Catullus 11 · ad Furium et Aurelium
Status · Complete
- Text
- Catullus, Carmina 11 (ad Furium et Aurelium), lines 1–24
- Latin text
- Catullus, Catulli Veronensis Liber, edited by Elmer Truesdell Merrill (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1893), via Perseus Digital Library
- Translation
- Alexandros Kalogrianitis
- First drafted
- September 2026
- Last revised
- September 2026
Furi et Aureli, comites Catulli,
sive in extremos penetrabit Indos,
litus ut longe resonante Eoa
tunditur unda,
sive in Hyrcanos Arabasve molles,
seu Sacas sagittiferosve Parthos,
sive quae septemgeminus colorat
aequora Nilus,
sive trans altas gradietur Alpes
Caesaris visens monimenta magni,
Gallicum Rhenum, horribile aequor, ulti-
mosque Britannos,
omnia haec, quaecumque feret voluntas
caelitum, temptare simul parati,
pauca nuntiate meae puellae
non bona dicta.
cum suis vivat valeatque moechis,
quos simul complexa tenet trecentos,
nullum amans vere, sed identidem omnium
ilia rumpens;
nec meum respectet, ut ante, amorem,
qui illius culpa cecidit velut prati
ultimi flos, praetereunte postquam
tactus aratro est.
Furius and Aurelius, Catullus’ comrades,
whether he’ll go as deep as furthest India,
where the shore is beat by the
long Easterly wind,
or the Hyrcanians or the enervated Arabians,
or the Sacians or the arrow-bearing Parthians,
or to the seas which
the seven-fold Nile colours,
or whether he will trek across the high Alps,
seeing the monuments of mighty Caesar,
or the Gallic Rhine, that dreadful sea,
and the most remote Britons,
you who were both prepared to undertake all these things together,
whatever the will of the gods will bring,
tell these brief unpleasant words
to my girl:
“Let her live and let her remain strong with her suitors,
whom three hundred of them she holds, having embraced them,
not loving any of them truly, but again and again
draining them dry;
and let her not look back, as before, at my love,
a love which because of her, fell down just like
a flower at the edge of a field, after it has been touched
by the passing plough”.
Furi et Aureli, comites Catulli,
Furius and Aurelius, Catullus’ comrades,
sive in extremos penetrabit Indos,
whether he’ll go as deep as furthest India,
litus ut longe resonante Eoa
where the shore is beat by the
tunditur unda,
long Easterly wind,
sive in Hyrcanos Arabasve molles,
or the Hyrcanians or the enervated Arabians,
seu Sacas sagittiferosve Parthos,
or the Sacians or the arrow-bearing Parthians,
sive quae septemgeminus colorat
or to the seas which
aequora Nilus,
the seven-fold Nile colours,
sive trans altas gradietur Alpes
or whether he will trek across the high Alps,
Caesaris visens monimenta magni,
seeing the monuments of mighty Caesar,
Gallicum Rhenum, horribile aequor, ulti-
or the Gallic Rhine, that dreadful sea,
mosque Britannos,
and the most remote Britons,
omnia haec, quaecumque feret voluntas
you who were both prepared to undertake all these things together,
caelitum, temptare simul parati,
whatever the will of the gods will bring,
pauca nuntiate meae puellae
tell these brief unpleasant words
non bona dicta.
to my girl:
cum suis vivat valeatque moechis,
“Let her live and let her remain strong with her suitors,
quos simul complexa tenet trecentos,
whom three hundred of them she holds, having embraced them,
nullum amans vere, sed identidem omnium
not loving any of them truly, but again and again
ilia rumpens;
draining them dry;
nec meum respectet, ut ante, amorem,
and let her not look back, as before, at my love,
qui illius culpa cecidit velut prati
a love which because of her, fell down just like
ultimi flos, praetereunte postquam
a flower at the edge of a field, after it has been touched
tactus aratro est.
by the passing plough”.