From: alexandru_mg3
Message: 51813
Date: 2008-01-22
><salaputtium>;
> --- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, Piotr Gasiorowski <gpiotr@> wrote:
> >
> > On 2008-01-22 17:01, fournet.arnaud wrote:
> >
> > > I have in Meillet :
> > > salaputt-ium [with 2 -tt-] "a midget, a dwarf"
> > > Is it the word you are talking about ?
> >
> > Yes. It's a hapax legomenon, occurring only once, in Catullus 53.
> In the
> > manuscripts we find <salapantium> <salapputium> and
> the<salapa\u/tium>,
> > first has been explaines as a mistaken reading of
> i.e.the
> > <salapatium> corrected to <salaputium>. The last reading has
> generally
> > been accepted by modern editors as the final emendation. The /u:/
> is
> > long. The Oscan-looking cognomen <Salaputis> (whose purely Latin
> > equivalent would have been something like *Salpu:tius) confirms
> reading.accent).
> >
> > If Weiss is right -- and his argumentation is very convincing --
> the
> > meaning 'midget', deduced from the context, is completely wrong.
> The
> > line in question should be translated roughly thus: "Great gods,
> what
> > eloquent REFOINMENT!" (making fun of Calvus's substandard
> Ofthat
> > course Catullus was never averse to a dirty joke and if the word
> > *pu:t... 'penis' was in use at the time, there _may_ be an extra
> oscene
> > pun on that, but we just can't be sure. Soemtimes you can suspect
> double
> > entendre but can't prove it. When somebody mentions "kicking
> against the
> > pricks" in Modern English, is it just a Biblical quotation or an
> obscene
> > allusion?
> >
> > Piotr
>
>
> I don't care about any of Weiss' speculations, once Seneca (Sr.)
> was a native Latin speaker, clearly explains the situation:together
>
> I need to quote Seneca again for that ones that skip his words:
>
> Seneca the Elder
> ----------------
> (Controv. 7.4)
> "Erat enim parvolus statura propter
> quod etiam Catullus
> in hendecasyllabis vocat illum
> salaputium disertum
> "
>
> So Seneca Sr. says that it means a "runt" or small fellow, which is
> good enough
>
> Based on what Seneca said, the semantism of salapu:tium goes
> with praepu:tiumthe
>
> Marius
>
>
> P.S. Seems that "Herodotus case" ("a guy that told us some false
> histories" based on the assertions of some of our today scholars)
> is "repeated and repeated again" with different great figures of
> Antiquity...You can read the full quotation at:
>