Great Gadsby!

The translation for Thursday (is it due tomorrow?) was really messed up. I mean, I'm sure Horace had received his proper rhetorical training, but come on. This was the patronus system, right? It's still messed up a little...and the guy was obnoxious.

My Translations-Problem Areas in Bold

Catullus 101: AFinal Offering at a Distant Grave (Catullus at his brother’s grave at Troy)
Through many racesand through many seas I sailed I had come [advenio], to these wretched rites[inferias], so that I could honor you [donarem] with the final [postremo] giftof the dead and I could address [alloquerer] vainly [nequiquam] to your ashhaving been changed, since [quandonquidem] my fortune carried [abstulit; fromaufero] itself away with you, alas wretched unworthy brother, visit [adempte]me.
Now nonethelessmeanwhile these, which are handed down from the old custom of our parents for[ad = purpose] the rituals of with a sad gift, dripping, accept the brotherlytear greatly, and into eternity, brother, hail and farewell.

Horace Satire1.9.1-34
I was going bychance on the Via Sacra, just as is my custom, meditating [meditans] something[nescio quid] of trifles [nugarum] totally in it. Someone [quidam] known to beonly [tantum] by name hurried up to me and with my hand having been seized[arrepta], he asked “What are you doing, sweetest of things?” “Pleasantly[suaviter], as it now is,” I said, “And I desire everything, which you see[vis].” When he followed closely [adsectaretur] he asked “You don’t see, do you[numquid]?” I take the lead [occupo], but he says “You knew [noris; syncopatednoveris] us. We were taught by you.” To this I said, “You will be about this[hoc; ablative of cause] of much from me.” Seeking wretchedly [misere] hediscovered [discedere; historical infinity], he went [ire] in that way quicker[ocius], again he set down [consistere] I speak to the boy into some ear, whenthe sweat [sudor] spreads to the bottom of my ankle-bones [talos]. “Oh Bolanus[Roman cognomen; identity unknown], you luck of anger,” I was saying [aiebam]silent, since he who chatters [garriet] whatever [quidlibet], he could praisethe villages [vicos], he could pray the city. As I was replying nothing to him:“Wretchedly you desire,” he says, “to go away; now I will have seen [video +dudum = future perfect] some time ago [dudum[LC1] ].But you will do nothing; continuously [usque] I will persist [tenebo]. I willclosely follow [persequar] this, from which the journey is for you.” “I leadaround now work for you: I wish that something is not known to you; across theTiber far off [longe] he lies down [cubat] near the gardens of Caesar.” “I havenothing, which I make[LC2] ,and I am not lazy: I will follow you continuously.” I deign to listen to [demittoauriculas] to him, as the young ass [asellus] of an unfavorable [iniquae], he underwent [subiit] the heavy burden [onus] on his back. He said, “If I knew mewell, you will not regard [facies] Viscus [name of literary brothers, friendsof Horace and his patron Maecenas] as a friend of more value [pluris; genitiveof value], you[LC3] will not consider Varius a friend of more value: for who is able to write moreverse or more swiftly[LC4] than me? Who is able [possit understood] to move softer limbs? Hermogenes mayenvy [invideat; potential subjunctive] what and I sing.” He spoke this for the sake of interrupting [interpellandi]: “It isyour mother, to be related [cognati], the work of whom [quis = quibus] with yousafe[LC5]  [salvo]?” “Not [haud] is anything for me,I arranged [composui] everything.” “Joys! Now I remain [resto]. Kill [confice]!For the sad fate for me stands, which the Sabine old woman [anus] sang[cecinit] for a boy when her divine urn was turned[LC6] : neither [neque] the dire poisons[venena], neither the hostile sword kills [auferet] nor the grief of neitherthe lungs [laterum] nor the cough [tussis], nor the late gout [podagra]: thetalkative [garrulus] destroys [consumet] this one at some time[LC7]  [quandocumque]. The age, if he is wise[sapiat; ironic] he shuns [vitet], at the same time and the age will have grownup [adoleverit] the talkative [loquaces].

About That Hair

Well, yes-- why hair??  In part, Catullus is doing what he says he's doing in 65, translating some Callimachus as he is mourning the loss of his brother.  This may seem like a peculiar form of therapy, but it is not entirely illogical.  There are thematic similarities among the poems.  The Lock is mourning its eternal separation from Berenice, and Berenice has sacrificed the Lock because she is mourning the absence of her "brother"/husband. 

Also, the sacrifice of a lock of hair is a ritual of adulthood, so it may be that Catullus is thinking of the adult life his brother never lived to enjoy.  And we have seen the theme of cutting/castration in the Attis poem and in the simile of the flower cut down by the passing plow. 

Yes, we bid a sad farewell to Catullus with the most beautiful (short) poem in Latin-- Catullus' farewell to his brother is astounding.  There are almost no personal details, but he gives such a strong impression of his shock at his brother's death, his travels (and it was not easy to travel in 1st century BCE Rome) to reach his brother's grave, his guilt at not being there at the death, his determination to carry out the proper rites...amazing! 

A Fitting Tribute

It is fitting tha we ended our analysis of Catullus's poery with such a sad poem about saying goodbye to a brother. We're saying goodbye to a poet whom I, at least, must admire.
I like the Horace so far, even though it is a bit complex. I feel so sorry for Horace; who wants to be stalked? Poets, gladiators, and some actors were the big stars of their days, so I find it funny that we haven't been able to evolve that much over the years. Modern celebrities can't walk down the street in peace either.
Enjoy your week all!!

