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[Ameana]1 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]2.
About the headline (FAQ)
View text without footnotes1 Orff: "Ammiana"
2 Orff: "solide est imaginosa"
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]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Carl Orff (1895 - 1982), "[X]. Ammiana, puella defututa", 1940-43, published 1943, from cantata Catulli Carmina, no. 11 [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Grant Hicks) , copyright © 2026, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Mario Rapisardi) , no title, first published 1889
- SPA Spanish (Español) (Saúl Botero Restrepo) , copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Saúl Botero Restrepo
This text was added to the website: 2015-10-07
Line count: 8
Word count: 37
[Ameana]1 the worn-out whore Demanded of me all of ten thousand, That 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]2.
About the headline (FAQ)
View text without footnotesTranslations of titles:
"[X]. Ammiana, puella defututa" = "[X]. Ammiana the worn-out whore"
Notes
Line 2: An extravagant number of sesterces, equivalent to about 11 years' salary for a Roman legionary of the period.
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.
2 Orff: "don't bother asking/ how she looks: she's completely delusional"
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. 41
This text was added to the website: 2026-08-07
Line count: 8
Word count: 57