Written By: Emilio Luppino

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In a world of lands exchanged for greed, of conquests carried out by a tremendously efficacious military machine, of constant hunger to spread salt over the newly subjugated territories, of fratricidal conjures, and thirst for endless power, in that world a homo novus of the literary world joined the development of a new distinct way to conceive the narration of life through verses. 

Catullus was not merely part of a new literary wave, but a renovation of what is often considered the purest and highest form of art: poetry. 

In the early fifties BC, the three demiurges’ plan was disentombed. The First Triumvirate, the plan that Livy described as almost a coup against the Res Publica, the State, came to light. Ceaser’s continuous battles and his invasion of Gallia, and the political games played to pass the law in favour of Pompey’s veterans suddenly dominated the public debate.  

The city at the heart of the known world seemed to have forgotten the Mos Maiorum, the Lares, and the Penates (household deities). Instead, like a tyrannical headmaster seizing control of a once-orderly school, loyalty to factions took precedence over the public good, and military strength started to dictate the rules. 

In this environment a group of new poets, named “Neoteric” by Cicero, burst into the cultural sphere. Their elegant works appeared as the mirroring of the moon on the irascible dark waters of the Republic, exhausted and agitated by political violence. They were nauseated by the didactic, heroic, rich nature of pathos and opulent descriptions of actions and speeches peculiar to Latin literature. The Neoteric poets were instead looking for self-expression, emotional depth, entertainment, and verses that could reflect the long hours of labor limae, of aesthetic polishing. 

Catullus stands out as one of the leading figures among them, not only because his surviving collection is one of the most extensive, but also for his unique ability to blend profound themes with a lively and refreshing style. 

Vivamus, mea Lesbia, atque amemus, 
rumoresque senum severiorum 
omnes unius aestimemus assis! 
soles occidere et redire possunt; 
nobis, cum semel occidit brevis lux, 
nox est perpetua una dormienda.  
da mi basia mille, deinde centum, 
dein mille altera, dein secunda centum, 
deinde usque altera mille, deinde centum; 
dein, cum milia multa fecerimus, 
conturbabimus, illa ne sciamus, 
aut ne quis malus invidere possit 
cum tantum sciat esse basiorum. 

Translation:  
My dear Lesbia, let’s just love each other 
and not bother our heads about the gossip 
spread about by old farts and busybodies. 
Suns can die and then rise new the next morning, 
but for us, when our little light has vanished, 
one vast night must be slept and slept forever. 
So come, sweetheart, and give me first a thousand 
kisses, then you might add a hundred others, 
then a thousand, and then another hundred. 
And then, once we have added tens of thousands, 
let’s go bankrupt and cancel the whole number, 
so that no one can cast a spell upon us 
when they learn we’ve enjoyed so many kisses. 

The above “Poem number 5” is considered one of his most important works, and probably one of the most paradigmatic. Colloquial and simple language constitute the framework of an invite to Lesbia, his famous lover, asking her to enjoy their ephemeral love while not caring about the surrounding world. The imperative of public duties and political life is absent, and the society becomes just a container of their feelings. What is listed is no longer the number of soldiers or casualties, but simply his love for her. 

However, it would be unfair to think about Catullus and the poetae novi, the Neoteric, as poets blinded by the libido and what derives from it.  

On the contrary, in a political milieu like the Roman one, where friendship was often a synonymous for political relations, as showed in De Amicitia by Cicero, it would have been difficult for Catullus and the other poets to avoid falling into the political discourse. 

Indeed, many of the poet’s verses were written in open defiance of Caesar, Pompey, and other aristocratic figures. Their greed, lust, desires, ambitions, and boundless cupidity stood at the heart of his invectives. The lack of direct and open critiques about laws or senatorial affairs should not be mistaken for indifference to public life.  
The unmasking of Roman leaders’ flawed passions was simply another way to expose their hubris, their misgovernment, and the misery that they were inflicting on the Republic. 

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Bibliography

Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia. “neōteros.” Encyclopedia Britannica, April 3, 2018. 

Catullus, Gaius Valerius. Catullus: Selected Poems. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2024. 

Gaisser, Julia Haig, ed. Catullus. Oxford: Oxford University Press, Incorporated, 2007. 

Tatum, W. Jeffrey. “Friendship, Politics, and Literature in Catullus: Poems 1, 65 and 66, 116.” The Classical Quarterly 47, no. 2 (1997): 482–500. 

Skinner, Marilyn B., ed. A Companion to Catullus. Newark: John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated, 2007. Accessed January 31, 2025.