| T. R. Smith, comp. Poetica Erotica: Rare and Curious Amatory Verse. 1921–22. | | | | To Lesbia, on Her Falsehood | | By Gaius Valerius Catullus (c. 84–c. 54 B.C.) |
| | (Translated by George Lamb)
TO me alone, thou said’st, thy love was true, | |
| And true should be, though Jove himself might woo. | |
| I loved thee, Lesbia, not as rakes may prize | |
| The favourite wanton who has pleased their eyes; | |
| Mine was a tender glow, a purer zeal; | 5 |
| ’Twas all the parent for the child can feel. | |
| |
| Thy common falsehood now, thyself I know; | |
| And though my frame with fiercer heat may glow, | |
| Yet Lesbia ’s vile and worthless in my sight, | |
| Compared with Lesbia once my heart’s delight; | 10 |
| Nor wonder passion’s unrestrain’d excess | |
| Makes me desire thee more, but love thee less. | | | | |
|
|
