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I'm not really getting anything done today. Have some Catullus.
Catullus 2
Sparrow* of my darling girl,
with whom she used to play, whom she held in her lap,
whom she gave her fingertip as you attacked
and whose sharp bite she provoked,
when she liked to make some dear joke
of whatever sort at my desire,
and [you were] a little solace to her pain,
I think, so that then the serious ardor** subsided:
if only I could play with you just as she did
and lift the cares of my sad soul!
...***
It is as pleasing to me as they say
the golden apple was to the long-legged girl,
which loosened her long-tied belt.^
---
* The editor of my edition notes both the old controversy as to whether or not Catullus is actually talking about his penis (answer: maybe!) and that while a sparrow is actually a lousy pet, the Romans used the same word, passer, for the blue rock-thrush, which is apparently easy to tame and makes a great pet. I was tempted to translate the entire poem as “To My Darling Girl’s Blue Rock-Thrush” accordingly, but decided it would be a little too distracting.
** The ardor gravis is generally taken to mean sexual tension. So, you know. The penis reading sort of has a point. In any case, the “serious ardor” is being set against the “sad soul”, which I think means you might as well read that as sexual frustration in turn.
*** The text we have is fragmentary; there are bits on the lines above that are uncertain (which I’ve done my best to make plausible), and then there’s a gap entirely.
^ The referenced story: Atlanta refuses to marry anyone who can’t beat her in a footrace, and is finally outrun by a suitor who (with the help of gods, of course) throws a golden apple as he runs, which slows her down as she stops to grab it. To untie or loosen a belt is a metaphor for a young woman losing her virginity.
Catullus 2
Sparrow* of my darling girl,
with whom she used to play, whom she held in her lap,
whom she gave her fingertip as you attacked
and whose sharp bite she provoked,
when she liked to make some dear joke
of whatever sort at my desire,
and [you were] a little solace to her pain,
I think, so that then the serious ardor** subsided:
if only I could play with you just as she did
and lift the cares of my sad soul!
...***
It is as pleasing to me as they say
the golden apple was to the long-legged girl,
which loosened her long-tied belt.^
---
* The editor of my edition notes both the old controversy as to whether or not Catullus is actually talking about his penis (answer: maybe!) and that while a sparrow is actually a lousy pet, the Romans used the same word, passer, for the blue rock-thrush, which is apparently easy to tame and makes a great pet. I was tempted to translate the entire poem as “To My Darling Girl’s Blue Rock-Thrush” accordingly, but decided it would be a little too distracting.
** The ardor gravis is generally taken to mean sexual tension. So, you know. The penis reading sort of has a point. In any case, the “serious ardor” is being set against the “sad soul”, which I think means you might as well read that as sexual frustration in turn.
*** The text we have is fragmentary; there are bits on the lines above that are uncertain (which I’ve done my best to make plausible), and then there’s a gap entirely.
^ The referenced story: Atlanta refuses to marry anyone who can’t beat her in a footrace, and is finally outrun by a suitor who (with the help of gods, of course) throws a golden apple as he runs, which slows her down as she stops to grab it. To untie or loosen a belt is a metaphor for a young woman losing her virginity.