| QUAERIS QUOT MIHI BASIATIONES... | CURIOUS TO LEARN HOW MANY KISSES... |
| Catullus (Gaius Valerius Catullus) | tr. Peter Whigham |
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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. |
Curious to learn how many kiss- -es of your lips might satisfy my lust for you, Lesbia, know as many as are grains of sand between the oracle of sweltering Jove at Ammon & the tomb of old Battiades the First, in Libya where the silphium grows; alternatively, as many as the sky has stars at night shining in quiet upon the furtive loves of mortal men, as many kiss -es of your lips as these might slake your own obsessed Catullus, dear, so many that no prying eye can keep the count nor spiteful tongue fix their total in a fatal formula. |
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Transl. Copyright © Peter Whigham, 1966 - publ. Penguin Classics
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