Guy Valery Catullus was born into a wealthy family in the north of what is now Italy, in the city of Verona, then still located in Pre-Alpine Gaul.
The father, who was friends with Cicero and had close connections in aristocratic circles, wished to give his son a good education. At the end of the 60s, he sent him to Rome, where he met many noble Romans and led an absent-minded and idle life.
In 57, together with his friend, Catullus made a trip to Asia Minor, which enriched him with new impressions. Catullus died very young - thirty years old. After him, 116 poems remained.
As a poet, he belonged to a group of lyricists called in mockery by Cicero neo-terica, that is, new poets. Neotericists developed mainly small literary forms - epigram, elegy, etc., deliberately contrasting them with large forms - epic and drama. This had programmatic significance for them; Thus, the “new poets” showed contempt for public life and complete satisfaction with private, personal life. “A friendly circle,” writes M. L. Gasparov about the poet, “replaces the state for Catullus; the concepts of social virtues are transferred to friendly everyday life: valor, loyalty, firmness, piety.”
The model for the Neoterics was Hellenistic, Greek Alexandrian poetry, the leader of which was the Greek poet Callimachus (c. 310-240 BC). The poems of Roman poets were distinguished by their learning and perfection of form. They were the first, scientists believe, to treat poetry as an art, place high demands on it and find new forms for expressing intimate experiences. Among them, Catullus was undoubtedly the most talented. His poems were distinguished by their special sincerity, vividness of feeling, lyrical power and simplicity.
Catullus's lyrics are mostly inspired by his love for Claudia, a noble Roman woman, a brilliant and, perhaps, the most immoral beauty of the Roman high society, whom the poet called Lesbia in his poems, named after the famous poetess of the island of Lesbos - Sappho (Sappho). Now it is difficult to establish the sequence of writing poems, which apparently reflected memorable milestones in the lovers’ relationship. But it is still possible to trace the main stages of developing happy and bitter love. The first meetings of the lovers were joyful and promised future happiness. Then suspicions began, accusations of infidelity, outbursts of jealousy, disagreements and, finally, a breakup. Catullus expresses all these manifestations of love with the utmost sincerity. At the same time, describing his great love, which completely embraced him, Catullus depicts it not as a spontaneous passion that does not fall under the power of reason, but as a feeling, deeply conscious and verifiable by reason.
The originality of Catullus's poems about love can only be understood in comparison with the Greek poetry of his teachers and the Roman lyrics that preceded him. If for Greek poets love is a game, if it is always accompanied by slight irony, then in the poems of Catullus and the Neoterics it appears as a serious, solemn and even tragic feeling, acquiring an appropriate sound. With such an attitude towards love, the slightest suspicion of infidelity, and even more so betrayal, is perceived as undermining the entire system of vital and moral values and their complete catastrophe. Love in this light receives “a new quality - sublime and spiritual.” “This discovery of spiritual love,” writes M. L. Gasparov, “is the greatest innovation and originality of Catullus, distinguishing him from all ancient poetry and making him similar to the poetry of modern times: in antiquity he had neither predecessors nor followers.” The main difficulty was that the poetic language of antiquity knew words to convey physical love, but did not know words to convey spiritual love. Catullus painfully searched for words expressing the difference between physical love and spiritual love. The tragic division of love for him explains his famous antithesis:
I hate her and love her. “Why?” - you ask.
I don’t know myself, but that’s how I feel—and I’m languishing.
In mournful love poems, Catullus expresses the spiritual duality of his feelings: it turns out that he loved Lesbia with both physical and spiritual love, high and real, Lesbia, however, preferred the physical love of a lover who cannot love spiritually:
What happened? Your recklessness is the fault of your lover
He thirsts for you more and more, but he can no longer love you.
In the poem “No, not one among women can boast of such a thing...” Catullus, aware of the depravity of his beloved, no longer hopes to return the love and friendship of Lesbia, but he realizes that spiritual love is his eternal destiny, bringing him infinite happiness and endless suffering. He swears by the friendly feelings he experiences towards Lesbia:
Devoted friendship, like I, Lesbia, was your friend.
There have never been strong and binding bonds in the world.
However, both friendship and spiritual love fail. The poet’s bitterness is immeasurable; he cannot contain his annoyance and throws a bitter reproach:
Lesbia! Passion and sadness broke my heart.
And since spiritual intimacy has become impossible, then from now on Catullus ends all relations with his former lover, but it is clear that he stopped respecting her because of morally dubious actions:
I won’t be your friend, even if you became modest again...
However, a breakup does not dull the pain of the heart and does not heal love wounds. Catullus is doomed to love Lesbia, and he seems to freeze in this tragic experience, aphoristically expressing his tragedy:
In other poems, the poet begs the gods to return Lesbia's love to him, realizing that this is impossible. All the poems in the cycle indicate that Catullus’ feelings and his entire moral character are incomparable with the experiences, actions and ethical standards of a beautiful but frivolous married Roman woman. She was immortalized by the poems of Catullus, sincere in their exceptional expressiveness.
The cult of friendship is no less important for Catullus. Catullus also said a new word about this feeling in Roman poetry. Friendship was highly valued in Roman culture. This virtue was considered the basis of morality. Catullus does not stand aloof from society. He is proud of his friends and their deeds, greeting every act of friendship with hyperbolic praise, and any manifestation of infidelity with equally exaggerated blasphemy, reaching the point of exquisitely rude abuse.
Catullus, however, is attracted to friendship not by general service to the state, not by activities for the benefit of society, but by intimate relationships, personal closeness - in a word, what later came to be called a feast of the spirit - the exchange of thoughts, dreams, communication and confidential “conversation” of souls. In such a friendly union, every little thing takes on special significance. But the high standards of friendship proclaimed by Catullus are often not met by his acquaintances, and the poet bitterly notices how morals are falling, how friends who boasted of their loyalty and pretended to be loyal betray and betray. This is how mournful lines are born about the triumph of vices that have become familiar in Roman society:
So it is with me. My worst and most cruel enemy
This desecration of high morality, the principles of which go back to ancient times, finds in Catullus a determined opponent. In his caustic iambics addressed to “Caesar, Pompey and their supporters, he mocks contemporary morals, which allow patronage and indulgence of mediocrities, nonentities, debauchees and covetous people. Public figures in power, according to Catullus, only disgrace and destroy the republic. In the accusatory poems addressed to them, Catullus often used comparisons, geographical names, used unusual rhythm and different meters, moved the plot center to the end of the poem. His style, according to the observations of scientists, “plays with the contrasts of the high and the rough, the poetic and the colloquial... in his language, archaic phrases are juxtaposed with fashionable Greek borrowings, his verse constantly teases with exquisite and effective rhythms. All this creates constant emotional tension, which, depending on the turn of the topic, is interpreted either as jubilant mockery or as tragic torment - two extremes between which the poetic rushes consciousness of Catullus."
In Russia, Catullus has been well known since the 18th century. Pushkin translated Catullus’s poem “To a Boy” (“Drunk with the bitterness of Falernus...”). A complete translation of his poems was carried out by A. A. Fet, who called Catullus “the Roman Pushkin” and wrote: “We cannot better outline the personal and artistic character of our poet. Both of them are secular young men who seek life’s pleasures and know how to find them in all subjects. Pure and honest natures, they did not rely on any conscious ethics, but were guided by one consistent feeling...”
No, not a single woman can boast of such a thing.
Devoted friendship, like I, Lesbia, was your friend.
Stronger than the bonds of love that once bound the two of us,
There have never been strong and binding bonds in the world.
Now my heart is broken. Jokingly you split it,
Lesbia! Passion and sadness broke my heart.
I won't be your friend, even if you became modest again,
But I can’t stop loving you, even if you’re a criminal!
Translation by A. Piotrovsky
No, don’t expect to earn your friend’s affection and gratitude.
Don't expect godly love as a reward!
Ingratitude reigns, goodness brings no reward,
Where are the rewards? Good bitterness will give birth to melancholy.
So it is with me. My worst and most cruel enemy
He turned out to be someone to whom I was a friend and brother.
Translation by A. Piotrovsky
Questions and tasks
- Which group of poets did Catullus belong to?
- To whom are Catullus's lyrics dedicated? What led to the breakup between the poet and Lesbia?
- What artistic techniques did the poet use in his poems?
- What translations of Catullus's poems were made by Pushkin and Fet?
- Read the poems of Catullus and analyze one of them in class.
109. LESBIA PROMISES
My life! Our love will be happy, so you said. Let us be faithful to each other and never experience separation! Great gods! Make sure she doesn't lie! Let her word come pure from a pure soul! May we live in peace and joy for many years to come, The mutual union of friendship is inviolably preserved.
