It is difficult suddenly to lay aside a long-cherished love.

This line is a well-known sentiment from Catullus’ poems about his turbulent affair with “Lesbia,” a pseudonym generally associated with the Roman aristocrat Clodia. In the later phase of the relationship, Catullus repeatedly tries to break free from an attachment he recognizes as damaging, yet finds himself emotionally unable to detach. The remark belongs to the cluster of poems in which he urges himself toward separation—often with a tone of self-admonition—while acknowledging how habit and memory make renunciation slow and painful. It reflects the Roman lyric poet’s candid, personal voice rather than a public oratory setting.

The quote captures the psychological inertia of love: even when reason dictates that a relationship should end, affection built over time does not obey sudden commands. “Long-cherished” emphasizes duration and investment—love as something cultivated—so abandoning it feels like tearing up part of one’s own history. In Catullus’ work, this idea often sits beside a struggle between dignity and desire: he wants to reclaim self-control, yet admits that emotion persists beyond willpower. The line’s enduring appeal lies in its plain recognition that emotional change is gradual, and that ending love is not simply a decision but a process.