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.
If you wish to reprint translations, please use the Reprint Basket (upper right hand corner).
Reminder: You must always use the copyright symbol © when you reprint copyright-protected material.
Ille mi par esse deo videtur, ille, si fas est, superare divos, qui sedens adversus identidem te spectat et audit dulce ridentem, misero quod omnis eripit sensus mihi, nam simul te, Lesbia, aspexi, nihil est super mi [vocis in ore,]1 lingua sed torpet, tenuis sub artus flamma demanat, sonitu suopte tintinant aures, gemina teguntur lumina nocte. Otium, Catulle, tibi molestum est: otio exsultas nimiumque gestis: otium et reges prius et beatas perdidit urbes.
J. Novák sets stanzas 1-3
About the headline (FAQ)
View text without footnotes1 omitted by Orff.
Text Authorship:
- by Gaius Valerius Catullus (c84 BCE - 54 BCE), no title, appears in Carmina, no. 51 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Jan Novák (1921 - 1984), "Ode Sapphus", stanzas 1-3, from Cantica latina, no. 6 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Carl Orff (1895 - 1982), "[III]. Ille mi par esse deo videtur", 1940-43, published 1943 [ soli, chorus, and orchestra ], from cantata Catulli Carmina, no. 4 [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Grant Hicks) , copyright © 2025, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- SPA Spanish (Español) (Saúl Botero Restrepo) , copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 16
Word count: 74
Igual a un dios me parece, y si es posible superar a los dioses, el que sentado frente a ti te contempla y te oye reír dulcemente, pero a mí, desdichado, me quita el sentido. Y si hacia ti, Lesbia, mis ojos dirijo, estoy acabado, mi lengua es torpe, tenue por mis miembros una llama se agita, con extraño sonido tintinean mis oídos y cubre mis ojos una doble noche. El ocio, Catulo, te hace mal: con el ocio de exaltas demasiado, el ocio perdió a reyes y a ciudades felices.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- Translation from Latin to Spanish (Español) copyright © 2015 by Saúl Botero Restrepo, (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. 51
This text was added to the website: 2015-10-08
Line count: 15
Word count: 91