He seems to me to be like a god

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by Gaius Valerius Catullus (c84 BCE - 54 BCE)

Translation © by Grant Hicks

Ille mi par esse deo videtur

Language: Latin

Our translations: ENG SPA

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,

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.

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

• J. Novák • C. Orff

J. Novák sets stanzas 1-3

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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

He seems to me to be like a god

Language: English after the Latin

He seems to me to be like a god,
or, if such were allowed, to surpass the gods,
who, again and again, sitting in your presence 
   sees and hears you

sweetly laughing, which rips away
all senses from pitiable me; for as soon,
Lesbia, as I have caught sight of you, nothing remains to me
   of my voice in my mouth,
  
but my tongue is sluggish, a thin flame
runs down under my limbs, my ears ring
with their own sound, doubled night
   descends upon my eyes.

Leisure, Catullus, is not good for you:
with leisure you frolic and carry on too much:
leisure has before now ruined both kings
   and magnificent cities.

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Translations of titles:
"[III]. Ille mi par esse deo videtur " = "He seems to me to be like a god"
"Ode Sapphus" = "Sapphic Ode"

Text Authorship:

Translation from Latin to English copyright © 2025 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. 51
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2025-05-19
Line count: 16
Word count: 114