Catullus 12 in Latin & English: Marrucine Asini, manu sinistra non belle uteris
Channel: David Amster
Date: 28/09/2020

#catullus
#latinpoetry
#latinpronunciation

Catullus 12, Catulli Carmen XII

Marrucine Asini, manu sinistra
non belle uteris: in ioco atque vino
tollis lintea neglegentiorum.
hoc salsum esse putas? fugit te, inepte:
quamvis sordida res et invenusta est.
non credis mihi? crede Pollioni
fratri, qui tua furta vel talento
mutari velit: est enim leporum
differtus puer ac facetiarum.
quare aut hendecasyllabos trecentos
exspecta, aut mihi linteum remitte,
quod me non movet aestimatione,
verum est mnemosynum mei sodalis.
nam sudaria Saetaba ex Hiberis
miserunt mihi muneri Fabullus
et Veranius: haec amem necesse est
ut Veraniolum meum et Fabullum.

Marrucinus Asinius, you employ your left hand 
not very nicely: amid the joking and wine
you lift the napkins of those a bit neglectful. 
You think this is funny?! 
It escapes you, foolish boy, 
what a sordid and tasteless thing this is. 
You don’t believe me? 
Believe your brother, Pollio,
who would gladly sacrifice even a talent 
of silver in exchange for your pilfering ways. 
For he is a young man full of charm and wit. 
Therefore either expect 
three-hundred hendecasyllables, 
or return the napkin to me, 
which does not move me because of its value
but truly is a memento of my friend.  
For Fabullus and Veranius sent me 
Saetaban linens from Spain as a gift;
it is fitting that I would love these 
just as I do my dear Veranius and Fabullus. 

This poem is ostensibly to shame Marrucinus, but the real reason 
is probably to compliment his friends Veranius and Fabullus, 
as well as the thief’s brother, the famous Gaius Asinius Pollio, 
whose portrait is shown here. The latter was a close 
associate of Julius Caesar, a friend of Horace and Virgil, 
and founder of the first public library in Rome. 

talent: a large sum, approximately 50 pounds of silver. 

hendecasyllables: verse with 11 syllables, used very often by Catullus. Poetry was often used  among the elite in Rome to punish or praise. 

Saetaba: from the town of Saetabis in Spain, known for fine flax/linen.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaius_Asinius_Pollio

Translation DWA 
Fez, 9/28/20