Catullus Poem 55
 
 
Previous (Poem 54) Perseus text of Catullus 55 Next (Poem 56)

 
 
ORAMVS, si forte non molestum est, 1 I beg you, if I may without offence,
demonstres ubi sint tuae tenebrae. 2 show me where is your dark corner.
te Campo quaesiuimus minore, 3 I have looked for you in the lesser Campus,
te in Circo, te in omnibus libellis, 4 in the Circus, in all the booksellers' shops,
te in templo summi Iouis sacrato. 5 in the hallowed temple of great Jove.
in Magni simul ambulatione 6 And when I was in Pompey's portico,
femellas omnes, amice, prendi, 7 I stopped all the women there, my friend,
quas uultu uidi tamen sereno. 8 who, however, faced me with untroubled look.
a, uel te, sic ipse flagitabam, 9 You it was that I kept asking them for:
"Camerium mihi pessimae puellae!" 10 "Give me my Camerius, you wicked girls!"
quaedam inquit, nudum reducta pectus, 11 One of them, baring her naked bosom, says
"en hic in roseis latet papillis." 12 "Look here, he is hiding between my rosy breasts."
sed te iam ferre Herculi labos est. 13 Well, to bear with you is now a labour of Hercules.
non custos si fingar ille Cretum, 14 Not though I should be moulded in brass like the fabled warder of Crete,
non si Pegaseo ferar volatu, 15 not though I were to soar aloft like flying Pegasus,
non Ladas ego pinnipesve Perseus, 16 not if I were Ladas or wing-footed Perseus,
non Rhesi niveae citaeque bigae: 17 not if I were the swift snow-white pair of Rhesus could I overtake you:
adde huc plumipedas volatilesque, 18 add to these the feather-footed gods and the winged,
ventorumque simul require cursum; 19 and with them call for the swiftness of the winds;
quos iunctos, Cameri, mihi dicares, 20 though you should harness all these, Camerius, and press them into my service,
defessus tamen omnibus medullis 21 yet I should be tired out to my very marrow,
et multis langoribus peresus 22 and worn away with frequent faintness,
essem te, mi amice, quaeritando. 23 my friend, while searching for you.
tanto te in fastu negas, amice. 24 Do you deny yourself so haughtily, my friend?
dic nobis ubi sis futurus, ede 25 Tell us where you are likely to be, out with it boldly,
audacter, committe, crede luci. 26 trust me with it, give it to the light.
nunc te lacteolae tenent puellae? 27 Do the milk-white maids detain you?
si linguam clauso tenes in ore, 28 If you keep your tongue shut within your mouth,
fructus proicies amoris omnes. 29 you will waste all the gains o flove;
uerbosa gaudet Venus loquella. 30 Venus loves an utterance full of words.
uel, si uis, licet obseres palatum, 32 However, if you will, you may lock up your lips,

dum uestri sim particeps amoris.

33

so long as you let me be a sharer in your love.