<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<rss version="2.0"
	xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/"
	xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/"
	xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/"
	xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"
	xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/"
	xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/"
	>

<!--  do not duplicate title bloginfo_rss('name'); wp_title_rss(); -->
<channel>

	<title>WIST Quotations</title>
	<atom:link href="https://wist.info/topic/tastelessness/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
	<link>https://wist.info</link>
	<description>Wish I&#039;d Said That!</description>
	<lastBuildDate>Thu, 14 May 2026 03:20:32 +0000</lastBuildDate>
	<generator>https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4</generator>
	<language></language>
	<sy:updatePeriod>hourly</sy:updatePeriod>
	<sy:updateFrequency>1</sy:updateFrequency>
	<generator>https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4</generator>

<image>
	<url>https://wist.info/wp/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/little-w-little-box-60x60.jpg</url>
	<title>tastelessness &#8211; WIST Quotations</title>
	<link>https://wist.info</link>
	<width>32</width>
	<height>32</height>
</image> 
<atom:link rel="hub" href="https://pubsubhubbub.appspot.com"/>
<atom:link rel="hub" href="https://pubsubhubbub.superfeedr.com"/>
<atom:link rel="hub" href="https://websubhub.com/hub"/>
<atom:link rel="self" href="https://wist.info/topic/tastelessness/feed/"/>
<site xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">43606282</site>		<item>

                <!-- DCH Modify the title to give the category (quote author) at the beginning of it. -->
		<title>Catullus -- Carmina #  43 &#8220;To Mamurra&#8217;s Mistress&#8221; [tr. MacNaghten (1925)]</title>
		<link>https://wist.info/catullus/70078/</link>
		<comments>https://wist.info/catullus/70078/#respond</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 19 Jun 2024 21:34:24 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dave</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Catullus]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[age]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[beauty]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[discernment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[generation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[taste]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tastelessness]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ugliness]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://wist.info/?p=70078</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Hail, lady of no light footfall, And eyes not black, and nose not small, And lips not dry, and hands not long, And, truly, not too nice a tongue, The Formian bankrupt&#8217;s paramour. The Province calls you dainty? Your Face, and not Lesbia&#8217;s, is the rage? O! dull and undiscerning age! [Salve, nec minimo puella [&#8230;]]]></description>
        <!-- DCH Insert author info (category description) then (Source) and then put the extra info (MORE) below that. -->
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Hail, lady of no light footfall,<br />
<span class="tab">And eyes not black, and nose not small,<br />
And lips not dry, and hands not long,<br />
<span class="tab">And, truly, not too nice a tongue,<br />
The Formian bankrupt&#8217;s paramour.<br />
<span class="tab">The Province calls you dainty? Your<br />
Face, and not Lesbia&#8217;s, is the rage?<br />
<span class="tab">O! dull and undiscerning age!</p>
<p><em>[Salve, nec minimo puella naso<br />
nec bello pede nec nigris ocellis<br />
nec longis digitis nec ore sicco<br />
nec sane nimis elegante lingua,<br />
decoctoris amica Formiani.<br />
Ten provincia narrat esse bellam?<br />
Tecum Lesbia nostra comparatur?<br />
O saeclum insapiens et infacetum!]</em></span></span></span></span></p>
<br><b>Catullus</b> (c. 84 BC – c. 54 BC) Latin poet [Gaius Valerius Catullus]<br>Carmina #  43 &#8220;To Mamurra&#8217;s Mistress&#8221; [tr. MacNaghten (1925)] 
									<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(<a href="https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.$b267122&seq=59&q1=xliii" target="_blank">Source</a>)
										<br><br><span class="cite">
						

Mamurra, also known as Formianus (from the province of Formiae), was an ally of Caesar, but enemy of Catullus. Catullus devotes a number of his odes to attacking Mamurra or, in a few cases, his mistress (who, in some sources, is named Amiana or Ameana).<br><br>

The poem is noteworthy both for cateloguing unattractive traits (Roman poetry and art make it clear what was considered attractive), and for the final line in its condemnation of a land that would ever place the unnamed mistress over the beauties of Catullus' beloved Lesbia.<br><br>

(<a href="http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0472.phi001.perseus-lat1:43">Source (Latin)</a>). Alternate translations:<br><br>

<blockquote>Though splaw thy feet, and snub thy nose,<br>
Thy fingers short, and unlike sloes<br>
<span class="tab">Thine eyes in hue may be;<br>
Thy lip with driv'lling moisture dew'd<br>
Thy language vulgar, manners rude,<br>
<span class="tab">Yet, wanton, hail to thee!<br>
<br>
And does the province praise thy grace;<br>
And e'en presume thy form and face<br>
<span class="tab">With Lesbia to compare?<br>
Then why should I thy charms dispraise<br>
'Mid vulgar fools, in tasteless days,<br>
<span class="tab">'Tis useless to be fair.<br>
[tr. <a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_poems_of_Caius_Valerius_Catullus_tr/j10UAAAAQAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=%22useless%20to%20be%20fair%22">Lamb</a> (1821)]</blockquote><br>

<blockquote>Though a decided snub your nose,<br>
<span class="tab">Your feet the kind called stumpy,<br>
Your eyes by no means black as sloes,<br>
<span class="tab">Your fingers fat and dumpy;<br>
Your lip not peachy soft, your speech<br>
<span class="tab">Less aptr to charm than pain us;<br>
Yet still I hail you, mistress frail<br>
<span class="tab">Of spendthrift Formianus.<br>
<br>
The province, bless its stupid soul!<br>
<span class="tab">Is mad about your beauty,<br>
So let me also pay my toll<br>
<span class="tab">Of homage and of duty.<br>
But then they say your shape, your grace,<br>
<span class="tab">My Lesbia's, mine, surpasses!<br>
Oh woe, to live with such a race<br>
<span class="tab">Of buzzards, owls, and asses!<br>
[tr. <a href="https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.31175007358511&seq=85&q1=%22woe+to+live%22">T. Martin</a> (1861)]</blockquote><br>

<blockquote>Hail, maiden! with nor little nose,<br>
<span class="tab">Nor pretty foot, nor jet-black eye,<br>
<span class="tab">Nor fingers long, nor mouth e'er dry,<br>
Nor tongue whence pleasing prattle flows.<br>
You spendthrift Formian's heart engage;<br>
<span class="tab">And doth the province call you fair,<br>
<span class="tab">And Lesbia's charms with yours compare?<br>
O witless and O boorish age!<br>
[tr. <a href="https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=loc.ark:/13960/t1hh7rq7f&seq=83&q1=%22o+witless%22">Cranstoun</a> (1867)]</blockquote><br>

<blockquote>Hail, fair virgin, a nose among the larger,<br>
Feet not dainty, nor eyes to match a raven,<br>
Mouth scarce tenible, hands not wholly faultless,<br>
Tongue most surely not absolute refinement,<br>
Bankrupt Formian, your declar'd devotion.<br>
<span class="tab">Thou the beauty, the talk of all the province?<br>
<span class="tab">Thou my Lesbia tamely think to rival?<br>
O preposterous, empty generation!<br>
[tr. <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/18867/pg18867-images.html#:~:text=%5BPg%2029%5D-,XLIII,-.">Ellis</a> (1871)]</blockquote><br>

<blockquote>Hail, girl who neither nose of minim size<br>
<span class="tab">Owns, nor a pretty foot, nor jetty eyes,<br>
Nor thin long fingers, nor mouth dry of slaver<br>
<span class="tab">Nor yet too graceful tongue of pleasant flavour,<br>
Leman to Formian that rake-a-hell.<br>
<span class="tab">What, can the Province boast of thee as belle?<br>
Thee with my Lesbia durst it make compare?<br>
<span class="tab">O Age insipid, of all humour bare!<br>
[tr. <a href="http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0472.phi001.perseus-eng1:43">Burton</a> (1893)]</blockquote><br>

<blockquote>Hail, girl with nose not the smallest, and with foot not lovely, and with eyes not black, and with fingers not long, and with mouth not dry and with tongue not so very elegant, the wench of the bankrupt Formian. And the province declares you to be lovely? With you our Lesbia is to be compared? O generation witless and unmannerly!<br>
[tr. <a href="http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0472.phi001.perseus-eng2:43">Smithers</a> (1894)]</blockquote><br>

