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Main  ::  Translations - all  ::  Missing Subtext (Carmen 79)

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AuthorMessage
Guest
Posted on Tue May 29, 2018 06:42:24  
Sorry for nitpicking (love the site btw), but this translation seems to miss the point of "Lesbius" being Clodius Pulcher, and Catullus referencing the alleged incest among the Metelli clan.
Chris Weimer
Posted at Wed May 30, 2018 07:47:02  Quote
Quote:
  Sorry for nitpicking (love the site btw), but this translation seems to miss the point of "Lesbius" being Clodius Pulcher, and Catullus referencing the alleged incest among the Metelli clan.

Unfortunately, it's a pun that doesn't really work in English without losing something. Still, knowledge of the Roman naming system (that Lesbius and Lesbia would have been related at some level) is enough of an indication for a reader. Like many of Catullus' poems, a commentary would make clear what's unclear to someone first coming to the text.
 


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