{"id":74,"date":"2010-11-19T18:24:34","date_gmt":"2010-11-19T23:24:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kuny.ca\/blogs\/?p=74"},"modified":"2010-11-19T18:24:34","modified_gmt":"2010-11-19T23:24:34","slug":"constantine-cavafy-a-small-selection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/kuny.ca\/blogs\/2010\/74\/poems\/constantine-cavafy-a-small-selection\/","title":{"rendered":"Constantine Cavafy: A Small Selection"},"content":{"rendered":"

PERILOUS THINGS<\/strong><\/p>\n

Said Myrtias (a Syrian student
\nin Alexandria; in the reign of
\nAugustus Constans and Augustus Constantius;
\nin part a pagan and in part a christian),
\n“Fortified by theory and by study,
\nI shall not fear my passions like a coward.
\nI shall yield my body to sensual delights,
\nto enjoyments that one dreams about,
\nto the most audacious amorous desires,
\nto the wanton impulses of my blood, without
\na single fear, for whenever I wish-
\nand I shall have the will, fortified
\nas I shall be by theory and by study-
\nat moments of crisis, I shall find again
\nmy spirit, as before, ascetic.”<\/p>\n

ITHACA<\/strong><\/p>\n

When you start on your journey to Ithaca,
\nthen pray that the road is long,
\nfull of adventure, full of knowledge.
\nDo not fear the Lestrygonians
\nand the Cyclopes and the angry Poseidon.
\nYou will never meet such as these on your path,
\nif your thoughts remain lofty, if a fine
\nemotion touches your body and your spirit.
\nYou will never meet the Lestrygonians,
\nthe Cyclopes and the fierce Poseidon,
\nif you do not carry them within your soul,
\nif your soul does not raise them up before you.<\/p>\n

Then pray that the road is long.
\nThat the summer mornings are many,
\nthat you will enter ports seen for the first time
\nwith such pleasure, with such joy!
\nStop at Phoenician markets,
\nand purchase fine merchandise,
\nmother-of-pearl and corals, amber and ebony,
\nand pleasurable perfumes of all kinds,
\nbuy as many pleasurable perfumes as you can;
\nvisit hosts of Egyptian cities,
\nto learn and learn from those who have knowledge.<\/p>\n

Always keep Ithaca fixed in your mind.
\nTo arrive there is your ultimate goal.
\nBut do not hurry the voyage at all.
\nIt is better to let it last for long years;
\nand even to anchor at the isle when you are old,
\nrich with all that you have gained on the way,
\nnot expecting that Ithaca will offer you riches.<\/p>\n

Ithaca has given you the beautiful voyage.<\/p>\n

Without her you would never have taken the road.
\nBut she has nothing more to give you.<\/p>\n

And if you find her poor, Ithaca has not defrauded you.
\nWith the great wisdom you have gained, with so much experience,
\nyou must surely have understood by then what Ithacas mean.<\/p>\n

DESIRES<\/strong><\/p>\n

Like beautiful bodies of the dead who had not grown old
\nand they shut them, with tears, in a magnificent mausoleum,
\nwith roses at the head and jasmine at the feet-
\nthat is how desires look that have passed
\nwithout fulfillment; without one of them having achieved
\na night of sensual delight, or a moonlit morn.<\/p>\n

EXPECTING THE BARBARIANS<\/strong><\/p>\n

What are we waiting for, assembled in the public square?<\/p>\n

The barbarians are to arrive today.<\/p>\n

Why such inaction in the Senate?
\nWhy do the Senators sit and pass no laws?
\nBecause the barbarians are to arrive today.
\nWhat further laws can the Senators pass?
\nWhen the barbarians come they will make the laws.<\/p>\n

Why did our emperor wake up so early,
\nand sits at the principal gate of the city,
\non the throne, in state, wearing his crown?<\/p>\n

Because the barbarians are to arrive today.
\nAnd the emperor waits to receive
\ntheir chief. Indeed he has prepared
\nto give him a scroll. Therein he engraved
\nmany titles and names of honor.
\nWhy have our two consuls and the praetors come out
\ntoday in their red, embroidered togas;
\nwhy do they wear amethyst-studded bracelets,
\nand rings with brilliant glittering emeralds;
\nwhy are they carrying costly canes today,
\nsuperbly carved with silver and gold?<\/p>\n

Because the barbarians are to arrive today,
\nand such things dazzle the barbarians.
\nWhy don’t the worthy orators come as usual
\nto make their speeches, to have their say?<\/p>\n

Because the barbarians are to arrive today;
\nand they get bored with eloquence and orations.<\/p>\n

Why this sudden unrest and confusion?
\n(How solemn their faces have become.)
\nWhy are the streets and squares clearing quickly,
\nand all return to their homes, so deep in thought?<\/p>\n

Because night is here but the barbarians have not come.
\nSome people arrived from the frontiers,
\nand they said that there are no longer any barbarians.<\/p>\n

And now what shall become of us without any barbarians?
\nThose people were a kind of solution.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

PERILOUS THINGS Said Myrtias (a Syrian student in Alexandria; in the reign of Augustus Constans and Augustus Constantius; in part a pagan and in part a christian), “Fortified by theory and by study, I shall not fear my passions like a coward. I shall yield my body to sensual delights, to enjoyments that one dreams […]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-74","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-poems","category-4-id","post-seq-1","post-parity-odd","meta-position-corners","fix"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/kuny.ca\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/kuny.ca\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/kuny.ca\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/kuny.ca\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/kuny.ca\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=74"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/kuny.ca\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":75,"href":"http:\/\/kuny.ca\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74\/revisions\/75"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/kuny.ca\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=74"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/kuny.ca\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=74"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/kuny.ca\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=74"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}