("it is as welcome to me"), although some scholars have suggested that the text was corrupted from the second person ("you are as welcome to me"). The disjunction between Catullus 2 and 2b was first noted by Aquiles Estaço ( Achilles Statius) in 1566; however, the first printed edition to show a lacuna between poems 2 and 2b (by the editor Karl Lachmann) appeared quite late, in 1829. Lachmann's separation of 2 and 2b has been followed by most subsequent editors.[
]
Classical tradition
In ''The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling
''The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling'', often known simply as ''Tom Jones'', is a comic novel by English playwright and novelist Henry Fielding. It is a ''Bildungsroman'' and a picaresque novel. It was first published on 28 February 1749 in ...
'' (Book IV, ch. III, 1749), Henry Fielding
Henry Fielding (22 April 1707 – 8 October 1754) was an English writer and magistrate known for the use of humour and satire in his works. His 1749 comic novel ''The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling'' was a seminal work in the genre. Along wi ...
adapts the poem to his prose. Tom gives Sophia a little bird. Fielding writes:
Of this bird, Sophia, then about thirteen years old, was so extremely fond, that her chief business was to feed and tend it, and her chief pleasure to play with it. By these means little Tommy, for so the bird was called, was become so tame, that it would feed out of the hand of its mistress, would perch upon the finger, and lie contented in her bosom, where it seemed almost sensible of its own happiness.
References
Bibliography
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::Argues in favor of ''desiderio meo nitenti'' meaning "radiant lady of my longing", despite dative case. Also argues that ''ardor'' could mean ''ira'', ''credo'' might have been ''quaero'' or ''quaeso'', and there is likely no lacuna between lines 10 and 11.
*
::Calls lines 11-13 the ''carmen vexatissimum''. Suggests ''subit'' in line 7: ''Et solaciolum subit doloris''.
*
::Makes lines 11-13 into a speech by Lesbia to her bird; "you are as welcome to me..." Argues against ''desiderio meo nitenti'' meaning "radiant lady of my longing", but rather "when she is shining with longing for me".
*
::Excellent review of solutions proposed in the 19th century. Supports a three-poem model, in which ''gratum'' refers to meeting his lover, Lesbia.
External links
Translations
Catullus 2 & 2b
from the VRoma Project.
from the Catullus Translations Website.
from the Catullus Translations Website.
from the ''Cipher Journal'' website (bizarre ending)
Catullus 2 & 2b
Rick Snyder's translation in '' jubilat'' (2003)
Other
*"Notes on the text, interpretation, and translation problems of Catullus", by S.J. Harrison and S.J. Heyworth, from an Oxford University Web site:
As HTML page
** sers.ox.ac.uk/~sjh/documents/catconj.docAs WordPad file
Page explaining the relationship of the sounds of the poem to its meaning and a link to a recording of the poem sung in Latin
Text with translation notes
Page with a link to WordPad document of "Sparrows and Apples: The Unity of Catullus 2", by S.J. Harrison, an article in ''Scripta Classica Israelica'' (scroll down to "Articles in Journals" No. 60)
Interview
with Jeffrey Eugenides on his book of bittersweet love-stories, ''My Mistress's Sparrow is Dead''
{{Catullus
C002
Poems about birds
Articles containing video clips