Ameana the worn-out whore

Attention! Some of this material is not in the public domain.

It is illegal to copy and distribute our copyright-protected material without permission. It is also illegal to reprint copyright texts or translations without the name of the author or translator.

To inquire about permissions and rates, contact Emily Ezust at licenses@email.lieder.example.net

If you wish to reprint translations, please make sure you include the names of the translators in your email. They are below each translation.

Note: You must use the copyright symbol © when you reprint copyright-protected material.

by Gaius Valerius Catullus (c84 BCE - 54 BCE)

Translation © by Grant Hicks

Ameana puella defututa

Language: Latin

Our translations: ENG SPA

Choose for Diff

Ameana puella defututa
Tota milia me decem poposcit,
Ista turpiculo puella naso,
Decoctoris amica Formiani.
Propinqui, quibus est puella curae,
Amicos medicosque conuocate:
Non est sana puella, nec rogare
Qualis sit solet aes imaginosum.

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

• C. Orff

About the headline (FAQ)

View text with all available footnotes

Text Authorship:

by Gaius Valerius Catullus (c84 BCE - 54 BCE), no title, appears in Carmina, no. 41 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Go to the general view

Researcher for this page: Saúl Botero Restrepo

This text was added to the website: 2015-10-07
Line count: 8
Word count: 37

Ameana the worn‑out whore

Language: English after the Latin

Choose for Diff

Ameana the worn-out whore
Demanded of me all of ten thousand, 
Herself a girl with a rather ugly nose, 
A friend of the bankrupt Formian.
You relatives who care for the girl,
Call together friends and doctors:
The girl is not well, and she is not accustomed 
To ask the image-bearing bronze how she looks.

Available sung text translations: ← What is this?

• C. Orff

About the headline (FAQ)

View text with all available footnotes

Translations of titles:
"[X]. Ammiana, puella defututa" = "[X]. Ammiana the worn-out whore"

Note for line 2: An extravagant number of sesterces, equivalent to about 11 years' salary for a Roman legionary of the period.
Note for line 4: The reference is to a certain Mamurra from the city of Formiae, whom Catullus elsewhere charges with squandering his inheritance and considerable income.

Text Authorship:

Translation from Latin to English copyright © 2026 by Grant Hicks, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net

Based on:

a text in Latin by Gaius Valerius Catullus (c84 BCE - 54 BCE), no title, appears in Carmina, no. 41
- Go to the text page.

Go to the general view

This text was added to the website: 2026-08-07
Line count: 8
Word count: 58