Carmen XLV: On Acme and Septumius
To Acme quoth Septumius who his fereHeld on his bosom--"Acme, mine! next year,Unless I love thee fondlier than before,And with each twelve month love thee more and more,As much as lover's life can slay with yearning,Alone in Lybia, or Hind's clime a-burning,Be mine to encounter Lion grisly-eyed!"While he was speaking Love on leftward side(As wont) approving sneeze from dextral sped.But Acme backwards gently bending head,And the love-drunken eyes of her sweet boyKissing with yonder rosy mouth, "My joy,"She murmured, "my life-love Septumillus mine!Unto one master's hest let's aye incline,As burns with fuller and with fiercer fireIn my soft marrow set, this love-desire!"While she was speaking, Love from leftward side(As wont) with sneeze approving rightwards hied.Now with boon omens wafted on their way,In mutual fondness, love and loved are they.Love-sick Septumius holds one Acme's love,Of Syrias or either Britains high above,Acme to one Septumius full of faithHer love and love-liesse surrendereth.Who e'er saw mortals happier than these two?Who e'er a better omened Venus knew?
Words in this poem
- acme n.
- The top or highest point; the culmination.
- quoth v. t.
- Said; spoke; uttered; -- used only in the first and third persons in the past tenses, and always followed by its nominative, the word or words said being the object; as, quoth I. quoth he. [AS.cweedhan, imp cwæedh, pl. cwædon; akin to OS. queedhan, OHG. quethan, quedan, Icel. kveedha, Goth. qiþan. sq. root22. Cf. Bequeath.]
- fere n.
- A mate or companion; -- often used of a wife. [OE. fere companion, AS. gefera, from feran to go, travel, faran to travel. sq. root78. See Fare.]
- clime n.
- A climate; a tract or region of the earth. See Climate. [L. clima. See Climate.]
- leftward adv.
- Toward or on the left side.
- approving a.
- Expressing approbation; commending; as, an approving smile.
- yonder adv.
- At a distance, but within view. [OE. yonder, ýonder; cf. OD. ginder, Goth. jaindr there. Yond, adv.]
- hest n.
- Command; precept; injunction. See Behest. [AS. hs, fr. h to call, bid. See Hight, and cf. Behest.]
- boon n.
- A prayer or petition. [OE. bone, boin, a petition, fr. Icel. b; akin to Sw. & Dan. b, AS. b, and perh. to E. ban; but influenced by F. bon good, fr. L. bonus. Ban, Bounty.]
- fondness n.
- The quality or state of being fond; foolishness.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Carmen XLV: On Acme and Septumius 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 XLV: On Acme and Septumius, in The Carmina (1894), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #20732, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/catullus-carmina/carmen-xlv-on-acme-and-septumius.html, id L13828.
Form and metre
Carmen XLV: On Acme and Septumius is 26 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets, 92% of the lines: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 89%). 95% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.2 syllables. 5 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 23% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in heroic couplets, other poems in iambic 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.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 AABBCCDDEEFFGGHHD-IIJJKKLL fereA · yearA · beforeB · moreB · yearningC · burningC · eyedD · sideD · spedE · headE · boyF · joyF · mineG · inclineG · fireH · desireH · sideD · hied · wayI · theyI · loveJ · aboveJ · faithK · surrenderethK · twoL · knewL
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 iambic pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| To Acme quoth Septumius who his fere | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Held on his bosom--"Acme, mine! next year, | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Unless I love thee fondlier than before, | 10 | ·········· |
| And with each twelve month love thee more and more, | 10 | ·········· |
| As much as lover's life can slay with yearning, | 11 | ···/˘····/˘ |
| Alone in Lybia, or Hind's clime a-burning, | 11 | ˘/·······/˘ |
| Be mine to encounter Lion grisly-eyed!" | 10 | ···˘//˘/˘· |
| While he was speaking Love on leftward side | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| (As wont) approving sneeze from dextral sped. | 10 | ··˘/˘··/˘· |
| But Acme backwards gently bending head, | 10 | ·/˘/˘/˘/˘· |
| And the love-drunken eyes of her sweet boy | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Kissing with yonder rosy mouth, "My joy," | 10 | /˘·/˘/˘··· |
| She murmured, "my life-love Septumillus mine! | 11 | ·/˘········ |
| Unto one master's hest let's aye incline, | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| As burns with fuller and with fiercer fire | 11 | ···/˘··/˘/˘ |
| In my soft marrow set, this love-desire!" | 11 | ···/˘···˘/˘ |
| While she was speaking, Love from leftward side | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| (As wont) with sneeze approving rightwards hied. | 10 | ····˘/˘/˘· |
| Now with boon omens wafted on their way, | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| In mutual fondness, love and loved are they. | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| Love-sick Septumius holds one Acme's love, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Of Syrias or either Britains high above, | 11 | ·/˘·/˘/˘··· |
| Acme to one Septumius full of faith | 10 | /˘········ |
| Her love and love-liesse surrendereth. | 9 | ·····˘/˘˘ |
| Who e'er saw mortals happier than these two? | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Who e'er a better omened Venus knew? | 10 | ···/˘/˘/˘· |
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.