| PASSER, DELICIAE MEAE PUELLAE ... |
MY SWEETHEART’S PET, HER DARLING SPARROW ... |
| Catullus (Gaius Valerius Catullus) | tr. Colin Sydenham |
|
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! |
My sweetheart’s pet, her darling sparrow, whom she loves to tease and hold upon her breast, she tickles you, provokes your furious pecking, while she, with burning need possessed for me (or so I think), devises some new show of playful love for you, some balm for her intense emotion, so that thus she may her painful inner turmoil calm. Would that I too, like her, with you could play, and, playing, drive my soul’s unease away. |
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Trans. Copyright © Colin Sydenham 2006