Catullus Poem 75- Hūc est mēns dēducta tuā mea, Lesbia, culpā; Latin & English

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In Carmen 75, Catullus tries to explain to Lesbia/Clodia how her behavior has had a profound effect on his feelings and loss of respect for her. Note how carefully the poem is crafted, so that the sound fits with the emotional tone of the poem: the repeated “A” sounds in the first line and FIVE examples of elision reflect Catullus’ distress.

Hūc: to this, to this point, to this extent, to this place.

est dēducta: has been led down, has been weighed down, has been diminished; perfect passive.

mēns mea: my mind, feeling, heart, soul; nom. sing. fem.

tuā culpā: by your fault, crime, sexual misconduct; ablative “of means”.

Lesbia: the name Catullus uses for his mistress, the beautiful, brilliant and promiscuous Clodia Metelli, wife of senator and consul Metellus Celer. He called her “Lesbia”, woman of Lesbos, in honor of Sappho, one of his favorite poets.

mēns tuā mea, Lesbia, culpā: note ABAB interlocking word word order, “tua mea” emphasizing the connection between them and the conflict between his state of mind and her behavior.

Hūc est mēns dēducta tuā mea, Lesbia, culpā Hūc est mēns dēducta tuā, mea Lesbia, culpā

Mens mea or Mea Lesbia? There is no punctuation in the original manuscript, so some scholars put the comma after mea and some after tua. The argument for “mens mea” is that it’s preferable to have an adjective with mens, the interlocking word order is classic Catullus style, the meter suggests a slight pause after tua mea, and, finally, “mea Lesbia” seems a bit inappropriate given his anger; “Lesbia” alone is much more icy. But it’s possible that Catullus means for it to be ambiguous!

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David Amster

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