Of all Greek and Latin poets, Catullus (C.84-54 BC) is the one most accessible to the modern reader.
His full-blooded personal poetry, dealing candidly with love and hate, exerts an irresistible appeal, particularly the well-known poems to his lover Lesbia. The 116 poems collected here show Catullus' mastery of three distinct genres. The short poems reveal his facility with lyric metres; the long ones show he can deal equally memorably with themes from romantic legend; in the epigrams, his skilful use of invective enables him to attack his contemporaries viciously, to be blatantly obscene, and yet to command respect from his public then and now.
In this complete edition of Catullus' poems, Guy Lee, one of the most eminent classical translators, has provided a reliable Latin text with a facing translation described by The Times as 'the best for any non-Latinist who is determined to get to grips with this poet'.
Translated with an introduction and Notes by Guy Lee.
