Catullus 46 in Latin & English: Iam ver egelidos refert tepores, Vocabulary Notes
Channel: David Amster
Date: 2022-01-24

#catullus
#latinpoetry
#latinpronunciation

It’s spring of 56 BC, and Catullus is finishing his yearlong tour of duty
in Asia Minor with the despised governor Memmius. He’s elated to be returning home, excited about visiting new places, and sad to be leaving his friends. 

Meter: Hendecasyllables
 ⏓ ⏓ – ⏑ ⏑ – ⏑ – ⏑ – ⏓ 

Note how Catullus chose in this poem to have ALL the lines begin with 3 long syllables, a sponee and a dactyl, perhaps for emphasis.

Iam: now, repeated four times for emphasis.

Egelidos: not cold, no longer cold

Tepores: a gentle warmth, moderate temperatures; plural perhaps  to suggest warm days. 

Caeli: of the sky, the heavens

Aequinoctialis: pertaining to the equinox, the time of equal day and night; the spring equinox was notorious for stormy weather.  

Zephyri: of Zephyrus (Zephyr), god of the west wind, husband of Flora. 
Note how the PH sounds and all the Ss suggest gusts of wind.

Iucundis: pleasant, agreeable

Silescit: becomes still, silent

Linquantur: let them be left behind, “jussive” subjunctive. 

Phrygii: Phrygian, in the western part of Bithynia, where Catullus was stationed.

Nicaeae: Nicaea, the capital of Bithynia and where the Christian Nicene Creed originated. 

Uber: rich in something, fruitful, fertile, copious, productive 

Aestuosae: very hot, full of heat. 

Ad claras urbes: Pergamon, Smyrna, Sardis, and Ephesus, famous 
cities Catullus hopes to visit on his way home. 

Asiae: of Asia Minor

Volemus: let us fly; subjunctive 

Praetrepidans: trembling greatly in anticipation; the sound of the word suggests trembling! 

Avet: desires, longs for

Vagari: to ramble, wander, roam; a deponent verb. 

Vigescunt: become lively or vigorous; to thrive, to begin to flourish or bloom…it fits well with all the spring imagery. 

Comitum: of comrades, companions, who served with him as staff of the governor Memmius.

Coetūs: meetings, gatherings; vocative pl. of coetus, -ūs 

Profectos: having gone forward, advanced, set out. 

Diversae variae viae reportant: they came together, but now they will take different paths going home. I’ve chosen E.T. Merrill’s ‘variae’ instead of ‘varie’. 

Sound Effects and Repetition:

IAM VER egelidos REfeRt tePORes,
IAM cAEli furor AEquinoctialIS
iucundIS zePHYRi SileScit aurIS. 
linquantur PHRYgii, CAtulle, CAmpi
nicAEAEque agER ubER AEstuosAE:
ad clarAS ASiae volemuS urbeS.
IAM meNS pRaetRepidaNS aVet Vagari,
IAM laeti studio pedES vigEScunt.
o dulCeS COmitum valete COetuS,
longe quOS simul a domo PROfectOS
diVERsAE VaRiAE ViAE REPORtant. (cf. w/ line 1)   

iām uēr ēgĕlĭdōs rĕfērt tĕpōrēs.
iām caēlī fŭrŏr aēquĭnōctĭālĭs
iūcūndīs Zĕphÿrī sĭlēscĭt aūrīs. 
līnquāntūr Phrÿgĭī Cătūllĕ cāmpī
Nīcaēaēque ăgĕr ūbĕr aēstŭōsaē.
ād clārās Ăsĭaē vŏlēmŭs ūrbēs.
iām mēns praētrĕpĭdāns ăuēt uăgārī.
iām laētī stŭdĭō pĕdēs uĭgēscūnt.
ō dūlcēs cŏmĭtūm uălētĕ coētūs,
lōngē quōs sĭmŭl ā dŏmō prŏfēctōs
dīvērsaē uărĭaē uĭaē rĕpōrtānt.

Pronunciation:

Ia(m) vēR ēgelidōs refeRt tepōrēs,
iamNG caelī furor aequinoctiālis
iūcundīs Zephyrī silescit aurīs.   
linquantuR Phrygiī, Catulle, campī
Nīcaeaequ(e) ager ūber aestuōsae:
ad clārās Asiae volēmus uRbēs.
iam mēñs pRaetrepidāñs avet vagārī,
ia(m) laetī studiō pedēs vigēscunt.
ō dulcēs comitu(m) valēte coetūs,
longē quōs simul ā domō profectōs
dīveRsae variae viae repoRtant.    
 

Now Spring brings back her gentle warmth, cold no longer,
now the equinoctial raging of the heavens 
becomes calm with the pleasant breezes of Zephyrus. 
Let the Phrygian plains, Catullus, be left behind, 
and the fertile land of sweltering Nicaea,
let us fly to the illustrious cities of Asia. 
Now my mind, trembling with anticipation, longs to ramble,
now my feet, rejoicing in eagerness, grow strong. 
O sweet gatherings of comrades, farewell, 
whom, having journeyed far from home all together, 
various roads in different directions are bringing back. 


Artwork:

Flora (or allegory of Spring), fresco from Pompeii, 20–10 BC, Museo 
Archeologico Nationale, Naples, public domain. 

Zephyrus and Flora from “The Birth of Venus,” Sandro Botticelli, 
1485–1486, The Uffizi Gallery, Florence, public domain. 

Flora and Zephyr, William-Adolphe Bouguereau, 1875,
Musée des Beaux-Arts de Mulhouse, France, public domain. 

Translation: DWA, Fez, 1/23/22