Catullus 7
by Catullus
Catullus on kisses again: for more, see here. Nights were dark in the ancient world but the stars, remote but attentive, can see well enough what is going on. The landmarks that Catullus mentions were about three hundred miles apart. Silphium was a plant that the Romans prized for medicinal properties. See the blog post for Van Gogh’s starry night.
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Quaeris quot mihi basiationes
tuae, Lesbia, sint satis superque.
quam magnus numerus Libyssae harenae
lasarpiciferis iacet Cyrenis
oraclum Iovis inter aestuosi
et Batti veteris sacrum sepulcrum:
aut quam sidera multa, cum tacet nox,
furtivos hominum vident amores:
tam te basia multa basiare
vesano satis et super Catullo est.
quae nec pernumerare curiosi
possint nec mala fascinare lingua.
You ask, how many of your kisses, Lesbia, might be enough for me and more. As big a number as the Libyan sands that lie in Cyrene where the silphium grows, between the oracle of sweltering Jupiter and the sacred tomb of ancient Battus; or the number of stars, when the night is still, that look down on the furtive loves of men: that’s the number of your kisses that would be enough and more for mad Catullus, which pryers could not count, nor any malicious tongue cast a spell on.
