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 kisses
Of yours,
Lesbia, would be enough and more for me.
As great as the number of
Libyan sands
That lie at
Cyrene producing
silphium
Between the
oracle of sweltering
Jupiter
And the sacred tomb of old Battus,[a]
Or as many as the stars that, when the night is silent,
See the secret love affairs of men:
For you to kiss so many kisses
is more than enough for crazy Catullus,
These kisses which neither the curious can count
Nor an evil tongue bewitch.
Footnotes
^There are several mythological and historical figures called
Battus, and it is unclear to which one Catullus was referring.
Bibliography
Latin
Wikisource has original text related to this article:
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 kisses
Of yours,
Lesbia, would be enough and more for me.
As great as the number of
Libyan sands
That lie at
Cyrene producing
silphium
Between the
oracle of sweltering
Jupiter
And the sacred tomb of old Battus,[a]
Or as many as the stars that, when the night is silent,
See the secret love affairs of men:
For you to kiss so many kisses
is more than enough for crazy Catullus,
These kisses which neither the curious can count
Nor an evil tongue bewitch.
Footnotes
^There are several mythological and historical figures called
Battus, and it is unclear to which one Catullus was referring.
Bibliography
Latin
Wikisource has original text related to this article: