Nulli se dicit mulier mea nubere malle
Language: Latin
Our translations: ENG SPA
Chosen for Diff
[Nulli]1 se dicit mulier mea nubere malle
Quam mihi, non [si se]2 Iuppiter ipse petat.
Dicit: sed mulier cupido quod dicit amanti
In vento et rapida scribere oportet aqua.3
About the headline (FAQ)
View text without footnotes
Confirmed 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: "si"
3 Orff adds
Catullus et Caelius exeunt. Applaudunt senes dicentes:
Senes
Placet, placet, placet,
optime, optime, optime!
Text Authorship:
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Michael Linton , "Nulli se dicit mulier", first performed 2014 [ baritone and piano ], from Carmina Catulli, no. 11 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Carl Orff (1895 - 1982), "[V]. O mea Lesbia", 1940-43, published 1943 [ soli and orchestra ], from cantata Catulli Carmina, no. 6 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Jacques Reuland (b. 1918), "Carmen LXX", from Canzoniere, no. 5 [sung text checked 1 time]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in English, a translation by Dominick Argento (1927 - 2019) ; composed by Dominick Argento.
- Also set in French (Français), a translation by Georges Lafaye (1854 - 1927) ; composed by Darius Milhaud.
Other 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: 32
My lady says there's nobody she'd rather...
Language: English after the Latin
Chosen for Diff
[My]1 lady says there's nobody she'd rather marry
than me, even if Jupiter himself were to [court her]2.
So she says: but what a woman says to an eager lover
is fit to be written on the wind and rushing water.3
Available sung text translations: ← What is this?
• C. Orff About the headline (FAQ)
View text without footnotes
Translations of titles:
"Carmen LXX" = "Carmen LXX"
"Nulli se dicit mulier" = "My lady says there's nobody"
"[V]. O mea Lesbia" = "[V]. O my Lesbia"
1 Orff: "O my Lesbia! My"
2 Orff: "ask"
3 Orff adds
Catullus and Caelius exit. The old men applaud, saying:
Old men
Bravo, bravo, bravo,
very good, very good, very good!
Text Authorship:
- Translation from Latin to English copyright © 2026 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.
Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net
Based on:
This text was added to the website: 2026-08-06
Line count: 4
Word count: 45
