sbia malit
quam te cum tota gente, Catulle, tua.'

It is probable that the acquaintance began in B.C. 61. In B.C. 62
Clodia was the wife of Q. Caecilius Metellus Celer (Cic. _ad Fam._ v.
2, 6), and in that year Metellus was governor of Gallia Cisalpina. Now
from c. 83 it is evident that Lesbia's husband was in Rome when she
began to be annoyed by Catullus' attentions. We may conclude from c.
30 that P. Alfenus Varus introduced Catullus to Lesbia. In that poem
Catullus blames Varus for leading him on and then leaving him in the
lurch. M'. Allius is next mentioned (c. 68) as a friend in whose house
Catullus met Lesbia; and cc. 2, 3, 5, and 7 probably belong to this
fortunate period of the poet's love. C. 8 speaks of Lesbia's leaving
him (cf. c. 92), probably on account of her husband's suspicions. Cf.
c. 5, 1,

'Vivamus, mea Lesbia, atque amemus,
rumoresque senum severiorum
omnes unius aestimemus assis.'

C. 107 speaks of an unexpected reconciliation (celebrated in c. 36).
C. 107, 5,

'Restituis cupido atque insperanti, ipsa refers te
nobis. O lucem candidiore nota!'

When Catullus, on account of his brother's death, left Rome for
Verona, he already knew that Lesbia had other lovers (c. 68, ll. 27
_sqq._, 135 _sqq._). There are many poems against his rivals: c. 82,
against Quintius; c. 40, against Ravidus; cc. 74, 80, 88-91, 116,
against Gellius; c. 77, against Rufus, who is attacked also in cc. 59
and 69 (this is M. Caelius Rufus, the orator, who intrigued with
Clodia: Cic. _pro Cael._ 17, etc.); c. 79, against Lesbius (see
above). After Catullus returned to Rome, he found that he had lost
Lesbia's affections. C. 70 was then written,

'Nulli se dicit mulier mea nubere malle
quam mihi, non si se Iuppiter ipse petat.
Dicit: sed mulier cupido quod dicit amanti,
in vento et rapida scribere oportet aqua.'

The words of this poem show that it must have been written after the
death of Clodia's husband Metellus, which took place in B.C. 59, and
it was probably written soon after that event, when Catullus had
returned to Rome from Verona.

Nos. 72, 85, and especially 58, show increasing bitterness, and must,
with the possible exception of 58, be assigned to the years B.C. 59 or
58. In c. 76 he prays for power to give Lesbia up; cf. ll. 23-6,

'Non iam illud quaero, contra ut me diligat illa,
aut, quod non potis est, esse pudica velit:
ipse valere opto et taetrum hunc deponere mor