Quotes by
Constantine Kavafy |
Κωνσταντίνος Καβάφης, 1868-1933 , Greek poet
Greek poet who developed his own individual style and thus became one of the most important figures in Greek poetry and Western poetry. He lived most of his life in Alexandria, Egypt. He published around 200 poems. | 14 quotes | 5,343 visits |
Quotations
| • | Laistrygonians and Cyclops, wild Poseidon—you won’t encounter them unless you bring them along inside your soul, unless your soul sets them up in front of you. — Ithaka 4 |
| • | As you set out for Ithaka hope the voyage is a long one, full of adventure, full of discovery. — Ithaka 3 |
| • | Ithaka gave you the marvelous journey. Without her you would not have set out. She has nothing left to give you now. — Ithaka 3 |
Quotes in Verse
| • | [He] tried to start an intrigue, do something, come up with a plan; but he failed pitifully and was reduced to nothing. — Orophernis 5 |
| • | Half past twelve. How the time has gone by. Half past twelve. How the years have gone by. — Since Nine O’Clock 5 |
| • | You won’t find a new country, won’t find another shore. This city will always pursue you. You will walk the same streets, grow old in the same neighborhoods, will turn gray in these same houses. You will always end up in this city. — The city 5 |
| • | With no consideration, no pity, no shame, they have built walls around me, thick and high. — Walls 5 |
| • | And even more honor is due to them when they foresee (as many do foresee) that in the end Ephialtis will make his appearance, that the Medes will break through after all. — Thermopylae 5 |
| • | Honor to those who in the life they lead define and guard a Thermopylae. Never betraying what is right, consistent and just in all they do. — Thermopylae 5 |
| • | Our efforts are those of men prone to disaster; our efforts are like those of the Trojans. — Trojans 4 |
| • | Yet we’re sure to fail. Up there, high on the walls, the dirge has already begun. — Trojans 4 |
| • | You long for something else, ache for other things: praise from the Demos and the Sophists, that hard-won, that priceless acclaim— the Agora, the Theatre, the Crowns of Laurel. — The Satrapy 4 |
| • | Don’t hope for things elsewhere: there is no ship for you, there is no road. As you’ve wasted your life here, in this small corner, you’ve destroyed it everywhere else in the world. — The city 3 |
| • | And now, what’s going to happen to us without barbarians? They were, those people, a kind of solution. — Barbarians at the gate 3 |
