VOCABULARY OF CATULLUS’ POEMS HAPAX LEGOMENA AS VULGAR WORDS

Summary: “There are 150 words in Catullus which occur once only in his writings, and of these more than 70 per cent are rare in the whole of Latin literature, and more than 90 per cent do not occur in Vergil at all” – writes J. Whatmough in his work Poetic, Scientific, and other Forms of Discourse , Berkeley and Los Angeles, 1956, 41. It is necessary to distinguish between genuine and apparent once-words. The true once-word is a coinage that never recurs; the number of the true once-words is exceedingly small. Catullus’ once-words were well known, but not in writing. Theoretically one would expect such words to be polysyl-labic; so are the comic jawbreakers of Aristophanes which fit the pattern of his verse so well. The hapax legomena of Catullus are not genuine once-words of the spoken language, but they are vulgar and in some contexte obscene. We can, therefore, regard them as taboo words. They occur sometimes in similes; cf. Poems 17, 23, 25, 97. In my paper I would like to analyse some vulgar hapax legomena of Catullus.

because Joshua Whatmough stresses in his article Pudicus Poeta: Words and Things, The Vocabulary of Catullus, that Catullus' "commonplace vocabulary -is remarkably low", that is, "his vacabulary is anything but commonplace". 4 For example in the line: gaudete vosque, o Lydiae lacus undae (31. 13) Lydiae occurs nowhere else in Catullus, therefore the editors wanted to change it, from Scaliger to Palmer. 5 For example, recently Thomson changes it in such a way: gaudente, vosque lucidae lacus undae. 6 But it is a fault because Catullus likes strange words, as Whatmough remarks: "There are 150 words in Catullus which occur once only in his writings, and of these more than 70 per cent are rare in the whole of Latin literature…" 7 According to Whatmough we have to distinguish between genuine and apparent once-words. The true once-word never recurs; the number of them is exceedingly small. The once-words in Catullus were well enough known, but non in writing. "Their very appearance in the manuscripts of Catullus led to the almost complete disappearance of all the copies, of every single copy of the works of Catullus." 8 Their brevity is an indication that they are not genuine "once-words" of the spoken language. But because of their obscenity they have always been under taboo. 9 To discover the meaning of a hapax legomenon "is not always the simplest matter" -writes Whatmough. 10  make half of their appearances in this very poem." 11 Then he enumerates the obscene words found in this poem: culus, six times in Catullus, three of them in this poem; cunnus once in line 8, nowhere else in Catullus; meiens once in Catullus, is a veterinary term; dentes sesquipedales an adjective found only here in Catullus, rare in Latin, a technical term, of exact measurement (1.5 ft.); carnifex only here in Catullus, is a technical term, and not free from a certain fascination of horror. 12 Its horror is emphasized by a simile: Quem siqua attingit, non illam posse putemus Aegroti culum lingere carnificis (11-12).
Wouldn't one think that any woman who touched him Could lick the arsehole of a sick hangman. 13 All these obscene words are vulgar. "But ploxenum (6) is a different story. It is an absolut hapax legomenon, for the mention by Quintilian and by Festus is merely an unsuccessful attempt to explain the word in this very place in Catullus, not an independent occurrence." 14 According to Whatmough "there is nothing in the phonematic pattern of the word ploxenum that might not be Latin, except the medial short -e-instead of -i-that certainly does point to a dialect source. In fact Quintilian (1. 5. 8) locates it in the vicinity of the river Po, and there are possible cognates in the Raetic ploum "plough" 15 and in Latin plaustrum, and a variant spelling -in-is recorded 16 -evidently ploxenum has something to do with a wheeled vehicle. Another modern etymology connectes the word with plectere, which suits the ancient definition capsa in cisio better. Now crates stercoriae, apparently the same as sirpeae, are known from Cato and Varro as wicker contraptions used in carting farm manure from the dung pits to the fields. In the city, cesspools (foricae) were emptied by despised contractors (Juvenal 3. 38). Here, I believe, is the answer: ploxenum is a two-wheeled cart carrying a wicker bascet used for this purpose; as the basket was worn by use, brocken withies stuck out as much as half a yard, and the mouth, gums, and theeth of Aemilius, foul and diseased, reminden Catullus, he says, of a much used cratis stercoria." 17 All this means that ploxenum is vulgar once-word.

II.
We find an instructive vocabulary in Catullus 17, which can be regarded as invective, too. I quote it full, following the method of Whatmough: 11  This poem of Catullus consists of 26 lines. Thomson divides it into three parts: part 1: 11 lines, part 2: 11 lines, and part 3: 4 lines. I am not satisfied with this division, because in such a way the structure of the poem is not enough clear. I divide it in 5 parts.
In part 1, Catullus addresses the town, which wanted to organize a festival in honour of a god on a long bridge, but it is afraid that the the poor old bridge will fall in the deep bog (1-4. lines).
In part 2, the poet wishes them a new strong bridge, on which they can arrange a festival in honour of god Salisubsalus, provided that they slap a fellow townsman from the bridge into the mud (5-11).
In part 3, Catullus tells why they have to slap his fellow townsman: because he is perfect fool with less sense than a suckling child (12-13).
Out of part 4, will be evident, why is this fellow townsman is so fool. Because he is married to a girl who is beautiful and frivolous, therefore she needs careful wathing, but her dolt husband sees nothing and hears nothing (14-22).

