Catullus 3

[Tactixian]

This is the third time I'm typing this out because I keep messing up trying to post. Forgive me for omitting the poem itself, though I'll type it out if necessary.

Grieve, O Venus and Cupid, and all the very charming people there are! My girl's sparrow has died, the sparrow, my girl's delight, which she loved more than her own eyes. For it was sweet as honey, and knew its own (mistress) as well as a girl knows her mother; nor did it move from her lap, but, jumping around now here and now there, chirped continuously at only its lady. And he now goes thither through the gloomy route, whence they deny anyone returns. But may it be badly for you, evil darkness of Orcus, which devour [2nd person, not "devours"?] all beautiful things; now you have taken away from me my pretty sparrow. O badly done [not factum malum, evil deed]! Oh, poor sparrow! Thanks to you, my girl's swollen eyes now become red by (from) crying.

[Felt easier than usual. At vobis male sit gave me some trouble. The subjunctive standing alone leads me to believe it's jussive. Is it simply a very general curse?]

Thanks.

 

[Imber Ranae]

Looks good. The verb devoratis is second person because vobis is second person, and Latin tends to retain grammatical person in relative clauses. Compare the Lord's Prayer in English: "Our Father, who art in heaven" not "Our Father, who is in heaven".

You're correct that male is the adverb rather than a vocative adjective, which couldn't work here since factum is neuter. It may still be rendered "O evil deed" in English, though. This is because participles in Latin, even when used as substantive nouns, tend to retain their verbal character and take adverbs rather than adjectives as modifiers. So O factum male literally means "O wickedly done thing".

I'd say At vobis male sit is optative rather than jussive: "But may it go badly with you".


Edit: here's the Latin.

Lugete, o Veneres Cupidinesque,
et quantum est hominum uenustiorum:
passer mortuus est meae puellae,
passer, deliciae meae puellae,
quem plus illa oculis suis amabat.
nam mellitus erat suamque norat
ipsam tam bene quam puella matrem,
nec sese a gremio illius mouebat,
sed circumsiliens modo huc modo illuc
ad solam dominam usque pipiabat.
qui nunc it per iter tenebricosum
illuc, unde negant redire quemquam.
at uobis male sit, malae tenebrae
Orci, quae omnia bella deuoratis:
tam bellum mihi passerem abstulistis
o factum male! o miselle passer!
tua nunc opera meae puellae
flendo turgiduli rubent ocelli.