<blockquote>I greet you, lady, you who neither have a tiny nose, nor a pretty foot, nor black eyes, nor long fingers, nor dry mouth, nor indeed a very refined tongue, mistress of the bankrupt Formiae. Is it you who are pretty, as the Province tells us? is it with you that our Lesbia is compared?  O, this age! how tasteless and illbred it is!<br>
[tr. <a href="https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=coo.31924074296397&seq=59&q1=%22you+who+are+pretty%22">Warre Cornish</a> (1904)]</blockquote><br>

<blockquote>Hail, maid with nose by no means small, foot by no means shapely, eyes by no means of jet, fingers by no means long, mouth by no means dry, speech by no means too refined, friend of the Formian waster. Do the provincials call you beautiful? Do they compare you with my Lesbia? Oh foolish and tasteless age!<br>
[tr. <a href="https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc2.ark:/13960/t4hm54w4w&seq=95&q1=43">Stuttaford</a> (1912)]</blockquote><br>

<blockquote>Pshaw, little girl, you're much too small, <br>
<span class="tab">You've scarcely any nose at all. <br>
Your feet are shapeless, fingers, too, <br>
<span class="tab">Your eyes a dull and faded blue. <br>
With lips as parched as last year's peas. <br>
<span class="tab">And silly tongue, untaught to please. <br>
They say that Formian calls you fair. <br>
<span class="tab">And that they praise you everywhere. <br>
A dull and senseless age -- ah me. <br>
<span class="tab">If they could Lesbia's beauty see!<br>
[tr. <a href="https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc2.ark:/13960/t4pk0h310&seq=57&q1=xliii">Stewart</a> (1915)]</blockquote><br>

<blockquote>Thy nose is broad and large thy feet, <br>
<span class="tab">Thine eyes are neither dark nor clear, <br>
Thy hands are squat, thy lips unsweet, <br>
<span class="tab">Thy language shocks a decent ear. <br>
Thy province swears that thou art fair, <br>
<span class="tab">O mistress of a village beau!<br>
Swears thou with Lesbia canst compare; <br>
<span class="tab">O tasteless age, thy wits how slow!<br>
[tr. <a href="https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.$b311029&seq=48&q1=xliii">Symons-Jeune</a> (1923)]</blockquote><br>

<blockquote>Good morning, dear lady; your nose is too long,<br>
<span class="tab">Your fingers too stumpy, your language too strong.<br>
Your feet are ill shaped, and your lips wet with slobber,<br>
<span class="tab">Your eyes pale and dull; and your lover's a robber,<br>
Who won't pay his debts. Yet withal people hold<br>
<span class="tab">You a beauty , when you're in the country, I'm told.<br>
To think that dull fools for one instant should dare<br>
<span class="tab">Your charms with my Lesbia's face to compare!<br>
[tr. <a href="https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.32106015467548&seq=129&q1=xliii">Wright</a> (1926)]</blockquote><br>

<blockquote>Listen, girl: your nose is not too small and<br>
your foot somehow lacks shapeliness, your eyes<br>
are not so bright , your fingers though they should be <br>
are neither long nor graceful , nor can your lips <br>
(mouth dripping) be kissed for love, nor is your speech <br>
soft music.<br>
And this girl is the lady friend<br>
of that debauched citizen Mamurra. <br>
They say that you are lovely (rumours from the provinces)<br>
comparing you with Lesbia.<br>
The times are bad<br>
and this an ignorant generation.<br>
[tr. <a href="https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.32106001542577&seq=129&q1=%22your+nose%22">Gregory</a> (1931)] </blockquote><br>

<blockquote>Greetings, girl! You haven't got much --<br>
<span class="tab">Neither small nose, nor a pretty foot,<br>
Dark eyes, or slender hands to touch,<br>
<span class="tab">No dry mouth; the way you put<br>
Your phrases isn't neat at all,<br>
<span class="tab">Mistress of the bankrupt man<br>
From Formiae -- but Cisalpine Gaul<br>
<span class="tab">Says you're lovely, lovelier than<br>
My Lesbia, even? Oh, enough!<br>
<span class="tab">This ignorant age -- how rude and rough!<br>
[tr. <a href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/browse?contentId=33399">Hollander</a> (1976)]</blockquote><br>

