Catullus 12

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Catullus 12 is a poem by the Roman poet Catullus. In it, he chides Asinius Marrucinus for stealing one of his napkins, calling it uncouth and noting the disapproval of his brother, Pollio. Note the reversal of the praenomen and nomen in the first line. While "Marrucine Asini" can be translated simply as "Marrucinus Asinius," the word order introduces the alternative meaning "Marrucinus [son] of a jackass." Napkins in Ancient Rome were handmade and therefore far more valuable than they are today; also, Catullus has a sentimental attachment to the napkins, since they were a gift from two close friends, Fabullus and Veranius. In comparison to Catullus' other invective poetry, this is relatively light: the main point of the poem could be to praise Pollio rather than to chide Marrucinus.

The meter of this poem is hendecasyllabic, a common form in Catullus' poetry.

Contents 1 Rough translation 2 Latin text and translation 3 See also 4 Bibliography

[edit] Rough translation

The following rough translation attempts to capture the mood of the poem in modern language:

[edit] Latin text and translation

Line	Latin Text	English Translation
1	Marrucine Asini, manu sinistra	Marrucinus Asinius, you do not use your
2	non belle uteris: in ioco atque vino	left hand prettily: in joke and in wine
3	tollis lintea neglegentiorum.	you take away the napkins of the more negligent (people).
4	Hoc salsum esse putas? Fugit te, inepte:	You think this is witty? Inept one, something flees you:
5	quamvis sordida res et invenusta est.	the thing is as dirty and as uncouth as can be.
6	Non credis mihi? Crede Pollioni	You don't believe me? Believe your brother Pollius,
7	fratri, qui tua furta vel talento	who wants to change your thefts with
8	mutari velit—est enim leporum	even for a talent—for he is a boy
9	differtus puer ac facetiarum.	who is full of charm and jokes.
10	Quare aut hendecasyllabos trecentos	Therefore either expect 300 hendecasyllables,
11	exspecta, aut mihi linteum remitte,	or send my napkin to me,
12	quod me non movet aestimatione,	which doesn't move me by its value,
13	verum est mnemosynum mei sodalis.	for indeed it is a memento of my friends.
14	Nam sudaria Saetaba ex Hiberis	For Fabullus and Veranius sent to me
15	miserunt mihi muneri Fabullus	Saetaba napkins from Spain, as a gift and
16	Et Veranius; haec amem necesse est	it is necessary that I love these
17	ut Veraniolum meum et Fabullum.	as I love my little Veranius and Fabullus.

[edit] See also

• Latin poetry
• Invective

[edit] Bibliography

• Nappa, C (1998). "Place Settings: Convivium, Contrast, and Persona in Catullus 12 and 13". American Journal of Philology 119: 386–397. doi:10.1353/ajp.1998.0041. 

• Forsyth, PY (1985). "Gifts and Giving: Catullus 12-14". Classical World 79: 571–574. 

Poems (Carmina) of The Roman poet Catullus
Lesbia poems	2, 2b, 3, 5, 7, 8, 11, 36, 37, 51, 58, 68, 70, 72, 75, 76, 79, 83, 85, 86, 87, 91, 92, 104, 107, 109
Invective poems	10, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 28, 29, 30, 33, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 47, 49, 52, 53, 54, 57, 59, 60, 69, 71, 73, 74, 77, 78, 80, 84, 88, 89, 90, 93, 95, 97, 98, 103, 108, 110, 111, 112, 113, 116
Unusual poetic meters	4, 8, 11, 17, 22, 25, 29, 30, 31, 34, 37, 39, 44, 51, 52, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64
Hendecasyllabic verse	1, 2, 2b, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 14b, 15, 16, 21, 23, 24, 26, 27, 28, 32, 33, 35, 36, 38, 40, 41, 42, 43, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 58b
Elegiac couplets	65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116
See also the list of poems by Catullus.