Catullus 51

“Free time” (Lines 13, 14, 15) holds a number of cultural and political connotations in Catullus’s poem. The term is Chris Childers’s attempt to translate the Latin word otium, which has meanings particular to Roman culture. In one sense, otium refers to time spent disengaged from an active political or social life (See: Analysis). The speaker’s statement that “Free time has leveled prosperous cities” (Line 15) highlights this political connotation.

Otium can also be understood in a positive way. The term was historically used to describe lifestyles outside of the public arena. Otium was used to describe tasks such as writing and thinking, and was only leisurely in the sense that the work was not done for financial reward. Often, Roman poets and philosophers made puns from this double meaning to establish that one can be active while at leisure. Otium was also the term used by Roman Epicureans (See: Contextual Analysis) to describe the serene bliss they sought. Read in the Epicurean sense, the speaker’s attack on otium or “Free time” (Lines 13, 14, 15), can be interpreted as him turning from Epicureanism.