Julian Seeing Contempt

Constantine P. Cavafy 1863 (Alexandria) – 1933 (Alexandria)



"Observing, then, that there is great contempt for the gods
among us"—he says in his solemn way.
Contempt. But what did he expect?
Let him organize religion as much as he liked,
write to the High Priest of Galatia as much as he liked,
or to others of his kind, inciting them, giving instructions.
His friends weren't Christians; that much was certain.
But even so they couldn't play
as he could (brought up a Christian)
with a new religious system,
ludicrous in both theory and application.
They were, after all, Greeks. Nothing in excess, Augustus.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 14, 2023

30 sec read
142

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABCDDEFBFGFH
Closest metre Iambic hexameter
Characters 548
Words 97
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 12

Constantine P. Cavafy

Constantine P. Cavafy was a Greek poet who lived in Alexandria and worked as a journalist and civil servant. He published 154 poems; dozens more remained incomplete or in sketch form. His most important poetry was written after his fortieth birthday. more…

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