<blockquote>Greetings ot you, girl of the nose not tiny,<br>
the feet not pretty, eyes not darkly-shadowed,<br>
stubby fat fingers, mouth forever spraying<br>
language that shows us your lack of refinement,<br>
whore of that bankrupt wastrel from Formiae!<br>
Is it your beauty they praise in the province?<br>
Do they compare you to our Lesbia?<br>
Mindless this age. And insensitive, really.<br>
[tr. <a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Poems_of_Catullus/y_HafujaJM4C?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=nose">C. Martin</a> (1979)]</blockquote><br>

<blockquote>Hello, girl, neither with the smallest nose,<br>
Nor with pretty feet nor with black little eyes<br>
Nor with long fingers nor with dry lips<br>
Nor clearly with a very refined tongue.<br>
Girl/friend of the spendthrift from Formiae,<br>
Does the province report that you are beautiful?<br>
Is our Lesbia compared with you?<br>
O tasteless and crude age!<br>
[tr. <a href="http://rudy.negenborn.net/catullus/text2/e43.htm#:~:text=Hello%2C%20girl%2C%20neither,and%20crude%20age!">Drudy</a> (1997)]</blockquote><br>

<blockquote>Greetings, girl with a nose not the shortest,<br>
feet not so lovely, eyes not of the darkest,<br>
fingers not slender, mouth never healed,<br>
and a not excessively charming tongue,<br>
bankrupt Formianus’s ‘little friend’.<br>
And the Province pronounces you beautiful?<br>
To be compared to my Lesbia?<br>
O witless and ignorant age!<br>
[tr. <a href="https://www.poetryintranslation.com/PITBR/Latin/Catullus.php#:~:text=Greetings%2C%20girl%20with,and%20ignorant%20age!">Kline</a> (2001)]</blockquote><br>

<blockquote>Hello, girl without the smallest nose<br>
Nor pretty feet, nor dark eyes<br>
Nor elegant fingers nor dry mouth<br>
Nor language int he least refined<br>
Girlfriend of that bankrupt from Formia.<br>
So country people call you beautiful?!<br>
Our Lesbia is compared with you?!<br>
Oh, what a stupid and tasteless age this is!<br>
[tr. <a href="https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/The_Poetry_of_Gaius_Valerius_Catullus/43#:~:text=Latin%20Text-,English%20Translation,-1">Wikibooks</a> (2017)]</blockquote><br>

<blockquote>Greetings, you girl with neither a little nose,<br>
nor handsome feet, black little eyes<br>
long fingers, a dry mouth,<br>
and truly tongue not exceedingly elegant.<br>
Girlfriend of the bankrupt of Formiae,<br>
does the province say that you are beautiful?<br>
Is our Lesbia compared with you?<br>
Oh foolish and coarse generation!<br>
[tr. <a href="https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Translation:Catullus_43#:~:text=Greetings%2C%20you%20girl,and%20coarse%20generation!">Wikisource</a> (2018)]</blockquote><br>

<blockquote>Howdy, girl with the not-small nose,<br>
Feet not beautiful, eyes not black,<br>
Fingers not long, the lips not dry,<br>
A tongue not quite so elegant,<br>
“Friend” of a Formian bankrupt.<br>
The sticks proclaim you’re beautiful?<br>
With you our Lesbia is compared?<br>
O times, unthinking and vulgar!<br>
[tr. <a href="https://sententiaeantiquae.com/2021/02/24/just-who-do-you-think-you-are/#:~:text=Howdy%2C%20girl%20with%20the%20not%2Dsmall%20nose%2C%0AFeet%20not%20beautiful%2C%20eyes%20not%20black%2C%0AFingers%20not%20long%2C%20the%20lips%20not%20dry%2C%0AA%20tongue%20not%20quite%20so%20elegant%2C%0A%E2%80%9CFriend%E2%80%9D%20of%20a%20Formian%20bankrupt.%0AThe%20sticks%20proclaim%20you%E2%80%99re%20beautiful%3F%0AWith%20you%20our%20Lesbia%20is%20compared%3F%0AO%20times%2C%20unthinking%20and%20vulgar!">@sentantiq</a> (2021)]</blockquote><br>						</span>
					]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>https://wist.info/catullus/70078/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">70078</post-id>	</item>
	</channel>
</rss>