36. FUNNY SACRIFICE
You'll burn, my girlfriend's vow By doing. Joys and Venus She promised when I return And I’ll stop throwing evil iambics, The worst nonsense from the trashiest poet Give to the lame Hephaestus And burn on merciless logs. And the bad girl decided, That her vow is sweet and witty! You, born of the dark blue sea, You, Queen Idalia and Uri, You, who guard Ancona and Go lie, Amathuntus, and the sandy shore of Knidus, And the Adriatic bazaar, Dyrrachium, - Accept your vow graciously, Venus! Don't wait! Step into the fire alive Awkward nonsense, nonsense and nonsense, Worthless trash, Volusia annals!
Lesbia always scolds me. Not silent for a moment. I'm ready to guarantee that Lesbia loves me! After all, it’s no different with me. I curse and scold her, And I’m ready to vouch for it: I love Lesbia very much!
70. WOMEN'S VOWS
My darling tells me: I only want to be your wife, Even Jupiter would wish for me in vain. That's what he says. But what does a woman whisper to her lover in passion, Write in the air and on fast-flowing water!
83. LESBIA STILL LOVES
Lesbia always vilifies me and scolds me in front of my wife. This pleases the donkey and the fool almost to the point of tears. You are completely blind, brainless! After all, if I were forgotten and abandoned, So she would shut up. If he makes noise and shouts, So he probably remembers. No, more, many times more! Lesbia is angry. Well? - Lesbia loves me!
72. LOVE AND DESIRE
Lesbia, you once said that you love and want Only me. That Jupiter itself is not nice to you. Well, I loved you too. And not the way they want a girlfriend, No, just like a good father loves his children. I know you now. And although passion torments me more hotly, You're still a lot cheaper, send a lot for me. What happened? Your recklessness is the fault of your lover He thirsts for you more and more, but he can no longer love you.
75. NOT TO LOVE AWAY
No, not a single woman can boast of such a thing. Devoted friendship, like I, Lesbia, was your friend. Stronger than the bonds of love that once bound the two of us, There have never been strong and binding bonds in the world. Now my heart is broken. Jokingly, you split it, Lesbia! Passion and sadness broke my heart. I won't be your friend, even if you became modest again, But I can’t stop loving you, even if you’re a criminal!
38. TO ANOTHER CORNIFICIA
I am sad, Cornificius, as the gods see! It’s bitter for me, your Catullus, it’s hard, Every day it gets harder and every hour! You, my friend, I’m not asking for much. Did he at least say a word of consolation to me? I'm angry. You don't pay well for love. But friend, a short word Simonides' complaints are dearer to me.
8. TO YOURSELF
Poor Catullus, stop acting idly, And what has long passed, then consider it the past! The stars once shone for you too. You flew joyfully to the sweet call of your darling. (No one in the world can be so loved). There was a lot of fun and tenderness there, Wishing you welcome and pleasant to her, dear. At that time the stars shone for you too. Now she doesn't love, don't love either! Don’t rush after someone who is leaving, don’t live in grief. Be patient and firm! In times of trouble, hold your heart together! Goodbye, beauty! Catullus steeled his heart. He doesn’t ask for your affection, he left you wanting. But you will cry unwanted, remember! Criminal! What a lot awaits you! Who will come to you? Who will call it a rose? Who will you love and whose will you be now? Whose will you kiss, who will you bite on the lips? But be firm, Catullus! Be patient with your heart.
Guy Valery Catullus. A word about the poet.
“No, not one among women...”, “No, don’t expect to earn affection...”. Love as an expression of deep feelings, spiritual ups and downs of a young Roman. Chastity, conciseness and careful verification of feelings by reason, Pushkin as a translator of Catullus (“To the boy”)
Horace. A word about the poet.
“I erected a monument...” Poetic creativity in the system of human existence. The idea of poetic merit is the introduction of the Romans to the Greek lyricists. Traditions of the Horatian ode in the works of Derzhavin and Pushkin.
Dante Apighieri. A word about the poet.
"The Divine Comedy"(fragments). The plurality of meanings of the poem: literal (depiction of the afterlife), allegorical (movement of the idea of being from darkness to light, from suffering to joy, from error to truth, the idea of the ascent of the soul to spiritual heights through knowledge of the world), moral (the idea of reward in the afterlife for earthly deeds), mystical (intuitive comprehension of the divine idea through the perception of the beauty of poetry as a divine language, although created by earthly man, the mind of the poet). The universal philosophical character of the poem.
William Shakespeare. Brief information about the life and work of Shakespeare. Characteristics of Renaissance humanism.
