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[Huc]1 est mens deducta tua, mea Lesbia, culpa,
Atque ita se officio perdidit ipsa suo,
Ut iam nec bene uelle queat tibi, si optima fias,
Nec desistere amare, omnia si facias.
About the headline (FAQ)
View text without footnotesConfirmed with H.V. Macnaghten and A.B. Ramsay, eds., Poems of Catullus, London: Duckworth & co., 1899, page 83.
1 Orff: "Nunc"Text Authorship:
- by Gaius Valerius Catullus (c84 BCE - 54 BCE), no title, appears in Carmina, no. 75 [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 ]
The text above (or a part of it) is used in the following settings:
- by Carl Orff (1895 - 1982), "[XII]. Nulla potest mulier tantum se dicere amatam", 1940-43, published 1943, from cantata Catulli Carmina, no. 13
- by Michael Linton , "Num te leaena", first performed 2014 [ baritone and piano ], from Carmina Catulli, no. 13
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in French (Français), a translation by Georges Lafaye (1854 - 1927) ; composed by Darius Milhaud.
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Grant Hicks) , copyright © 2026, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- SPA Spanish (Español) (Saúl Botero Restrepo) , copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Grant Hicks [Guest Editor] , Saúl Botero Restrepo
This text was added to the website: 2015-10-07
Line count: 4
Word count: 32
It is your fault, my Lesbia, that my mind is [reduced to this]1,
And has so ruined itself by its own devotion,
That now it could neither wish you well, even if you became most worthy,
Nor cease to love you, no matter what you might do.
About the headline (FAQ)
View text without footnotes1 Orff: "now brought low"
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.
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Based on:
- a text in Latin by Gaius Valerius Catullus (c84 BCE - 54 BCE), no title, appears in Carmina, no. 75
This text was added to the website: 2026-08-10
Line count: 4
Word count: 49