[2] Cerintho: This is the first mention of his name in the poems. We do not know who he was. Sulpicia names him twice, here and in 5.1, both times in a rather negative way. Here, she refers to their potential separation; in poem 5, she is accusing him of insensitivity. Sulpicia does not address Cerinthus by name as affectionately as Catullus does Lesbia in 5.1, “Vivamus, mea Lesbia, atque amemus”; on the other hand, she never has occasion to refer to her lover as bitterly as Catullus does in 58.
This text is part of:
Sulpicia: Text, translation, and commentary. Anne Mahoney. 2000. Text created electronically.
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