Carmen XXIX: To Caesar of Mamurra, Called Mentula
Who e'er could witness this (who could endureExcept the lewdling, dicer, greedy-gut)That should Mamurra get what hairy GaulAnd all that farthest Britons held whilome?(Thou bardache Romulus!) this wilt see and bear?Then art a lewdling, dicer, greedy-gut! 5bHe now superb with pride superfluousShall go perambulate the bedrooms allLike white-robed dovelet or Adonis-love.Romulus thou bardache! this wilt see and bear?Then art a lewdling, dicer, greedy-gut!Is't for such like name, sole Emperor thou!Thou soughtest extreme Occidental Isle?That this your ---- MentulaMillions and Milliards might at will absorb?What is't but Liberality misplaced?What trifles wasted he, small heirlooms spent?First his paternal goods were clean dispersed;Second went Pontus' spoils and for the third,--Ebro-land,--weets it well gold-rolling Tage.Fear him the Gallias? Him the Britons' fear?Why cherish this ill-wight? what 'vails he do?Save fat paternal heritage devour?Lost ye for such a name, O puissant pair(Father and Son-in-law), our all-in-all?
Words in this poem
- dicer n.
- A player at dice; a dice player; a gamester.
- superb a.
- Grand; magnificent; august; stately; as, a superb edifice; a superb colonnade. [F. superbe, L. superbus, fr. super over. See Super-.]
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- dovelet n.
- A young or small dove. Booth.
- isle v. t.
- To cause to become an island, or like an island; to surround or encompass; to island.
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- wight n.
- A whit; a bit; a jot. [OE. wight, wiht, a wight, a whit, AS. wiht, wuht, a creature, a thing; skin to D. wicht a child, OS. & OHG. wiht a creature, thing, G. wicht a creature, Icel. v]
- heritage a.
- That which is inherited, or passes from heir to heir; inheritance. [OE. heritage, eritage, OF. heritage, eritage, F. héritage, fr. hériter to inherit, LL. heriditare. See Hereditable.]
- puissant a.
- Powerful; strong; mighty; forcible; as, a puissant prince or empire. [F., originally, a p. pr. formed fr. L. posse to be able: cf. L. potens powerful. See Potent.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Carmen XXIX: To Caesar of Mamurra, Called Mentula 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 XXIX: To Caesar of Mamurra, Called Mentula, in The Carmina (1894), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #20732, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/catullus-carmina/carmen-xxix-to-caesar-of-mamurra-called-mentula.html, id L13812.
Form and metre
Carmen XXIX: To Caesar of Mamurra, Called Mentula is 25 lines in a single stanza. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 86%). 89% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.9 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 28% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See 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 -AB-C--B-CA---------C--CB endure · gutA · gaulB · whilome · bearC · — · superfluous · allB · love · bearC · gutA · thou · isle · mentula · absorb · misplaced · spent · dispersed · third · tage · fearC · do · devour · pairC · allB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Who e'er could witness this (who could endure | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| Except the lewdling, dicer, greedy-gut) | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| That should Mamurra get what hairy Gaul | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| And all that farthest Britons held whilome? | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| (Thou bardache Romulus!) this wilt see and bear? | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Then art a lewdling, dicer, greedy-gut! 5b | 11 | ·····/˘/˘·· |
| He now superb with pride superfluous | 9 | ··˘/··/˘· |
| Shall go perambulate the bedrooms all | 10 | ··˘/˘˘·/·· |
| Like white-robed dovelet or Adonis-love. | 10 | ···/˘·˘/˘· |
| Romulus thou bardache! this wilt see and bear? | 10 | /˘········ |
| Then art a lewdling, dicer, greedy-gut! | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| Is't for such like name, sole Emperor thou! | 10 | ······/˘˘· |
| Thou soughtest extreme Occidental Isle? | 10 | ·/˘˘/·˘/˘· |
| That this your ---- Mentula | 6 | ······ |
| Millions and Milliards might at will absorb? | 10 | /˘······˘/ |
| What is't but Liberality misplaced? | 10 | ····˘/˘˘˘/ |
| What trifles wasted he, small heirlooms spent? | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/·· |
| First his paternal goods were clean dispersed; | 10 | ··˘/˘···˘/ |
| Second went Pontus' spoils and for the third,-- | 10 | /˘········ |
| Ebro-land,--weets it well gold-rolling Tage. | 10 | /······/˘· |
| Fear him the Gallias? Him the Britons' fear? | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Why cherish this ill-wight? what 'vails he do? | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Save fat paternal heritage devour? | 11 | ··˘/˘/˘˘˘/˘ |
| Lost ye for such a name, O puissant pair | 11 | ·······/˘˘· |
| (Father and Son-in-law), our all-in-all? | 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.