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Gaius Valerius Catullus
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Catullus, Tibullus, Pervigilium Veneris (Loeb Classical Library No. 6) Hardcover – January 1, 1988

Latin Edition by Gaius Valerius Catullus (Author), Albius Tibullus (Author), G.P. Goold (Editor),
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 45 ratings
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Polymetric gems, wistful elegies, and a lover’s prayer.

Catullus (Gaius Valerius, 84–54 BC), of Verona, went early to Rome, where he associated not only with other literary men from Cisalpine Gaul but also with Cicero and Hortensius. His surviving poems consist of nearly sixty short lyrics, eight longer poems in various metres, and almost fifty epigrams. All exemplify a strict technique of studied composition inherited from early Greek lyric and the poets of Alexandria. In his work we can trace his unhappy love for a woman he calls Lesbia; the death of his brother; his visits to Bithynia; and his emotional friendships and enmities at Rome. For consummate poetic artistry coupled with intensity of feeling, Catullus’ poems have no rival in Latin literature.

Tibullus (Albius, ca. 54–19 BC), of equestrian rank and a friend of Horace, enjoyed the patronage of Marcus Valerius Messalla Corvinus, whom he several times apostrophizes. Three books of elegies have come down to us under his name, of which only the first two are authentic. Book 1 mostly proclaims his love for “Delia,” Book 2 his passion for “Nemesis.” The third book consists of a miscellany of poems from the archives of Messalla; it is very doubtful whether any come from the pen of Tibullus himself. But a special interest attaches to a group of them which concern a girl called Sulpicia: some of the poems are written by her lover Cerinthus, while others purport to be her own composition.

The Pervigilium Veneris, a poem of not quite a hundred lines celebrating a spring festival in honor of the goddess of love, is remarkable both for its beauty and as the first clear note of romanticism which transformed classical into medieval literature. The manuscripts give no clue to its author, but recent scholarship has made a strong case for attributing it to the early fourth-century poet Tiberianus.

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  1. Print length
    376 pages
  2. Language
    English, Latin
  3. Publisher
    Harvard University Press
  4. Publication date
    January 1, 1988
  5. Dimensions
    4.25 x 0.9 x 6.37 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    9780674990074
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0674990074
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

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“An authoritative and up-to-date… text and a translation that communicates accurately and clearly the meaning of the Latin.”―Michael Roberts, New England Classical Newsletter & Journal

From the Back Cover

Catullus, of Verona, went early to Rome, where he associated not only with other literary men form Cisalpine Gaul but also with Cicero and Hortensius. Tibullus, of equestrian rank and a friend of Horace, enjoyed the patronage of Marcus Valerius Messalla Corvinus, whom he several times apostrophizes. The Pervigilium Veneris, a poem of not quite a hundred lines celebrating a spring festival in honor of the goddess of love, is remarkable both for its romanticism which transformed classical into medieval literature.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ 0674990072
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Harvard University Press; 2nd edition (January 1, 1988)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English, Latin
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 376 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780674990074
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0674990074
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 10.7 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 4.25 x 0.9 x 6.37 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 45 ratings

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  1. Gaius Valerius Catullus

    Gaius Valerius Catullus

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  3. Frederick Lauritzen

    Frederick Lauritzen

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    Frederick Lauritzen studied classics at New College, Oxford and Columbia University. He has published articles on eleventh century literature as well as the reception of neoplatonism. He is a post-doctoral fellow at the Fondazione per le Scienze Religiose, Bologna

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Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
45 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Grandjete
5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Help For An Inexperienced Latin Reader
Reviewed in the United States on February 5, 2015
Verified Purchase
I have taken 8 hours of college Latin, and have spent about 30 minutes a day reading for pleasure for most of the past year. I saw on youtube first, then read online somewhere Catullus 101, a beautiful and moving poem to the authors dead brother. It was so powerful, I decided to get this as my first truly serious Latin work (have a handful of the intermediate works, like "The Romans Speak For Themselves", and a selection of Caesars Commentaries that is heavily supported by English translations.)

Understand, Catullus in general is still beyond my abilities to read with facility. It takes a great deal of work for me at my level to grapple with Catullus' generally short poems.

