Catullus 5 is a passionate ode to

Lesbia Lesbia was the literary pseudonym used by the Roman poet Gaius Valerius Catullus ( 82–52 BC) to refer to his lover. Lesbia is traditionally identified with Clodia, the wife of Quintus Caecilius Metellus Celer and sister of Publius Clodius Pu ...

and one of the most famous poems by

Catullus Gaius Valerius Catullus (; ), known as Catullus (), was a Latin neoteric poet of the late Roman Republic. His surviving works remain widely read due to their popularity as teaching tools and because of their personal or sexual themes. Life ...

. The poem encourages lovers to scorn the snide comments of others, and to live only for each other, since life is brief and death brings a night of perpetual sleep. This poem has been translated and imitated many times. This poem is written in the Phalaecian hendecasyllabic meter (Latin: ''hendecasyllabus phalaecius'') which has verses of 11 syllables, a common form in Catullus' poetry. : Metric scheme: X X , — ∪ ∪ , — ∪ , — ∪ , — X

Text

Poetic effects

*Line 5–6 The position of ''lux'' (light) and ''nox'' (night) right next to each other serve to emphasise his two comparisons. Symbolically, the "perpetual night" represents death and the "brief light" represents life. Furthermore, there is also a second

chiasmus In rhetoric, chiasmus ( ) or, less commonly, chiasm (Latin term from Greek , "crossing", from the Ancient Greek, Greek , , "to shape like the letter chi (letter), Χ"), is a "reversal of grammatical structures in successive phrases or clauses ...

in these lines:

Translations and songs

In 1601, the English composer, poet and physician

Thomas Campion Thomas Campion (sometimes spelled Campian; 12 February 1567 – 1 March 1620) was an English composer, poet, and physician. He was born in London, educated at Cambridge, and studied law in Gray's Inn. He wrote over a hundred lute songs, masque ...

wrote this rhyming free translation of the first half (to which he added two verses of his own, and music, to create a lute song): My sweetest Lesbia, let us live and love; And though the sager sort our deeds reprove, Let us not weigh them. Heaven's great lamps do dive Into their west, and straight again revive, But soon as once is set our little light, Then must we sleep one ever-during night.

Ben Jonson Benjamin Jonson ( 11 June 1572 – ) was an English playwright, poet and actor. Jonson's artistry exerted a lasting influence on English poetry and stage comedy. He popularised the comedy of humours; he is best known for the satire, satirical ...

drew on the poem in poems 5, "Song. To Celia", and 6, "Song. To the Same" in his collection ''The Forrest''. Soon thereafter, Sir

Walter Raleigh Sir Walter Raleigh (; – 29 October 1618) was an English statesman, soldier, writer and explorer. One of the most notable figures of the Elizabethan era, he played a leading part in English colonisation of North America, suppressed rebell ...

included the following verse, apparently based on Campion's translation, in his ''The Historie of the World'', which he wrote while imprisoned in the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic citadel and castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamle ...

: The Sunne may set and rise But we contrariwise Sleepe after our short light One everlasting night. A 16th-century French translation by

Jean-Antoine de Baïf Jean Antoine de Baïf (; 19 February 1532 – 19 September 1589) was a French poet and member of the '' Pléiade''. Life Jean Antoine de Baïf was born in Venice, the natural son of the scholar Lazare de Baïf, who was at that time French amb ...

was used by

Reynaldo Hahn Reynaldo Hahn de Echenagucia (9 August 1874 – 28 January 1947) was a Venezuelan-born French composer, conductor, music critic, and singer. He is best known for his songs – ''mélodies'' – of which he wrote more than 100. Hahn was born ...

in the song "Vivons, mignarde, vivons". Also set in French, a translation by Georges Lafaye was composed by

Darius Milhaud Darius Milhaud (, ; 4 September 1892 – 22 June 1974) was a French composer, conductor, and teacher. He was a member of Les Six—also known as ''The Group of Six''—and one of the most prolific composers of the 20th century. His composition ...

as song "Ma chérie, aimons‑nous".

Henry Purcell Henry Purcell (, rare: ; September 1659 – 21 November 1695) was an English composer of Baroque music, most remembered for his more than 100 songs; a tragic opera, Dido and Aeneas, ''Dido and Aeneas''; and his incidental music to a version o ...

used an anonymous translation in his song "Let us, kind Lesbia, give away" (1684).

Dominick Argento Dominick Argento (October 27, 1927 – February 20, 2019) was an American composer known for his lyric operatic and choral music. Among his best known pieces are the operas '' Postcard from Morocco'', '' Miss Havisham's Fire'', ''The Masque of An ...

used his English translation in his song "Let us live, my Clodia, and let us love".

References

Bibliography

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