Catullus: Poem 5

vivamus mea Lesbia, atque amemus

Let us live, my Lesbia, and love

rumoresque senum severiorum

And value all the stories of those rather strict old men

omnes unius aesthimenus assis!

At a single as!

soles occidere et redire possunt

Suns can set and rise again

nobis cum semel occidit brevis lux

But when once the brief light has set for us

nox est perpetua una dormienda

There is just one everlasting night for us to sleep through

da mi basia mille, deinde centum, dein mille altera, dein secunda centum, deinde usque altera mille, deinde centum

Give me a thousand kisses, then a hundred, then another thousand, then a second hundred, then yet another thousand, and then a hundred

dein, cum milia multa fecerimus, conturbabimus illa, ne sciamus

Then, when we have had many thousands, we shall mix them all up so we do not know

aut ne quis malus invidere possit, cum tantum sciat esse basiorum

Nor can some evil person cast his spell upon us, when he knows what is the total of kisses

“vivamus..amemus“ analysis

The two exhortations neatly enclose the line, emphasising the strength of Catullus’ emotional outburst

“rumoresque senum severiorum“ analysis

The ‘rumours’ are the gossip generated by their affair, which would have been frowned upon by the older generation, whom Catullus describes as ‘rather’ or perhaps ‘too strict’

“omnes unius“ analysis

By carrying omnes over into the next line and placing it next to unius, Catullus generates a powerful antithesis

“perpetua una dormienda” analysis

Catullus gives no thought to the possibility of a welcoming afterlife, he likens death instead to an endless sleep

“da mi basia“ analysis

Having established the principle that life is too short to waste, he delves into central theme of unbridled passion. The sequence of thousands and hundreds suggests counting on an abacus

“conturbabimus“ analysis

The allusion is to the abacus: a swipe with the hand would ‘mix up’ the beads and the tally would be lost

“ne sciamus“ analysis

The idea is that if you count up your blessings, you lay yourself open to the evil eye or to the intervention of fate to redress the balance

“tantum sciat esse basiorum“ analysis

The idea is a continuation of ‘ne sciamus‘: if an evil-wisher knows the precise number of their kisses, it gives him power over them to cast the evil eye