SOURCE: An introduction to The Poems of Catullus, translated by Peter Whigham, University of California Press, 1969, pp. 9-46.

In the following essay originally published in 1966, Whigham surveys what he deems the highlights of Catullus's poetic canon.

The date of Catullus's introduction into Roman society is of interest in helping to assess how much of his younger, formative life was spent in what he refers to as 'the province'. It is, unfortunately, likely to remain an unsolved query. If Metellus Celer was responsible, Catullus would not be likely to have left home before the spring of 62. On the other hand, his father, who must have been a wealthy man, was probably just as capable of arranging the matter for himself. In which case, there is no knowing when he left. There is a third alternative—of no help from the point of view of dates, but worth considering for...