However, I was greatly motivated to try, after hearing and reading Catullus 101, and I looked for some work that provided enough help for someone my level (2 strong semesters of college Latin + an intense interest). This reprint edition is it. I especially found the extensive help in the footnotes very useful to help my slogging. I still need a dictionary, and to check vocabulary online, but with the help of this edition much of Catullus is now open to me. It is exciting to read these poems and have a decent sense of what the poet was trying to say to us. Recommended
8 people found this helpful
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Retired teacher
5.0 out of 5 stars Catullus reader
Reviewed in the United States on May 30, 2009
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This is a Catullus reader with all of his poems. It's a "loab" with the Latin on one side and English on the other. It should be in every Latin teacher's personal library. This copy arrived on time and in excellent condition.
2 people found this helpful
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Kirk Ormand
5.0 out of 5 stars Two completely different books (!) that Amazon can't distinguish between (!!!)
Reviewed in the United States on February 7, 2018
*Thomson's* edition of Catullus is possibly the best available in English. I'm writing this review, however, simply to warn potential buyers. When you click on the "look inside" link here, you are shown the inside of an *entirely different book*. The book you see images of is a 2009 reprint of Merrill's late 19th-century edition (1895, I believe), published by "BiblioLife" a publisher that specializes in publishing out-of-copyright books. (Thomson's edition is, needless to say, still under copyright).

Why Amazon would think that it is reasonable to show you images of an 1895 commentary on Catullus rather than the 2003 commentary that you're interested in is a question that I think has no answer. The text of Catullus in the two editions is probably similar; the content of the *commentary* -- which is to say, 4/5 of the book -- is completely different. This is something like showing you an edition of Shakespeare when you click to "look inside" an edition of Stoppard's _Shakespeare In Love._ Bonkers, Amazon, Bonkers.
5 people found this helpful
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ori
1.0 out of 5 stars This is not the edition you're looking for
Reviewed in the United States on September 28, 2020
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I was looking for the full edition with commentary by Thomson. When I "looked inside" the book it appeared to be that. But what showed up was a cheap xerox of just the Latin text, not the Latin text with voluminous commentary at the bottom of each page. Come on Amazon! This is not that book! There must be a different ISBN number.
2 people found this helpful
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5.0 out of 5 stars Lean, mean Catullus; Love-driven Tibullus; Vigil of Venus...
Reviewed in the United States on February 16, 2004
"Let him tomorrow who has never loved,
and let him who has tomorrow love!"
This review relates to the volume -Catullus,
Tibullus, Pervigilium Veneris-, Second Edition,
Loeb Classical Library # 6, ISBN: 0674990072.
The original translations of Catullus (by F.W.
Cornish), of Tibullus (by J. P. Postgate), and
of the -Pervigilium Veneris- (by J. M Mackail)
have now been updated for the better by G. P.
Goold (his first 2nd edition appeared in 1988 --
this reprint is dated 2000), and Goold's
Introductory explanations for the state of the
translations and the need for updates appear
before each section of works (entire volume,
Reviser's Note, Aug. 1987; Catullus, Reviser's
Preface 1987; Tibullus, Reviser's Preface, 1988;
-Pervigilium Veneris-, Reviser's Preface, 1984).
Catullus, perhaps the best known of the 3 sources
of work in this volume, is an extremely interesting,
if not fascinating person and/or character. He can
be rough and bawdy and cynical, and at other times
stricken, driven, haunted, and sympathetic. His
poems are satiric attacks using "gutter language"
and sexual accusations, name-calling (especially
relating to ... proclivities) --
but they are also songs of pain, frustration, despair,
self-criticism, and complaint. There are also
exceptionally moving poems that recite the feelings
of the family and of himself over the loss of his
brother. Many editions of Catullus use euphemistic
language to get around his direct rough talk, or
they simply excise the "offending" passages. Thankfully,
this new edition restores the complete text with
appropriate graphic translations which give one the
sense of just what kind of an artist and person
Catullus was. G.P. Goold says that he has used
W.H.D. Rouse's paraphrases of several of Catullus'
poems because the paraphrases are so good. Those
poems paraphrased by Rouse are: 15, 21, 37, 69, 71,
74, 78, 79, 80, 89, 94, 97, 100, 110, 112, and 113.
Here for those who can take it are the opening
lines of 37 (paraphrased by Rouse): ...BR>Tibullus, on the other hand, is a bit quieter -- his
opening lines talk of pastoral peace (until he a little
later starts talking to Delia and shows how driven he
is, how under her spell -- and Love, oh Love -- that
mesmerizer, that seducer, that desired ideal). "I am
a captive fast bound in the bonds of a lovely girl;
I sit a janitor before her stubborn doors. I care not
for glory, Delia dear; let me only be with thee, and
I will pray folk call me sluggard and idler." "But
me, for I have been ever pliable to gentle Love, shall
Venus' self escort to the Elysian fields."
-Pervigilium Veneris- "a poem of not quite a hundred
lines celebrating a spring festival in honour of the
goddess of love, is remarkable both for its beauty
and as the first clear note of romanticism which
transformed classical into medieval literature."
The poem is divided into 3 sections with sub parts:
Spring -- stanza I, The arrival of spring; stanza
II, The birth of Venus; stanza III, The budding of the
rose. The Festival -- stanza IV, Venus' message to
the nymphs; stanza V, The nymphs' message to Diana;
stanza VI, The festival at Hybla. Litanies to Venus --
stanza VII, As cosmic goddess of procreation; stanza
VIII, As tutelary goddess of Rome; stanza IX, As goddess
of vegetation; stanza X, As goddess of animals and birds;
and a personal epilogue at the end of the poem: "She sings,
I am mute. When will my spring come? When shall I become
like the swallow that I may cease to be voiceless? I
have lost my muse through being voiceless, and Phoebus
[Apollo] regards me not...."
-- Robert Kilgore [acominatus, patroklos, Encolp1850.]
9 people found this helpful
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The Scythian
4.0 out of 5 stars Different edition...
Reviewed in the United States on November 23, 2009
Verified Purchase
I read all of the reviews on Amazon, but they all seem to refer to different editions than the one advertised. There are dozens of editions of Catullus, including at least two by Goold--but these two editions have quite different purposes. The Loeb edition has parallel texts, Latin and English, but no commentary. The advertised volume (ISBN 0715617109) is heavier on commentary and notes. I would like to see a review that evaluates this edition and its author's interpretations and opinions. In the meantime, the reader should ignore my rating of this item, I really don't know how good it is--just that the editor does have a distinguished reputation.
7 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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camcussion
5.0 out of 5 stars Brief Review of the Loeb Catullus
Reviewed in Canada on April 7, 2013
Verified Purchase
I purchased this edition to aid with my university level Latin class, as we were working with Catullus.