Acta Ant. Hung. 59, 2019
Finally in part 5, the poet suggests: he would like to throw him down from the bridge to see if he can suddenly shake off his stupid sloth (23-26). 18 There is to be found a vulgar form in this poem, as well: ludere … et salire paratum habes (17. 1-2) instead of ludere … et salire parata es; see Cic. Att. 8. 11b. 1: ita fuimus ut navem paratam haberemus. Fordyce comments on it so: "habere aliquid paratum with a noun object (iter, exercitum, consilium, classem, etc.) is a very common use in which the verb and the participle have each its normal function ('have an army in readiness'). Here the noun is replaced by an infinitive: 'have dancing in readiness, all set'. The nearest parallel seems to be Tac. Ann. XI 1. 2 turbare nationes promptum haberet, 'found it easy to'." 19 Thomson, too, remarks: "For its much more common use with a noun, cf. 60, 4-5 vocem contemptam haberes." 20 This poem has some vulgar words: Salisubsali (6) occurs nowhere else: it is hapax legomenon. Its reading in the codices O, G is sali subsili. 21 The interpretation proposed by Fordyce is acceptable: "Salisubsali: if this word is a genitive, Salisubsalus (or -ius) must be taken to be either the title of a god on whose honour cult-dances were performed or the name of dancers who performed them. Its form has suggested a connexion with Salii, the 'leaping priests', associated particularly with Mars, who are found not only at Rome but at other places in Italy, Verona among them." 22 The diminutive nouns ponticulus from pons, axulus (3) from axis and the diminutive adjective tenellulus from tener (15) are vulgar and hapax legomena, as well.
The poem ends with a vulgar simile, as the poem 97: And leave behind his spineless spirit in the mire As a mule leaves her iron shoe in ther clinging clay. 24 III.
According to Aristotle "that which is scarcer is a greater good than that which is abundant, as gold than iron, although it is less useful". 25 If this principle is true, then can we suppose that the part of Catullus' poetry which has more hapax legomena, that is the invective, is better than the other part, the lyric poems? To answer this question 18  we need to see the opinion of Quintilian about Catullus' poetry, namely he gives a critical overview of Greek and Latin literary genres. He mentions Catullus in connection of iambos: iambus non sane a Romanis celebratus est ut proprium opus, ‹sed› aliis quibusdam interpositus: cuius acerbitas in Catullo, Bibaculo, Horatio, quamquam illi epodos intervenit, reperiatur (10. 1. 96). 26 -"The Iambic has not been much cultivated by Romans as a separate genre, but has been used by some in conjunction with other metres. Its bitterness may be seen in Catullus, Bibaculus, and Horace (though in him, the epode breaks it up)." 27 Also in ancient times Catullus belonged to iambic poets, he had a reputation for his iambi. Quintilian calls the attention to this explicitly: -"Harsh and abusive language, as I said, goes on the attack with Iambi in poetry too: Who this can see, who this can tolerate, Except a shameless glutton and a gambler?" 28 In our quotation with the phrase ut dixi -"as I said" Quintilian refers to his former statement: "Harshness, on the other hand, is best produced by Iambi, not only because these consist of only two syllables, so that their beat is more frequent as it were (a feature quite contrary to smoothness), but also because they have a rising motion at each foot, and climb and swell from short to long; this is why they are preferable to Chorei, which drop from long to short" (9. 4. 136). 29 Quintilian illustrates with the first two verses of Catullus' 29. poem that the iambic poetry is offensive. It's worth quoting the whole poem in order to know who is impudicus et vorax et aleo. Out of the poem it clear, that the whole is an attack on Mamurra, Caesar and Pompey. It was written probably in the autumn of 55 BC, after Ceasar's invasion of Britain. But the main target of its invective is Caesar, it is evident out of the first ten lines, which is read so in the translation of Lee: "Who can watch this, who suffer it, unless / He's shameless and a glutton and a gambler -/ Mamurra having all the fat that longhaired / Gaul and remotes Britain used to have? / Poof Romulus, you'll watch this and allow it? / That supercilious and superfluous figure / Prancing about in everybody's bedroom / Like a white lovey-dovey or Adoneus? Poof Romulus, you'll watch this and allow it? You are shameless and a glutton and a gambler." 30 Catullus says to Caesar: es impudicus et vorax et aleo. The adjective impudicus occurs often, the vorax rarely, but the noun aleo is almost hapax legomenon, so aleo has the biggest emphasis. Besides, it is a vulgar word; see Ernout-Meillet: "aleo, -onis m. (cf. ganeo, lustro) formation populaire en -o, -onis". 31 But the adjective vorax is very offensive as well, because its meaning is ambiguous: 1. ravenuous, insatiable; 2. sexually perverse; Caesar is fellator too. Catullus emphasizes the meaning of these words by repetition, as well: