Catullus 49 is a poem by the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

poet Gaius Valerius Catullus (''c''. 84–''c''. 54 BC) sent to

Marcus Tullius Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the esta ...

as a superficially laudatory poem. Like the majority of Catullus' poems, the

meter The metre (British spelling) or meter (American spelling; see spelling differences) (from the French unit , from the Greek noun , "measure"), symbol m, is the primary unit of length in the International System of Units (SI), though its pref ...

of this poem is hendecasyllabic. This is also the only time Cicero is ever mentioned in any of Catullus' poems.

Latin text and translation

The following Latin text is taken from D. F. S. Thomson. ;Notes *The descendants of Romulus are the Romans, since it is believed that Remus and Romulus founded Rome. *A ''patronus'' was someone who gave assistance and protection to another person, including non-Romans. The people for whom the patron spoke for were the ''cliens'' and they, in return, would respect the ''patronus'' and offer little favors like political campaigning and household chores. One of the types of patronage was the slave-owner over his freedmen, where the slave-owner retained some power over them and inherited their property if they died heirless. The betrayal of this bond or ''fides'' was a capital offense.

The debate over the tone of the poem

It is a constant debate whether this poem is Catullus praising Cicero, who indeed was one of the best speakers of the time, or actually mocking him. He begins by praising him "as the most learned" of all the Romans ever. But as we keep reading, we keep seeing many more superlatives – ''maximas, pessimus, optimus'' – even the ''omnium'' could be considered as exaggerated. Usually, the frequent use of exaggeration can be discerned as sarcasm, which might be the case here. The last line also reveals more of Catullus' real intent. If Catullus is indeed being sincere, then he just simply means that Cicero was the best "''patronus''" of all; however, he would also be calling himself the worst poet of all, "pessimus omnium poeta", which doesn't seem much like Catullus. On the other hand, if he is being sarcastic, not only does he not call himself the worst poet of all, the claim against Cicero makes more sense: it would be saying that Cicero is the best "patronus" of all the people, the good and the bad, for money, which isn't really much of a compliment. A point made by D.E.W. Wormwell also brings some light to the subject: a sincere thanks or praise would sound much different. In lines 4 and 5, Catullus places himself in the third person, making it impersonal in a way and less natural. Yes, Catullus is fond of addressing himself by the third person, but it is usually ''Catullo'', ''Catulle'', and ''Catullum'', rarely ''Catullus''. The feeling of third person 'Catullus' is aloof, almost cold. Another instance where the third person 'Catullus' is used is in poem 8, line 12 – ''vale puella. iam Catullus obdurat''... – and this is clearly not a very warm and pleasing tone; rather Catullus is saying goodbye to his love and passion, Lesbia, very coldly. Thus Wormwell determines Catullus wasn't really praising Cicero, but actually mocking him. Wormwell, D.E.W., "Catullus 49" in ''Phoenix'', Vol. 17, No. 1 (Spring, 1963), pp. 59-60

Classical tradition

Henry Fielding in ''Tom Jones '' (1749, Book VIII, ch. V) adapts the last line of the poem when he has Partridge ask Jones about Squire Allworthy, “How doth ''ille optimus omnium patronus''?”

References

{{Catullus C049 Cultural depictions of Cicero