GCSE Latin: Catullus: How many kisses?

Latin
quaeris, quot mihi basiationes
tuae, Lesbia, sint satis superque.
quam magnus numerus Libyssae harenae
lasarpiciferis iacet Cyrenis
oraclum Iovis inter aestuosi
et Batti veteris sacrum sepulcrum;
aut quam sidera multa, cum tacet nox,
furtivos hominum vident amores:
tam te basia multa basiare
vesano satis et super Catullo est,
quae nec pernumerare curiosi
possint nec mala fascinare lingua.

English
You ask, how many of your kisses, Lesbia are
enough and more than enough for me.
As great as the number of grains of Lybian
sand which lies on silphium-bearing Cyrene
Between the oracle of sultry Jupiter
And the sacred tombs of old Battus;
Or as many as the stars which, when the night
is silent, see how the secret love-affairs of mankind:
That's how many kisses is enough and more
for crazy Catullus to give you,
So many that neither prying people are able to
count nor an evil tongue bewitch.

Notes
The poem's opening presupposes that Lesbia has found Catullus' attention a little too much: "Just how many kisses do you want? Are you insatiable?" This sets a playful time; basiationes (l.1), lasarpiciferis (l.4) and venaso (l.10) are made-up words for comic exaggeration or to make an informal word (basia) sound like a formal one (osculatio). In keeping with Lesbia's sophistication, Catullus strings together some learned allusions (ll.3-8) to make her smile at her own objetions. Note the alliteration of s through lines 3-6, conjuring the image of desert winds. Silphium is asafoetida, a plant whose juice was used in cookery and medicine.

The cliches "Count the grains of sand... Count the stars" (compare with God's promise to Abraham of numerous descendants, Genesis Ch. 12) are given fresh life by the details of place (ll.3-6) and people's behaviour (ll.7-8). The mention of the stars brings the turning point in the poem; they see the secret loves of people, including Catullus and Lesbia. furtivos (l.8) evokes night, silence, privacy and illicit activities. ll.11-12 refer to the superstition that knowing the precise number of something gives malivious power over others. Here it is comically frustrated because there are too many kisses to count.

Read about Catullus.

Metre
Hendecasyllables (=11 syllables per line)
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