by Gaius Valerius Catullus (c84 BCE - 54 BCE)
Translation by Dominick Argento (1927 - 2019)
Nulli se dicit mulier mea nubere malle
Language: Latin
[Nulli]1 se dicit mulier mea nubere malle Quam mihi, non si se Iuppiter ipse petat. Dicit: sed mulier cupido quod dicit amanti In vento et rapida scribere oportet aqua.2
About the headline (FAQ)
View text without footnotesConfirmed with S. G. Owen, ed., Catullus: with the Pervigilium Veneris, London: Lawrence and Bullen, 1893, page 114.
1 Orff: "O mea Lesbia! Nulli"2 Orff adds
Catullus et Caelius exeunt. Applaudunt senes dicentes: Senes Placet, placet, placet, optime, optime, optime!
Text Authorship:
- by Gaius Valerius Catullus (c84 BCE - 54 BCE), no title, appears in Carmina, no. 70
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Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Grant Hicks) , copyright © 2026, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- SPA Spanish (Español) (Saúl Botero Restrepo) , copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , John Versmoren , Grant Hicks [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 4
Word count: 31
Language: English after the Latin
My woman says she will be no one's but mine. Not even should Jupiter himself wish to seduce her. She says: but what woman says to lover -- Write it on the wind or swift-running water.
Composition:
- Set to music by Dominick Argento (1927 - 2019), no title, 1981 [ mixed chorus and percussion ], from I Hate and I Love (Odi et Amo), no. 4
Text Authorship:
- by Dominick Argento (1927 - 2019)
Based on:
- a text in Latin by Gaius Valerius Catullus (c84 BCE - 54 BCE), no title, appears in Carmina, no. 70
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Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2010-12-17
Line count: 4
Word count: 35