Catullus Poem 78: Gallus habet frātrēs, quōrum est lepidissima coniūnx; in Latin & English
Channel: David Amster
Date: 2024-02-03

#catullus
#latinpoetry
#latinpronunciation

Catullus 78 is about Gallus, who thinks he’s clever and sophisticated because he’s arranged a love affair between his nephew and his brother’s wife, but he doesn’t realize he’s setting himself up for the same treatment. I believe his nephew is the Gellius of Catullus 74 (please see my video of this poem), probably Lucius Gellius Poplicola, an enemy of Catullus and rival for the attentions of his beloved Clodia/Lesbia. Gellius P. was accused before the senate of having an affair with his stepmother and plotting his father's murder. A truly charming family! 

Vocabulary & Grammar:

Gallus: It’s not certain, but I think he’s the brother of the miserable uncle of Gellius of Poem 74. 

habet: has

frātrēs: brothers 

quōrum: of whom

est: is

lepidissima: is very pleasant, charming, elegant. Lepidus is a favorite word of Catullus. Cf.  Carmen 1:1: “cui dono lepidum novum libellum”. 

coniūnx: the spouse, wife

alterius: of one; alter….alter: the one….the other. 

lepidus: pleasant, charming, elegant

fīlius: the son

alterius: of the other

homō: a person, a man; nominative sing masc/fem (but masc here). 

est: is

bellus: pretty, handsome, charming, lovely, pleasant; a very important word for Catullus and his circle of friends, refering to the charming politeness of a man or woman of high-society training and discrimination. 

nam: for

iungit: he joins together, joins, brings together, unites

dulcēs: sweet, delightful, pleasant

amōrēs: loves, love affairs

ut: so that, in order that; plus subjunctive.

bella: charming, lovely, beautiful 

puella: girl, young woman. Puella can be used for an adult woman.

cubet: sleeps, lies down with; SUBJUNCTIVE

cum: with

puerō: a boy, young man, youth; can be used of an adult; used of the emperor Octavian when he was 19. 

bellō: charming, etc. 

PUERŌ ut bellō bella PUELLA: note the ABBA “chiastic” word order. Also note the repetition of sound in the poem, especially the Ls. 

stultus: foolish, stupid, silly, slow-witted

nec: and…not, nor

videt: does he see, he does (not) see

sē: (that) he (himself); accusative subject of infinitive in indirect statement. 

esse: is; infinitive in indirect statement after videt.

marītum: a husband

quī: who

patruus: (as) a father’s brother, paternal uncle, uncle

mōnstret: is advising, is teaching, is showing, pointing out; SUBJUNCTIVE

adulterium: the adultery

patruī: of a paternal uncle, adultery against another uncle, his brother

Meter: Elegiac Couplets

Gāllŭs hăbēt frātrēs || quōrūm est lĕpĭdīssĭmă cōniūnx
    āltĕrĭūs. lĕpĭdūs fīlĭŭs āltĕrĭūs.
Gāllŭs hŏmō est bēllūs || nām dūlcēs iūngĭt ămōrēs
    cūm pŭĕro ūt bēllō || bēllă pŭēllă cŭbēt.
Gāllŭs hŏmō est stūltūs || nēc sē uĭdĕt ēssĕ mărītūm
    quī pătrŭūs pătrŭī || mōnstrĕt ădūltĕrĭūm.

An elegiac couplet is a pair of sequential lines in which the first line is written in dactylic hexameter (6 “feet”, a dactyl, “long short short”, or a spondee, “long long”, and the second line in dactylic pentameter, (5 feet, two and a half feet, repeated). There is usually a pause, a break called a “caesura” in the middle of the line, which helps us know where to pause while reading.

The last syllable in each line can have a long or short vowel, but is normally “scanned” as long (“brevis in longo”).