by Gaius Valerius Catullus (c84 BCE - 54 BCE)
Translation by Rennell Rodd (1858 - 1941)
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.
About the headline (FAQ)
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.
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
To Lesbia
Language: English after the Latin
Beloved, let us live and love, nor pay One penny fee for what grave old folks say. The suns go down and other suns will rise; For us when once our transient day's light dies Is one eternal night to sleep. Wherefore Give me a thousand kisses and again A hundred, and another thousand yet, And still a hundred and a thousand more, Till they be grown to many thousands. Then Let us lose count of them and quite forget; Lest some base soul should envy us that wist The number of the kisses we had kissed.
Text Authorship:
- by Rennell Rodd (1858 - 1941) [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in Latin by Gaius Valerius Catullus (c84 BCE - 54 BCE)
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Maude Valérie White (1855 - 1937), "To Lesbia", published 1924 [ voice and piano ], London : Chappell & Co., Ltd. [sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this page: Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2025-07-12
Line count: 12
Word count: 97