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Lugete, o Veneres, Cupidinesque, Et quantum est hominum venustiorum. Passer mortuus est meæ Catullæ, Passer, deliciæ meæ Catullæ, Quem plus illa oculis suis amabat. Nam mellitus erat, suamque norat Ipsa tam bene quam Catulla matrem: Nec sese a gremio illius movebat; Sed circumsiliens modo huc, modo illuc, Ad solam dominam usque pipilabat. Qui nunc it per iter tenebricosum Illuc unde negant redire quemquam. At vobis male sit, malse tenebræ Orci, quæ omnia bella devoratis: Tam bellum mihi passerem abstulistis. O factum male! O miselle passer! Tua nunc opera meæ Catullæ Flendo turgiduli rubent ocelli.
About the headline (FAQ)
Authorship:
- by Gaius Valerius Catullus (c84 BCE - 54 BCE), no title, appears in Carmina, no. 3 [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 John Plant , "Lament on the death of a sparrow", first performed 2009 [ voice and piano ], from Babel is a blessing, no. 7 [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in English, a translation by George Gordon Noel Byron, Lord Byron (1788 - 1824) , "Translation from Catullus", subtitle: "Luctus de morte passeris" [an adaptation] ; composed by Maude Valérie White.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (John Plant) , "Lament on the death of a sparrow", copyright ©, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Mario Rapisardi) , no title, first published 1889
Researcher for this page: Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2013-07-06
Line count: 18
Word count: 94
Weep, O Loves and Graces, and all you who appreciate beauty and grace. My girl's sparrow is dead; The sparrow, my girl's beloved pet Whom she loved more than her own eyes. For he was honey-sweet, and knew her as well as a girl knows her mother. And never would he leave her lap, But, hopping around her, he would sing for his mistress alone. And now he goes down that dark road, from which, they say, no one returns. Bad luck to you, evil shades of hell, who devour all beautiful things. O evil deed! Poor little sparrow! It is your doing that my girl's eyes are red and swollen with weeping.
Authorship:
- by John Plant , "Lament on the death of a sparrow", copyright ©, (re)printed on this website with kind permission [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in Latin by Gaius Valerius Catullus (c84 BCE - 54 BCE), no title, appears in Carmina, no. 3
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- [ None yet in the database ]
Researcher for this page: Malcolm Wren [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2023-03-04
Line count: 17
Word count: 113