Social Commentaries
Carmen XXIII (Cornish)
Translated by F. W. Cornish (Loeb, 1913) · From The Poems of Catullus (Loeb, 1913)
Furius, you who have neither a slave, nor a money-box, nor a bug, nor a spider, nor a fire, but who have a father and a stepmother too, whose teeth can chew even a flintstone, you lead a merry life with your father and that dry stick, your father's wife. No wonder: you all enjoy the best health, your digestions are excellent, you have nothing to be afraid of; fires, dilapidations, cruel pilferings, plots to poison you, other chances of danger. And besides this, your bodies are as dry as horn, or drier still if drier thing there be, what with sun and cold and fasting. How can you, Furius, be otherwise than well and prosperous? You are free from sweat, free from spittle and rheum and troublesome running of the nose.
Since you have such blessings as these, Furius, do not despise them nor think lightly of them; and cease to pray, as you do, for the hundred sestertia; for you are quite well off enough as it is.
This translation is printed as prose in its source edition.
Cite this poem
MLA
Catullus, Gaius Valerius. “Carmen XXIII (Cornish).” Translated by F. W. Cornish. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/catullus/133/.
Chicago
Catullus, Gaius Valerius. “Carmen XXIII (Cornish).” Translated by F. W. Cornish. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/catullus/133/.
Read this poem with the Codex →