Catullus, translated by Laura Matter

1)
To what kind person do I now address
This dapper little book hot off the press?
Cornelius, to you, because you used
To think my scribblings something. They amused
You then, when you singularly dared
To explicate the history of man
In just three volumee -- enterprising plan!
And erudite, by God. So have yourself
This little book, as is.  And may its shelf-
Life last, my patron muse, more than an age.