Catullus

In Piano di Studi, Foscolo put Catullus among the poets' works he intended to translate, along with many Greeks (Anacreon, Sappho, Theocritus) and the Latin writers Tibullus and Propertius. The influence of Catullus's work is particularly important in at least three parts of Foscolo's career: the sonnet Un dì s’io non andrò sempre fuggendo, which is inspired by Catullus's poem 101 and is a lament for the death of his brother; the translation of, and comment on Chioma di Berenice which translates Catullus's poem 66 and contains the Latin text of Catullus's letter to Hortensius and, finally, Le Grazie, various parts of which echo the Latin poet's verses. Some of the themes of Catullus's poetry seem particularly congenial to Foscolo: mediation on death, celebration of love, learned allusions. In the dedication to Giovanni Battista Piccolini that introduces Chioma di Berenice, Foscolo establishes a consonance between himself and Catullus who, in the Epistula ad Hortalium (Letter to Hortensius), talks about his sadness for the death of his brother and his attempt to find relief in translation: so both poets dedicate themselves to literary work to find comfort in a state of existential sadness.