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

[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:

Carl Orff

Catulli Carmina

Text Authorship:

by Gaius Valerius Catullus (c84 BCE - 54 BCE), no title, appears in Carmina, no. 51

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

He seems to me to be like a god

(Sung text translation for setting by C. Orff)

See original

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
    ... 
  
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.

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