155 160. 165 170 5 10 Dulce rideat ad patrem Sit suo similis patri matris indicet ore. Talis illius a bona matre laus genus approbet, Claudite ostia, virgines. coniuges, bene vivite et exercete iuventam. $3 Epithalamion. IVVENES CATULLUS, 61. ESPER adest, iuvenes, consurgite: Vesper Olympo VESPER surgere iam tempus, iam pinguis linquere mensas, Hymen O Hymenaee, Hymen ades O Hymenace! VIRGINES Cernitis, innuptae, iuvenes ? consurgite contra; IVVENES Non facilis nobis, aequalis, palma parata est, aspicite, innuptae secum ut meditata requirunt. iure igitur vincemur, amat victoria curam. dicere iam incipient, iam respondere decebit. Hymen O Hymenaee, Hymen ades O Hymenaee. VIRGINES Hespere, qui caelo fertur crudelior ignis? IVVENES Hespere, qui caelo lucet iucundior ignis ? Hymen O Hymenace, Hymen ades O Hymenaee! VIRGINES Hesperus e nobis, aequalis, abstulit unam. [Hymen O Hymenace, Hymen ades O Hymenaee !] IVVENES Namque tuo adventu vigilat custodia semper, nocte latent fures, quos idem saepe revertens, 15 20 25 30 35 Hespere, mutato comprendis nomine eosdem. at libet innuptis ficto te carpere questu. quid tum, si carpunt, tacita quem mente requirunt ? Hymen O Hymenaee, Hymen ades O Hymenaee! VIRGINES Vt flos in saeptis secretus nascitur hortis, quem mulcent aurae, firmat sol, educat imber; IVVENES Vt vidua in nudo vitis quae nascitur arvo, et tu ne pugna cum tali coniuge virgo, virginitas non tota tua est, ex parte parentum est, tertia pars patrist, pars est data tertia matri, tertia sola tua est: noli pugnare duobus, qui genero sua iura simul cum dote dederunt. $4 65 CATULLUS, 62. (Circ. 60 B.C.) Roman Utilitarian View of Marriage as the Basis of Human Society. The State the Father of All. THIS powerful reproductive instinct is a property common to all living creatures. So it is in Marriage that we find the seed of society, which is developed in the possession of children and which flowers in the unity and community of the Home. This is the origin of the State too: homes are the seed- 5 bed of social life. The close tie between brothers comes next : then that between cousins, who, as they cannot all be housed under one roof, emigrate, so to speak, to others. Then come marriages and further relationships, and more members of the family. So this reproduction of the breed is the fountain-head 10 of States. Blood-relationship, too, binds men together in good will and affection. The possession of the same ancestral relics, the same worship, the same family tombs, is a great thing. But of all forms of society there is nothing finer or more stable than the unity in friendship of good and true men 15 of like character. Nobility, our favourite topic, even when observed in others, has a compelling force, and makes friends for the man in whom it appears. And though all good qualities are attractive and make us love those who have them, justice and generosity have this effect beyond all others. The common 20 possession of a noble character is a most lovable thing, and the most compelling force on earth. Men who have the same pursuits and the same inclinations feel each as much joy in his companion as in himself; and Pythagoras's ideal of friendship is realized, unity in plurality. Also, the mutual giving and 25 receiving of kindnesses produces strong unions. As long as the benefits are mutual as well as acceptable, the bond of alliance between those who give and receive them is sure. But survey the whole range of philosophic thought, and you will find no tie which appeals so strongly to the conscience and to the heart as that which binds each one of us to the State. Parents, 30 |