Carmen LXXII: To Lesbia the False
Wont thou to vaunt whilome of knowing only Catullus(Lesbia!) nor to prefer Jupiter's self to myself.Then, too, I loved thee well, not as vulgar wretch his mistressBut as a father his sons loves and his sons by the law.Now have I learnt thee aright; wherefor though burn I the hotter,Lighter and viler by far thou unto me hast become."How can this be?" dost ask: 'tis that such injury everForces the hotter to love, also the less well to will.
Words in this poem
- aright adv.
- Rightly; correctly; in a right way or form; without mistake or crime; as, to worship God aright. [Pref. a- + right.]
- hast
- , 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Carmen LXXII: To Lesbia the False is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Carmina, Project Gutenberg ebook #20732, the Richard Burton translation; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Catullus, Carmen LXXII: To Lesbia the False, in The Carmina (1894), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #20732, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/catullus-carmina/carmen-lxxii-to-lesbia-the-false.html, id L13853.
Form and metre
Carmen LXXII: To Lesbia the False is 8 lines in a single verse paragraph. It is unrhymed, as far as the pronouncing dictionary can tell. The metre is dactylic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 74%). 87% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 13.5 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 38% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in dactylic pentameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against dactylic pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Wont thou to vaunt whilome of knowing only Catullus | 13 | ·······//˘··· |
| (Lesbia!) nor to prefer Jupiter's self to myself. | 12 | ····˘//˘···/ |
| Then, too, I loved thee well, not as vulgar wretch his mistress | 14 | ········/˘··/˘ |
| But as a father his sons loves and his sons by the law. | 14 | ···/˘········· |
| Now have I learnt thee aright; wherefor though burn I the hotter, | 16 | ·····˘/·······/˘ |
| Lighter and viler by far thou unto me hast become. | 13 | /··········˘/ |
| "How can this be?" dost ask: 'tis that such injury ever | 12 | ·········/˘/ |
| Forces the hotter to love, also the less well to will. | 14 | /˘·/˘··/˘····· |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.