# Catullus Poem 74- Gellius audierat patruum obiūrgāre solēre; Latin & English

#catullus

latinpoetry

latinpronunciation

Catullus Poem 74 is written about a certain Gellius, probably Lucius Gellius Poplicola, consul in 36 BC and a favorite enemy of Catullus. He was a rival for the attentions of Clodia/Lesbia, Catullus’ beloved, and was accused before the senate of having an affair with his stepmother and plotting his father's murder. Catullus wrote 8 poems about this charming fellow.

audierat = audiverat: had heard; pluperfect. The verb is shortened, “syncopated”, which occurs often in poetry.

patruum: his paternal uncle, father’s brother; accusative subject of infin in indirect statement.

obiūrgāre: to chide, scold, rebuke, reprimand; infinitive after solere.

solēre: “was accustomed to”; present infinitive in indirect statement, expressed in the past because the main verb is in the past. Audio Gellium matrem suam amare:

sī: if

quis: anyone; = aliquis; after SI “ali-” is omitted.

dēliciās: delight, pleasure, dēliciās facere = to enjoy oneself, to have fun (also in an erotic sense); darling, sweetheart, beloved. Used in the plural for a singular idea; accusative. dīceret: talked about, would talk about, would say; imperfect subjunctive.

aut:

faceret: would do, would have (erotic) fun, would have a sweetheart; imperfect subjunctive.

hoc: this; neuter nominative subject.

nē: “lest”, so (that this would) not…., followed by a subjunctive.

ipsī: to him himself, dative

accideret: (lest this) should happen, befall, occur; imperfect subjunctive,…

- Kind: Short
- Year: 2023
- Runtime: 1 min
- By: David Amster
- Archive: [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Catullus_Poem_74-_Gellius_audierat_patruum_obi%C5%ABrg%C4%81re_sol%C4%93re;_Latin_%26_English.webm)
- Licence or status: [CC BY 3.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0) (as the archive states it)
- Credit: David Amster
- Who can watch: Teens profiles and older (the archive gives no rating; placed by Invisible Network from its collection and subjects)

[Watch now](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/watch/archive/commons/156031404?play=1)