抄録
In several of his poems, Catullus criticizes the literary works of other poets and approves of two types of poems those of bri liant technical skill, displaying author's knowledge of classical mythology and poetry (docta poemata), and those of graceful plays of wit (lepida poemata) It may be admitted that these criteria are, generally speaking, also applicable to his own poems But quite often, as naturally enough, the two qualities are mixed up in one and the same poem, in such a way, that poemata docta par excellence are also lepida and vice versa Catullus' poetry, seen as a whole, may be therefore better qualified as doctus-lepidus than by one of the two qualities only Catullus, even m his lepida poemata, cannot ultimately be content with mere display of refined wit, because to him, his daily experiences in life, particularly those with Lesbia, which are the chief source of material for this kind of poems, are too serious for that Likewise in his docta poemata, his main concern has shifted from pedantic display of classical knowledge to a more serious pursuit of the problem of love, as a natural consequence of which the poems become more lyrical and subjective than the normal docta poemata Thus Catullus has created a new type of poetry which can hardly be measured properly by the scale of his own make and we may conclude that it is Catullus' bitter-sweet experiences with Lesbia that are mainly responsible for causing this difference in his literary practice and theory