The nice thing about the book is that many of the poems are short and concise, so comparing the English to the Latin can be quite simple at times, even if still a bit tricky since it is poetry.

Some of the poems are among the most famous Latin love poems ever written, and I would strongly recommend this book for any lover of highly refined poetry or for those who wish to continue fine-tuning their Latin skills.
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Ulrike Stephan
5.0 out of 5 stars very valuable
Reviewed in Germany on May 16, 2014
Verified Purchase
Modern edition with good critical apparatus. Extensive commentary with general introduction to each poem + comments on each line. More basic explanation of difficult sentences would be nice (especially for teaching), but information in terms of historical, cultural, literary background abounds. Definitely huge progress from older commentaries like Kroll and Syndikus.
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pinco pallino
5.0 out of 5 stars ottimo commento
Reviewed in Italy on November 20, 2013
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il miglior commento recente a Catullo, insieme a una seria edizione critica. Non può mancare nella biblioteca di qualunque classicista. Experto credite
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Roman Clodia
5.0 out of 5 stars Raw and haunting
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 4, 2010
Verified Purchase
Catullus, writing in the Rome of Julius Caesar and Cicero, is probably one of the most accessible of classical poets: his searing, emotionally raw and haunting Lesbia poems, especially, seem to inscribe the very nature of sexual obsession on the page.

But he is worth reading for the 'long' poems too, the extraordinary Attis poem (poem 63) and the Marriage of Peleus and Thetis (poem 64)which has such an impact on the Renaissance erotic epyllion.

In line with the other Loebs, this translates the poems into plain text, but it is impossible to convey the spiky texture of Catullus' original Latin.

If you have any Latin it's worth investing in this Loeb edition (Catullus' Latin in the love lyrics is pretty easy, probably about 'A' level standard, but the longer poems (c.63 and c.64) are difficult). But if not or you want a taster without the high price then I would recommend the Guy Lee Oxford World Classics translation which is much better than the Penguin looser translation.
20 people found this helpful
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Catherine Scott
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 18, 2015
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Wonderful as expected
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