"Hamlet"(review with reading of individual scenes at the teacher’s choice, for example: Hamlet’s monologues from scene five (act 1), scene one (act 3), scene four (act 4). “Hamlet” is “a play for all centuries” "(A. Anikst). The universal human significance of Shakespeare's heroes. The image of Hamlet, a humanist of the Renaissance. The loneliness of Hamlet in his conflict with the real world of the "shaken century". The tragedy of the love of Hamlet and Ophelia. The philosophical depth of the tragedy "Hamlet" Hamlet as an eternal image of world literature. Shakespeare and Russian literature.
T e o r i a l l i t e r a t u r y. Tragedy as a dramatic genre (deepening the concept).
Johann Wolfgang Goethe. Brief information about the life and work of Goethe. Characteristics of the features of the Age of Enlightenment.
"Faust"(review with reading of individual scenes at the teacher’s choice, for example: “Prologue in Heaven”, “At the City Gate”, “Faust’s Cabinet”, “Garden”, “Night. The street in front of Gretchen's house", "Prison", Faustai's last monologue from the second part of the tragedy).
"Faust" is a philosophical tragedy of the Enlightenment. The plot and composition of the tragedy. The struggle between good and evil in the world as the driving force of its development, the dynamics of being. The confrontation between the creative personality of Faust and the unbelief, the spirit of doubt of Mephistopheles. Faust's search for justice and the rational meaning of human life. “Prologue in Heaven” is the key to the main idea of the tragedy. The meaning of the contrast between Faust and Wagner, creativity and scholastic routine. The tragedy of love between Faust and Gretchen.
The final meaning of the great tragedy is “Only he is worthy of life and freedom who goes to battle for them every day.” Features of the genre of the tragedy "Faust": its combination of reality and elements of convention and fantasy. Faust as an eternal image of world literature. Goethe and Russian literature.
Translation of Adr. Piotrovsky
My darling tells me: I only want to be your wife,
Even Jupiter would wish for me in vain.
That's what he says. But what does a woman whisper to her lover in passion,
Write in the air and on fast-flowing water!
“No, not a single woman can boast of such a thing...”
Translation of Adr. Piotrovsky
No, not a single woman can boast of such a thing.
Devoted friendship, like I, Lesbia, was your friend.
Stronger than the bonds of love that once bound the two of us,
There have never been strong and binding bonds in the world.
Now my heart is broken. Jokingly you split it,
Lesbia! Passion and sadness broke my heart.
I won't be your friend, even if you became modest again,
But I can’t stop loving you, even if you’re a criminal!
“If it brings joy to a person to remember good deeds...”
Translation by S. Shervinsky
If it is gratifying for a person to remember good deeds
In the conviction that he spent his life piously,
The saint never stained his faith when entering into agreements,
For the sake of deceiving people, I did not appeal to the gods in vain, -
What awaits you, over many years, from this
There is much joy in ungrateful love, Catullus.
Everything good a person can say to another
Or do it to someone - you did everything and said.
What was entrusted to an unworthy soul was lost...
So why are you more tormented now?
If you don’t strengthen your soul, you won’t find consolation for yourself,
Driven by the wrath of the gods, will you not stop suffering?
Long love is difficult to stop with a sudden break,
It is truly difficult, but finally make up your mind!
This is your salvation, make up your mind, gather your will,
Conquer your passion, whether you have the strength or not.
Gods! You have pity, and people have shown it more than once
You are the last help even on your deathbed,
Take a look at me, the unlucky one, and if it’s clear
I have lived my life, tear the black disease out of me!
With numbness he penetrates my members deeply,
The best joys are driven away from my chest.
I don’t pray that she chooses me again
Or to be modest - it’s unthinkable for her,
If only I could be healed, if only I could throw off my dark illness.
Gods! I only ask this for my piety.
“I both hate her and love her...”
Translation by F. Petrovsky
I hate her and love her. “Why?” - you ask.
I don’t know myself, but that’s how I feel—and I’m languishing.
“Quinthia is famous for being beautiful...”
Translation of Adr. Piotrovsky
Quintia is famous for being beautiful. And I'll call her slim,
White and straight. I will praise everything in parts.
I won't just call her a beauty. Quintia has no charm,
There is no spark of fire in such a luxurious body.
Lesbia - that's who is beautiful! She deprived women
She combined all the women's magic in herself.
"Lesbia always scolds me..."
Translation of Adr. Piotrovsky
Lesbia always scolds me. Not silent for a moment
I'm ready to guarantee that Lesbia loves me!
