Latin translation "De Omnibus Dubitandum"
Matthew Montchalin
The verse of interest being:
>> Nox est perpetua una dormienda (Catullus)
Kim Bastin wrote:
>The metre is known as the hendecasyllable (Gk hendeka = 11).
There is no doubt that Catullus was known for tortured greek meters, among
other kinds of meter.
>long long long short short long short long short long short
>short long
>
>i.e. the first and last syllables may be long or short.
It took a while for my Internet Service Provider to receive your
explanation, but I still can't help but wonder what you make of perpetua,
with one long syllable and three short syllables. The a must have been
clipped or elided. Andrews & Stoddard don't offer any examples of
hendecasyllabic verse, nor is there the slightest hint that it exists as
a bona fide meter, so I'll have to assume that it is Greek in origin. Can
you supply me with the best position for the caesura, if there is one?
--
Matthew Montchalin
The interesting verse being:
>> Nox est perpetua una dormienda (Catullus)
Kim Bastin explained the hendecasyllable as going:
>long long long short short long short long short long short
>short long
I found a site that contains this verse. If one goes to
http://Catullus.isCool.net you will find that the 5th Carmen has the
following verses (all punctuation being herewith wholly deleted for your
pleasure):
1 Vivamus mea Lesbia atque amemus
2 rumoresque senum severiorum
3 omnes unius aestimemus assis
4 soles occidere et redire possunt
5 nobis cum semel occidit brevis lux
6 nox est perpetua una dormienda
7 da mi basia mille deinde centum
8 deinde usque altera mille deinde centum
9 dein cum milia multa fecerimus
A conturbabimus illa ne sciamus
B aut ne quis malus inuidere possit
C cum tantum sciat esse basiorum.
Since I do not use Windows, and my term program is a piece of garbage, I
naturally had some trouble reading all the lines of the poem, so I hope I've
got all of 'em. It's that 'thousand kisses, then a hundred' poem.
And you are right, there *does* seem to be a lilting 11 syllable meter
pervading all those lines! It seems to have a cute rhythm to it.
--