Fragrance Quote
In Carmen 13, Catullus invites a friend to dinner and promises a perfume so good he will ask the gods to make him “all Nose.”
In His Own Words
“for I will give you an unguent which the Venuses and Cupids gave to my girl, which, when you smell it, you will entreat the gods to make you, Fabullus, all Nose!”
— Catullus, Carmen 13 (c. 54 BC), translated by Leonard Smithers (1894)
Essential Details
Catullus on a Perfume Worth Begging For at a Glance
- Speaker: Gaius Valerius Catullus (c. 84–c. 54 BC)
- Source: Carmen 13, Smithers prose translation, 1894
- Status: Public domain
- Note: Other translations word this line differently
Why the Quote Resonates
The poem is a joke: bring your own food, and in return you get a perfume so good it will make you wish you were nothing but a nose. It shows that in Rome a fine unguent could be a gift worth a dinner invitation.
Roman Unguents
Unguents were oils or ointments perfumed with flowers and resins, such as myrrh, though Catullus does not say what was in his. Compare his playful tone with Pliny’s complaint about the cost, and read the full story in The History of Perfume.
Why it matters
Two thousand years ago, a good perfume was already a gift to boast about.