After all, it’s no different with me. I curse and scold her,
And I’m ready to vouch for it: I love Lesbia very much!
“If a wish comes true beyond hope and measure...”
Translation of Adr. Piotrovsky
If a wish comes true beyond hope and measure,
The soul blesses the day with unparalleled happiness.
Blessed be the day, golden, precious, wonderful,
My dear lesbian, who returned my love.
Lesbia is with me again! What I didn’t expect has come true!
Oh, how magnificent life sparkles again!
Which person is happier than me? What else could I do?
Do I wish on earth? The heart is full to the brim!
"My life! Our love will be happy..."
Translation of Adr. Piotrovsky
My life! Our love will be happy, so you said.
Let us be faithful to each other and never experience separation!
Great gods! Make sure she doesn't lie!
Let her word come pure from a pure soul!
May we live in peace and joy for many years to come,
The mutual union of friendship is inviolably preserved.
QUINT HORACE FLACCUS 673
ODES
“Glorious grandson, Maecenas...”
Translation by A. Semenov-Tyan-Shansky
To the Patron
Glorious grandson, Patron of the royal forefathers,
Oh, my joy, honor and refuge!
There are those for whom the highest happiness is -
Toss up the dust of the arena in an evasive run
Red-hot wheels: palm of victory
They are lifted up to the gods, the rulers of the world.
There are others who like the chosen one
To be the 674 crowd, ardent and windy.
This one is happy when from the Libyan field
He carefully gathered the harvest into the granaries;
And the one who is used to digging with a spade
Only father's allotment, even riches
You can’t lure all the kings of Pergamon into the sea
The ship can cut through the treacherous waves.
And the merchant, if he is, a furious storm
Frightened, he will begin to ardently praise
The world of native fields - again for repairs
We see the ship in fear of poverty.
There are others who, with a cup of wine, are a friend
I like to while away the day lying under a tree
Strawberry, in the shade of tender greenery,
Or at the spring of the reserved waters.
The camp attracts many, - the language is mixed
And horns, and trumpets, and hateful
War to all mothers. Winter cold
Without fear, without thinking about my tender wife,
The hunter is still in the forest, has the doe smelled it?
A pack of faithful dogs, or a wild boar broke through the net.
But I am only ivy, the difference between the wise,
The cool grove brings me close to the heights,
Where nymphs dance with satyrs,
Puts me above the crowd - if only Euterpe 675 would give me
Polyhymnia 676 also gave the flute to my hands
The lesbian lyre came to me to fix it.
If you count me among the lyre singers,
I will raise my proud head to the stars.
Guy Valery Catullus
Life and art.
- 1. To introduce students to the main stages of the life and work of Catullus;
- 2. Consider the features of Catullus’s lyrics;
- 3. improve skills in analyzing poetic texts using the example of Catullus’ poems.
- Born into a wealthy family in Verona (present-day Italy).
- He received a good education and traveled a lot.
- Died young (about 30 years old)
- Wrote about 116 poems.
- Joined a group of lyricists "neoterics" (new poets").
- Neoterics developed small literary forms:
- epigram,
- elegy and etc.
- They despised public life
wrote about private, personal life.
- “For Catullus, a friendly circle replaces the state; the concepts of social virtues are transferred to friendly everyday life: valor, loyalty, firmness, piety.”
M.L. Gasparov
- Important for the poet cult of friendship . Friendship was valued in Roman culture.
- Catullus is proud of his friends; communication, confidential “conversation” of souls, and common interests are important to him.
- His lyrics are inspired by his love for Claudia (a noble Roman woman, a beauty of the Roman high society).
- Love for Catullus it is a deeply conscious feeling, verifiable by reason.
- He loves Claudia both physically and spiritual love . The tragedy is that Claudia chooses the physical love of another person who cannot love spiritually.
- No, not a single woman can boast of such a thing.
- Devoted friendship, like I, Lesbia, was your friend.
- Stronger than the bonds of love that once bound the two of us,
- There have never been strong and binding bonds in the world.
- Now my heart is broken. Jokingly you split it,
- Lesbia! Passion and sadness broke my heart.
- I won't be your friend, even if you became modest again,
- But I can’t stop loving you, even if you’re a criminal.
- No, don’t expect to earn your friend’s affection and gratitude.
- Don't expect godly love as a reward!
- Ingratitude reigns, goodness brings no reward,
- Where are the rewards? Good bitterness will give birth to melancholy.
- So it is with me. My worst and most cruel enemy
- He turned out to be someone to whom I was a friend and brother.