You tell me, O my life, that this love of ours

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by Gaius Valerius Catullus (c84 BCE - 54 BCE)

Translation © by Grant Hicks

Iucundum, mea vita, mihi proponis amorem

Language: Latin

Our translations: ENG SPA

Chosen for Diff

Iucundum, mea vita, mihi proponis amorem
  hunc nostrum inter nos perpetuumque fore.¹
di magni, facite ut vere promittere possit,
  atque id sincere dicat et ex animo,
ut liceat nobis tota perducere vita
  aeternum hoc sanctae foedus amicitiae.¹

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

• C. Orff

About the headline (FAQ)

View text without footnotes
¹ Orff interpolates here the Italian words: "Dormi, dormi, dormi ancora"

Text Authorship:

by Gaius Valerius Catullus (c84 BCE - 54 BCE), no title, appears in Carmina, no. 109 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

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 , "Iucundum, mea vita", first performed 2014 [ baritone and piano ], from Carmina Catulli, no. 15 [sung text not yet checked]
by Carl Orff (1895 - 1982), "[ACTUS II. VI]. Iucundum, mea vita", 1940-43, published 1943, from cantata Catulli Carmina, no. 7 [sung text checked 1 time]

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

Also set in English, a translation by Dominick Argento (1927 - 2019) , copyright © ; composed by Dominick Argento.
- Go to the text.

Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

ENG English (Grant Hicks) , copyright © 2026, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ITA Italian (Italiano) (Mario Rapisardi) , no title, first published 1889
SPA Spanish (Español) (Saúl Botero Restrepo) , copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this page: Saúl Botero Restrepo

This text was added to the website: 2015-10-07
Line count: 6
Word count: 39

You tell me, O my life, that this love...

Language: English after the Latin

Chosen for Diff

You tell me, O my life, that this love of ours
  will be delightful between us and everlasting.¹
Great gods, grant that she can promise truly,
  and that she says it sincerely and from the heart,
so that we are allowed to prolong for our whole life
  this eternal bond of blessed friendship.¹

Available sung text translations: ← What is this?

• C. Orff

About the headline (FAQ)

View text without footnotes

Translations of titles:
"Iucundum, mea vita" = "You tell me, O my life"
"[ACTUS II. VI]. Iucundum, mea vita" = "[ACT II, VI]. You tell me, O my life"

¹ Orff adds

Sleep, sleep, sleep on.

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:

a text in Latin by Gaius Valerius Catullus (c84 BCE - 54 BCE), no title, appears in Carmina, no. 109
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2026-08-07
Line count: 6
Word count: 55