by Gaius Valerius Catullus (c84 BCE - 54 BCE)
Translation by Rennell Rodd (1858 - 1941)
To Lesbia
Language: English after the Latin
Beloved, let us live and love, nor pay One penny fee for what grave old folks say. The suns go down and other suns will rise; For us when once our transient day's light dies Is one eternal night to sleep. Wherefore Give me a thousand kisses and again A hundred, and another thousand yet, And still a hundred and a thousand more, Till they be grown to many thousands. Then Let us lose count of them and quite forget; Lest some base soul should envy us that wist The number of the kisses we had kissed.
Text Authorship:
- by Rennell Rodd (1858 - 1941) [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in Latin by Gaius Valerius Catullus (c84 BCE - 54 BCE) [text unavailable]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Maude Valérie White (1855 - 1937), "To Lesbia", published 1924 [ voice and piano ], London : Chappell & Co., Ltd. [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this page: Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2025-07-12
Line count: 12
Word count: 97