M/M: I'm Not Jealous, But... Catullus 24

Name: Catullus Date:  84 – 54 BCE Region:  Verona / Cisalpine Gaul [modern northern Italy] Citation:  Poem 24

Juventius, the tender bud of your family, 

the best there is, 

there ever was, 

or ever will be, 

I would rather you give the wealth of Midas 

to that guy (a man, I might add, who doesn't even have a slave or a bank account!)

than for you to allow yourself to be courted by him. 

"But isn't he just dreamy?" you say.

Sure, he's nice, but he doesn't even have a slave, or a bank account!

Fine. Mock my words and dismiss them, 

but it won't change the fact that he doesn't even have a slave or a bank account!   

O qui flosculus es Iuventiorum,

non horum modo, sed quot aut fuerunt

aut posthac aliis erunt in annis,

mallem divitias Midae dedisses

isti, cui neque servus est neque arca,

quam sic te sineres ab illo amari.

'qui? non est homo bellus?' inquies. est:

sed bello huic neque servus est neque arca.

hoc tu quam lubet abice elevaque:

nec servum tamen ille habet neque arcam.

Catullus [Gaius Valerius Catullus; 84 – 54 BCE, modern Italy] was a Roman statesman born in Verona [modern Italy] who lived during the tumultuous last days of the Roman Republic.  His poetry offers rare insight into the lives of people who lived during his time period. Like Propertius and Tibullus, Catullus used a pseudonym for the objects of his attention; many of his love poems were addressed to either “Lesbia” or “Juventius.”