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C. P. Cavafy, "Antony's Ending"
Sep. 16th, 2007 11:55 am![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
the-grynne.livejournal.comANTONY'S ENDING
But when he heard the women weeping--
the lady with her eastern gestures
and her servants with their barbaric Greek
mourning his fall--
the pride of his soul rose up,
his Italian blood was disgusted,
and everything that before he adored blindly
now appeared alien and indifferent--
his whole passionate Alexandrian life--
and he said, "not to cry for him. Such things are not fitting.
Rather they should sing his praises,
for he was a great leader,
and won many riches and much more.
And if he's fallen, he's not fallen humbly,
but as a Roman vanquished by a Roman."
CONSTANTINE P. CAVAFY
Translated by Aliki Barnstone
But when he heard the women weeping--
the lady with her eastern gestures
and her servants with their barbaric Greek
mourning his fall--
the pride of his soul rose up,
his Italian blood was disgusted,
and everything that before he adored blindly
now appeared alien and indifferent--
his whole passionate Alexandrian life--
and he said, "not to cry for him. Such things are not fitting.
Rather they should sing his praises,
for he was a great leader,
and won many riches and much more.
And if he's fallen, he's not fallen humbly,
but as a Roman vanquished by a Roman."
CONSTANTINE P. CAVAFY
Translated by Aliki Barnstone
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