Catullus: Poem 70

nulli se dicit mulier mea nubere malle quam mihi, non si se Iuppiter ipse petat

My woman says that she prefers to marry no one but me, not even if Jupiter himself were to ask

dicit: sed mulier cupido quod dicit amanti

That’s what she says: but what a woman says to her passionate lover

in vento et rapida scribere oportet aqua

Ought to be written in the wind and fast flowing water

“nulli“ analysis

Emphatically placed at the start of the line and poem to stress the alleged importance of Catullus to his girlfriend, Lesbia

“mulier“ analysis

Catullus usually refers to Lesbia as puella. Here he has replaced it with mulier, which seems deliberate to imply something permanent than just a girlfriend

“Iuppiter ipse“ analysis

Sounds like proverbial expression but there is an implied double meaning. Jupiter, the King of the gods, would be a powerful suitor but he is also famed for his numerous affairs so his word is no more believable than Lesbia’s

“dicit“ analysis

Repeated and emphasised at the start of the line and is isolated. It draws immediate attention to what it means: this is what she says, not what she means

“in vento et..aqua“ analysis

The two nouns enclose the rest of the line, just as the winds and water sweep over the words. Sounds proverbial but the concept of writing in water only appears in Greek literature: Latin usually has wind and water snatching away words - not cliche, but powerful