Let us live, my Lesbia, and let us love (Latin)

Gaius Valerius Catullus's Let us live, my Lesbia, and let us love

Gaius Valerius Catullus's poem to Lesbia, his beloved, exemplifies his mastery of Latin lyric poetry, blending passion, wit, and a defiance of societal norms. Through these verses, Catullus crafts a lyrical appeal to live fully in love, challenging the rigid morality and disapproval of “stern old men.” By merging sensuous imagery with existential reflections on life’s brevity, Catullus constructs a timeless meditation on love, pleasure, and mortality. This analysis will explore the poem's themes of love’s transcendence over societal judgment, the fleeting nature of life, and the intense immediacy of romantic passion.

1. Theme of Carpe Diem and Defiance of Social Judgment

   The poem begins with the famous line, "Let us live, my Lesbia, and let us love" ("Vivamus, mea Lesbia, atque amemus"), immediately setting the tone as one of impassioned defiance. Catullus and Lesbia’s love is presented as a conscious act of resistance against the judgmental “rumoresque senum severiorum” (the rumors of stern old men). By dismissing these rumors as trivial—worth only "one penny" ("omnes unius aestimemus assis")—Catullus positions himself and Lesbia outside the bounds of conventional society. This act of rebellion underscores a broader theme in the poem: love, for Catullus, exists independently of societal approval and finds its value intrinsically, not through external validation.

2. Mortality and the Fleeting Nature of Life

   The second thematic current in the poem is an awareness of mortality. Catullus reflects on the inevitable cycle of life and death, stating, "Suns can set and return again; for us, once our brief light has set, an eternal night must be slept." Here, he compares human life to the diurnal cycle of the sun, emphasizing that while the sun can "set and return again," human life is finite—when "our brief light has set," there will be no return, only an "eternal night" ("nox est perpetua"). This dark contemplation of mortality adds urgency to his appeal to Lesbia. By suggesting that death is a sleep from which no one awakens, Catullus underscores the need to seize life’s pleasures while they are available, a hallmark of the carpe diem tradition.

3. The Allure of Countless Kisses as a Symbol of Intimacy and Infinity

   Catullus’s request for an unending number of kisses further reinforces the intensity of his love and desire to create a shared world with Lesbia, shielded from external judgment. His line, "Give me a thousand kisses, then a hundred, then another thousand, then a second hundred," creates a rhythm of accumulation, portraying love as limitless and transcendent. The repetition and the escalating quantity of kisses—thousands, hundreds—suggest a desire to transcend the temporal limits that mortality imposes. By “mixing up” the count of their kisses so that neither they nor others can keep track, Catullus creates an image of love as boundless and private, an experience immune to envy or the scrutiny of others. This deliberate obfuscation, intended to protect their love from jealousy, illustrates a wish to keep their intimacy pure and self-contained.

4. Playful Meter and Rhythm as Reflective of Romantic Urgency

   The meter of the poem, hendecasyllabic—a meter often associated with personal, colloquial verse—serves to intensify the sense of intimacy and spontaneity. The quick pace and light tone of hendecasyllabics match the playful, incantatory rhythm of the poem, particularly in the lines that enumerate kisses. The cascading count of kisses, marked by alliteration and assonance (e.g., "mille," "centum," "alteram mille"), reinforces a sense of playful urgency and obsessive devotion. This rhythmic approach amplifies the speaker’s insistent passion and desire for immediacy, as though the poem itself becomes a physical manifestation of their love and defiance.

Conclusion

In Vivamus, mea Lesbia, Catullus delivers a vibrant ode to life, love, and the defiance of societal norms. By juxtaposing reflections on mortality with a relentless desire to revel in the pleasures of love, he encapsulates the intensity and immediacy of human affection. The symbolic counting of kisses not only illustrates the boundless quality of love but also serves as a defense mechanism against the judgment and envy of the outside world. Through poetic devices such as repetition, rhythmic variation, and rich imagery, Catullus's poem continues to resonate as a testament to the fleeting, fervent nature of human love and a reminder to embrace life before the arrival of "eternal night."