Catullus 3 - The Death of Lesbia's Sparrow (English)

A reading without music of the English translation of Gaius Valerius Catullus' (84 – 54 BCE) Carmen III, which is linked to Carmen II, as it is about the death of the same sparrow described in that poem, i.e. his lover's pet. As in Camen II, his lover is unnamed, but it seems very likely that she would be Lesbia, whose real name was Clodia. Catullus may have given the sparrow to Lesbia himself, as these birds were commonly exchanged as gifts between lovers in the Ancient Roman world. It could be that the sparrow is used in the poem as a symbol of the love the Latin poet shares with Lesbia, and in that case the bird's death would take on a level of meaning that has to do with the state of their relationship.

The text presented in the video is a slightly modified version of the English translation found in "The Poems of Gaius Valerius Catullus" (1904) by Francis Warre-Cornish (1839-1916). The translation is quite literal.

ENGLISH TRANSLATION BY FRANCIS WARRE-CORNISH

Mourn, ye Graces and Loves, and all you whom the
Graces love. My lady's sparrow is dead, the sparrow my
lady's pet, whom she loved more than her own eyes; for
honey-sweet he was, and knew his mistress as well as a
girl knows her very mother. Nor would he stir from her
bosom, but hopping now here, now there, still chirped to
his mistress alone. Now he goes along the dark road,
thither whence they say no one returns. But curse upon
you, cursed shades of Orcus, which devour all pretty
things! such a pretty sparrow have you taken away from
me. Ah, how sad! Ah, poor little bird! All because of you
my lady's darling eyes are heavy and red with weeping.

ORIGINAL LATIN TEXT

Lugete, O Veneres Cupidinesque,
et quantum est hominum venustiorum:
passer mortuus est meae puellae,
passer, deliciae meae puellae,
quem plus illa oculis suis amabat.
nam mellitus erat suamque norat
ipsam tam bene quam puella matrem,
nec sese a gremio illius movebat,
sed circumsiliens modo huc modo illuc
ad solam dominam usque pipiabat.
qui nunc it per iter tenebricosum
illuc, unde negant redire quemquam.
at vobis male sit, malae tenebrae
Orci, quae omnia bella devoratis:
tam bellum mihi passerem abstulistis
o factum male! o miselle passer!
tua nunc opera meae puellae
flendo turgiduli rubent ocelli.

THE ENGLISH TRANSLATION IS IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN, AS IT WAS PUBLISHED IN 1904.

ALL IMAGES ARE FREE TO USE UNDER THE CREATIVE COMMONS ZERO (CC0) LICENSE