That Hair

I find it interesting that everything is from the point of view of a lock of hair. Not only is everything is told from the point of view of a lock of hair, the hair is afraid of other constellations!
I wonder why Telemachus chose to write the constellations as still having human traits (in the case of Leo, lionish rates) such as resentment, the ability to become attached to people and have families, and oratory skills. A lock of hair certainly is not a conventional narrator; why use one? If anyon can come up with any ideas (besides creating humor through metaphor and personification), please let m know!!

Love

Well...this week's translation is interesting...
A lock of hair...that's a new one.
This is an interesting poem, of course, but it's still odd. Who knows, maybe the real Bernice vowed her hair and broke the vow and Conon covered for her by saying her hair had become a constellation?
Interesting fact: Roman men were not supposed to love their wives, or they'd be seen as homosexuals; however, Roman wives were supposed to be super-dutiful and chaste. Bernice is portrayed as an active lover (rixae) and as a woman very much in love. Does this suggest subtle challenges of social norms, or is this normal for Roman poetry? In the Aeneid, for instance, Dido's obviously a queen in her own right, left her kingdom after Pygmalion ruined everything and founded a new one, and is at least Aeneas' equal in initiating in their affair (which of course was arranged via a backroom deal between Venus and Juno; sounds like the bailout, huh?).

Religious Ecstasy
Today's translation was...well...it was interesting.
I admire people who are willing to suffer for the right thing; I respect those who die for their faith so long as they do not circumcision or even here. I do not even want to know what it was like to castrate yourself in general, let alone with a sharp flint before modern medicine.
I think ecstatic worship, especially ritualistic dancing, adds something to the worship service. For instance, you're actively awake during said service, which can be a key to enlightenment. Besides, music and dancing adds to the fun and excitement and aura of the ritual in question.
However, religious ecstasy does have its drawbacks, at least in Greco-Roman mythology (which could have been written from anti-mystery cult propaganda or to portray real events or enforce piety). For instance, Bacchus had his own cousin's mother rip his head off because Pentheus didn't honor him.
Here's a link on religious ecstasy in case you're interested.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_ecstasy

Ah, mystery cults...you either love them or are emotionally traumatized by them. I can understand why the Romans were so against the Galli: Emasculated men in our manly society? Perish the thought! Then again the Romans were against anyone who didn't follow their way of life. For instance, the Bacchanates were too wild for the "sober" Romans; the cult of Cybele was clearly too against sexuality for the sex-crazed Romans; and Christians (they considered Christianity a mystery cult) were too peaceful and strange for the war-loving Romans. However, the cult of Isis seems to have been more or less acceptable; maybe it's because the worshippers of Isis weren't too crazy and out there for the average Roman's palate? Anyway, mystery cults involved rites of initiation that ranged from what we, at least would see as normal (the rite of baptism, for example, or maybe head-shaving in the cult of Isis (Golden Ass)) to the pretty bizarre, at least to us (self-castration for the cult of Cybele). What's the significance of the inductee (I believe Attis is doing this to himself) castrating himself? is this a show of extreme devotion to the Great Mother? On a personal note, I found this translation very strange, but kind of interesting.
Here's a link for more on castration if you're interested: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castration.

Why did the Greeks see the left as blessed? I think a lot of cultures traditionally see, or at least have a tradition of seeing, the left as bad. For instance, it wasn't until a few decades ago that most Americans (Westerners?) stopped seeing left-handedness as a sign of evil. Maybe the Greeks were more open-minded, or maybe other cultures were trying to propagate their way of life and their powerand the other side as wrong (I'm referring to the Da Vinci Code, where it's explained that the left-hand side was associated with the feminine and the right with the masculine. When the masculine-worshippers took over-I'm just paraphrasing what the book said-they turned the left into the side of evil, cf. the Latin "sinister" becoming the English "sinister") and the Greeks hadn't adopted that view. Of course, Roman women had far more rights than Greek women who were expected to stay at home, weave, cook and clean, and reproduce. Anyone got any ideas? Gratias.
Feliciter on the test tomorrow!

Ah-- Egnatius!  An elite Roman reader would absolutely have perceived this method of oral hygiene as gross.  One of the self-assigned duties of the invective poet (invective meaning the poet who attacks his enemies) is to "stain" his enemy with his verse.  This "staining" is very often done through accusations of various kinds of impurity.  Sexual impurity is always popular! but so are accusations that the person has an inappropriate mouth.  So, accusations that a person can't speak properly, or eats inappropriate food, or uses his mouth for inappropriate purposes (back to the sexual impurity trope), or has strange dental work, or has lost teeth, or does something like brushing his teeth with urine are all available to an 'attack poet' to use.  Your observation that it would be unpleasant for Lesbia to kiss someone who brushed his teeth with urine gets at the real point of the poem-- Catullus is "staining" Lesbia by revealing the worst about the men she prefers to him. 

ODI COLORES LATINOS!!!!
Why are the Roman colors so inconsistent, like "gray" (caesius) means "green" and "purpureo" means "rosy" in poem 45? Don't get me wrong; I try not to be a cultural chauvanist. However, it's just confusing...but managable. Gratias for the words in the back of the book, Magistra.
Colores, o Colores, quid feci tibi? Linguam Latinam amo, et linguae Latinae studeo.

Also, just curious, is "attuleris" future perfect or just future? Gratias mille!