Rufus, a friend trusted by me in vain and to no effect

(in vain? rather with a great price and trouble)

Did you thus creep under me and consuming my guts

Did you snatch from me all my good things?

You did snatch away, alas, the cruel poison of my life

Alas, plague of our friendship.

• Note in line 4, "eripusit'omnia", the ellision overlaps the caesura that lies between the words -- emphasizing the loss of "omnia bona"
• Catullus balances out the "credite amice" with the "pestis amicitiae"
• The sense of betrayal is conveyed through the use of verbs -- snuck under, snatched away, used in response to each other).
• Note that "Rufe" is separated from "credite amice" in line 1 = what is Catullus hinting at?