# Catullus 71 in Latin & English- Si cui iure bono sacer alarum obstitit hircus

#catullus

latinpoetry

latinpronunciation

In poem 71 Catullus returns to the theme of smelly goats that we met in Carmen 69. It’s possible this poem is adressed to a third party, but I think it makes more sense that “aemulus tuus”, your rival, is Catullus’ rival, Caelius Rufus, who did indeed have an affair with Clodia, as well as a smelly-goat problem. In this case he’s also suffering from gout (podagra). I suspect the “illam” of the last line refers to Clodia, but we can’t be certain.

Cui = aliqui, anyone. “After SI, NISI, NUM, and NE ALI takes a holiday!” Cui is the dative object of obstitit.

Iure bono: with good justice, justification, justly

Sacer: holy, sacred; detestable, accursed, abominable.

Alarum: of the wings, of the underarms

Obstitit: has stood in the way, thwarted, blocked

Hircus: a he-goat, buck; a goatish smell, the rank smell of the armpits; in poem 69 Catullus used “caper alarum”.

Quem = aliquem, anyone; direct object of secat. I’ve put the direct object of the verb at the beginning of the sentence in English to correspond more closely to the Latin.

Merito: deservedly, justly, justifiably, with good reason.

Tarda: sluggish, causing one to be lethargic, crippling.

Podagra: podagra, painful inflammation of the big toe or foot caused by gout.

N.B.: podāgRa (line 1) vs. po’dagRā (line 6): a vowel before GR can be long or short, depending on the needs of the meter; in line 1 the A is long and the accent is on the second syllable. In line 6 it’s…

- Kind: Short
- Year: 2023
- Runtime: 2 min
- By: David Amster
- Archive: [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Catullus_71_in_Latin_%26_English-_Si_cui_iure_bono_sacer_alarum_obstitit_hircus.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/156031519?play=1)