The Poetry of Gaius Valerius Catullus/106

=Text & Translation=

=Connotations of The Text=

Line 1
praeconem - auctioneer

The joke here is that Juventius is selling himself to an auctioneer. i.e. at the best price he can get for his services.

Line 2
vendere - to sell [himself]

Catullus suspects that his friend Juventius has been eloping with other men, as is mentioned in Poem 24 and Poem 81. Young boys were permitted to satisfy older men but a boy who sold himself was nothing more than a whore.

=External Links=


 * Catullus 106 A Translation of Catullus 106
 * Catullus 106 Another Translation of Catullus 106