by Gaius Valerius Catullus (c84 BCE - 54 BCE)

[III]. Ille mi par esse deo videtur 
 (Sung text for setting by C. Orff)
 See original
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
   ... 

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.

Composition:

    Set to music 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

Text Authorship:

See other settings of this text.

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