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CARMEN LXXVIII. ON GALLUS.

Two brothers has Gallus, the wife of one brother
Is handsome, and so is the son of the other,
And Gallus himself is a nice sort of man,

To bring them together he does all he can ;
But Gallus is foolish, most foolish, I say,

For he does not perceive that he's showing the way
To a trick which on him, too, some nephew might play.

CARMEN LXXIX.-ON LESBIUS.

Who then can doubt a moment that that youth

Fair Lesbius doth possess a handsome face; 'Tis he whom Lesbia prefers forsooth

To thee, Catullus, and to all thy race.

But I will give that fair youth leave to sell
Catullus and his race, if in the street

But three men whom the world at all knows well

Will with a friendly gesture Lesbius greet.

CARMEN LXXXI.-TO JUVENTIUS.

Could'st thou among so many find

No one, Juventius, to thy mind

But him whom now thou call'st thine own, That stranger from Pisaurum's town?

A deadly place, and paler he

Than gilded statue seems to be,

Him now thou lovest, and dost dare

Before me even to prefer,

Alas! how little dost thou know

The crime there is in loving so.

CARMEN LXXXII.-TO QUINTIUS.

Quintius, if thou would'st have me owe My eyes, or aught my heart can know

More precious than my eyes to thee, Take not away the love I prize, Which dearer is than mine own eyes,

Or aught else that can dearer be.

CARMEN LXXXIII.-ON LESBIA'S HUSBAND.

My Lesbia, when her husband's standing near,
Heaps on my head abuse beyond all measure,
The poor soul chuckles such contempt to hear,
And all his simple mind is filled with pleasure.
You utter donkey! are you then so blind?

If she said nought about me, don't you see
'Twould be quite clear I was not in her mind;
But as it is, she snarls and rails at me,
So she remembers me, and what is more,
Talks of me angrily with scornful pique,

So it is plain her inmost heart is sore,

She burns with passion, and is forced to speak.

CARMEN LXXXIV.-ON ARRIUS.

Arrius had an awkward way,

For he, whene'er he meant to say
"Commodious," with no "h" at all,
"Chommodious" from his lips would fall;
Or, if "insidious" he'd pronounce,
Then out "hinsidious" would bounce,

And he'd feel satisfied when he

Had bawled his "h" out lustily.

I think his mother did the same,
His uncle Liber, too, would frame
His words with aspirates like this
With most redundant emphasis;
His grandsire used to rap them out,
His grandam, too, I have no doubt;
At last he went to Syria's clime,
Our ears had respite for a time,

These words we heard with smoothness said

And words like them we ceased to dread.

Our calm was short, the tidings dire

Came spreading quickly to inspire

Our minds with horror, when we heard

That since our friend his course had steered

Across the Ionian waves, that sea

"Hionian hocean" styled must be.

CARMEN LXXXV. —ON HIS LOVE.

At once I love and hate,

You ask why this should be,

I know not, 'tis my fate,

A fate of agony.

CARMEN LXXXVI.-ON QUINCTIA AND LESBIA.

Quinctia many men declare

To be a beauty; well, she's fair

And tall and straight, all this I grant,
Each part of her no charm doth want,
But she's no beauty; to the whole
There's something lacking, 'tis a soul!
Her frame is large, but one can see
In her no spark of piquancy.

But Lesbia's loveliness I find

A perfect whole, all charms combined,
And graces live in her alone,

All beauty she has made her own.

CARMEN XCI.-ON GELLIUS.

In this my wild unhappy love,

O Gellius, I trusted thee,

Not that I thought that thou would'st prove

Loyal in changeless constancy,

Or that I knew thee well of old,

And so had hopes that thou could'st e'er Thy mind from wicked schemes withhold; But 'twas because that maiden fair,

For whom with mighty love I burned,

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