Blog Post 6 - Catallus and Lesbia

Catallus’ relationship with “Lesbia”, a Roman noblewoman named Clodia Metelli, is the focus of many of his poems. In Catallus 5, he expresses his blissful love for Lesbia, despite the disapproval others may voice. Catallus calls upon Lesbia to “live…and love” with him, and seems to imply a sense of urgency in their being together by mentioning the brevity of their lives. While the sun may “rise and set ad infinitum”, he and Lesbia only have a single short life that will inevitably end in death; his desire to be with her during this time indicates how much he valued her and their relationship when he wrote this poem. Catallus goes on to contrast this image of shortness with one in which he and Lesbia could apparently be together indefinitely. He tells her to give him “a thousand kisses, then a hundred” and so on until they “lose count of the total”. While their time on Earth may be limited, Catallus seems to believe any time spent together has the potential to be infinite, and to allow them to continue displaying their love for each other without end. Within this poem, Catallus also expresses a disregard for the gossip surrounding his relationship with Lesbia; along with directly devaluing “scandal, all the gossip, [and] old men’s strictures”, he also wishes to make the number of their kisses innumerable so that “no maleficent enemy [could] hex [them]”, implying that their relationship did not have the support of the general public. This poem makes clear that, at this time, Catallus cared more for Lesbia than for either of their reputations, and he apparently believed that this love could survive into the future.

In contrast, Catallus 11 shows Catallus’ reaction to their relationship’s failure, and it is clear he feels Lesbia is to blame. He starts by addressing Furius and Aurelius, and referring to their expansive travels as Roman leaders—from the Indies to Briton. After emphasizing the vastness of this area, and reassuring them that they are “both ready to face [it] together”, he requests that they “find [his] girl” and deliver her a message. This request on its own indicates that there is an extreme separation between Catallus and Lesbia, hinting that their relationship is over; she is apparently gone from his life entirely, as he is incapable of locating or contacting her himself. The content of Catallus’ message underscores the sense of abandonment and pain that Lesbia’s absence (whether figurative or literal) has caused him. He brings up Lesbia’s reputation for sleeping with many men, “loving none truly, yet cracking each one’s loins / over and over,” demonstrating his apparent reprehension for her relations with others, while also suggesting her emotional coldness. In the final stanza, Catallus plainly illustrates the hurt she has caused him, as he says to tell her not to seek his passion in the future, as it is now lying “fallen like some flower / at the field’s edge, after the passing ploughshare’s / cut a path through it”. As this poem shows, Catallus no longer believes his love with Lesbia has a future; in fact, he now resents her for leaving him discarded and heartbroken. He evidently feels no more significant than any of the other men she has been with without truly loving.

            In Catallus 58A, he once again refers to Lesbia after the end of their relationship, and after his love has turned to bitterness. In this poem, he addresses Caelius, who was also known to have slept with Lesbia. He emphasizes this when he says “our dear Lesbia”, but still indicates that his love for her was greater, as he says, “that Lesbia whom alone Catallus worshipped / more than himself.” Referring to himself in the third person makes it seem as if this Catallus—the one who so deeply loves Lesbia—is a Catallus of the past, and not the same at the one who is writing this poem. This shows that his incredible love for Lesbia has ended and, as the poem goes on to portray, has turned into antipathy. Catallus refers to Lesbia’s promiscuous reputation, showing disdain for something that previously did not concern him. As he crudely puts it, Lesbia is “now on backstreet corners… / jack[ing] off Remus’s generous descendants.” Whereas Catallus previously loved Lesbia unconditionally, he now directly insults her and her behavior.
            In the first poem, it is clear that Catallus’ love for Lesbia is at its peak; he adores her completely and wishes to spend all his time kissing her, with total disregard for what anyone else thinks of them or their relationship. In the next, however, their relationship has apparently ended and left Catallus devastated. It seems that Lesbia coldly abandoned him—at least from his perspective—and left him bitter and heartbroken. In the final poem, Catallus comes across as somewhat further removed from the desolation Lesbia has caused him, as he no longer refers to his own pain, but he is still unmistakably spiteful towards her. Thus, analysis of Catallus’ poems can help portray the progression of a significant relationship in his life.