Viviamo, Lesbia mia, e amiamo

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by Gaius Valerius Catullus (c84 BCE - 54 BCE)

Translation © by Ferdinando Albeggiani

Vivanus, mea Lesbia, atque amemus

Language: Latin

Our translations: ITA

Vivanus, mea Lesbia, atque amemus,
rumeresque senum severiorum
omnes unius aestimemus assis!
Soles occidere et redire possunt:
nobis, cum semel occidit brevis lux,
nox est perpetua una dormienda.
Da mi basia mille, deinde centum,
dein mille altera, dein secunda centum,
deinde usque altera mille, deinde centum.
Dein, cum milia multa fecerimus,
conturbabimus illa, ne sciamus,
aut ne quis malus invidere possit,
cum tantum sciat esse basiorum.

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Text Authorship:

by Gaius Valerius Catullus (c84 BCE - 54 BCE) [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):

[ None yet in the database ]

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

Also set in English, a translation by Rennell Rodd (1858 - 1941) ; composed by Maude Valérie White.
- Go to the text.

Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , copyright © 2025, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Ferdinando Albeggiani , Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2025-07-16
Line count: 13
Word count: 66

Viviamo, Lesbia mia, e amiamo

Language: Italian (Italiano) after the Latin

Viviamo, Lesbia mia, e amiamo,
e i mormorii dei vecchi severi e brontoloni
valgano, per noi, meno una sola moneta!
I Soli possono tramontare e poi risorgere:
a noi, una volta che la breve luce di vita è tramontata,
toccherà in sorte una notte infinita.
E allora dammi mille baci, e cento,
e poi mille ancora, poi ancora cento,
e sempre e ancora mille, e cento in aggiunta.
E alla fine, quando ci saremo scambiati mille e mille baci,
finiremo la conta, per non sapere che i baci non sono bastati,
o perché nessun malvagio invidioso possa conoscere,
la quantità di baci che ci siamo dati.

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Text Authorship:

Translation from Latin to Italian (Italiano) copyright © 2025 by Ferdinando Albeggiani, (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.
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Based on:

a text in Latin by Gaius Valerius Catullus (c84 BCE - 54 BCE)
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2025-07-16
Line count: 13
Word count: 106