Product Description

Catullus (Gaius Valerius, 84–54 BCE), of Verona, went early to Rome, where he associated not only with other literary men from Cisalpine Gaul but also with Cicero and Hortensius. His surviving poems consist of nearly sixty short lyrics, eight longer poems in various metres, and almost fifty epigrams. All exemplify a strict technique of studied composition inherited from early Greek lyric and the poets of Alexandria. In his work we can trace his unhappy love for a woman he calls Lesbia; the death of his brother; his visits to Bithynia; and his emotional friendships and enmities at Rome. For consummate poetic artistry coupled with intensity of feeling Catullus's poems have no rival in Latin literature.

Tibullus (Albius, ca. 54–19 BCE), of equestrian rank and a friend of Horace, enjoyed the patronage of Marcus Valerius Messalla Corvinus, whom he several times apostrophizes. Three books of elegies have come down to us under his name, of which only the first two are authentic. Book 1 mostly proclaims his love for 'Delia', Book 2 his passion for 'Nemesis'. The third book consists of a miscellany of poems from the archives of Messalla; it is very doubtful whether any come from the pen of Tibullus himself. But a special interest attaches to a group of them which concern a girl called Sulpicia: some of the poems are written by her lover Cerinthus, while others purport to be her own composition.

The Pervigilium Veneris, a poem of not quite a hundred lines celebrating a spring festival in honour of the goddess of love, is remarkable both for its beauty and as the first clear note of romanticism which transformed classical into medieval literature. The manuscripts give no clue to its author, but recent scholarship has made a strong case for attributing it to the early fourth-century poet Tiberianus.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3133987 in Books
• Published on: 1998-10
• Format: Audiobook
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Audio Cassette
• 1 pages

Review
An authoritative and up-to-date...text and a translation that communicates accurately and clearly the meaning of the Latin.
--Michael Roberts (New England Classical Newsletter & Journal )

Language Notes
Text: English, Latin (translation)
Original Language: Latin

About the Author
At the time of his death G. P. Goold was William Lampson Professor Emeritus of Latin Language and Literature, Yale University, and Editor Emeritus of the Loeb Classical Library®.

Customer Reviews

Major new edition of Catullus should become standard
Thomson's edition of Catullus finally weds a commentary to his twenty-odd year old critical text. For the scholar of neoteric poetry, Thomson's book is a must; undergraduates will find it too vast and too unconcerned with elementary matters (also with literary matters) but very helpful for bibliography on each poem (a role Quinn's text was growing a bit long in the tooth for). Graduate students are compelled to use this as their standard text. Thomson is at his best when unraveling the often diffuse manuscript tradition of this often-read, little-understood poet. For classicists with only a passing interest in Catullus and his work, Fordyce (supplemented by Quinn for the "obscene" poems) remains more than usable.

Catullus and Tibullus: Exemplars of Roman Love Poetry
Catullus and Tibullus relatively belong to the same epoch in the history of Latin Poetry; and they also derive their inspiration through the same source--from Erato the Muse of Love Poetry. What one will encounter, then, while reading their works, is what may be perhaps the finest manifestation of Roman Love Poetry that has been passed over to us through the ages. With the exception of Propertius or Ovid, Catullus and Tibullus have no rival when it comes to the art of love poetry; and one may argue that the former poets only surpass the later in their bulk of extant poems and in their depth of subject-matter. Also included in this volume, is the Vigil of Venus, a warm and colorful poem attributed to a certain Tiberianus, who belongs to much later time, likely during the reign of the Antonines. As the introduction points out, the Vigil of Venus contains the first piece of Romanticism to be found in Western Poetry. It is a poem of exceptional merit, and it is not unworthy of the majesty of Catullus and Tibullus. Taken as a whole, students of Latin Literature, and poets of our day, have much to learn and enjoy by reading these noble classics.

Catullus reader
This is a Catullus reader with all of his poems. It's a "loab" with the Latin on one side and English on the other. It should be in every Latin teacher's personal library. This copy arrived on time and in excellent condition.