Ποιήματα: Ανέκδοτα (1877;-1923)
More happy
thou, performing Member
More happy thou, performing Member,
Who hast not
need of wit's keen temper;
Thou standst
on every side possessed
Of what
Parnassus
boasts as best.
On thy right
sits, chief in wisdom's college,
Profound
experience crowned with knowledge.
And further
on, historic lore,
With
erudition's ample store.
Third on thy
right, imagination
Holds by no
means a humble station.
But in thy
front a dazzling light
Obscures your
wavering mortal sight.
How shall I
praise this man so blessed
Above the
poor lot of the rest?
Diplomacy,
Religion, Art,
Of Letters
also every part,
Find in his
penetrating eye,
Judgement
which no man dares belie.
No one stands
with him on a par,
Except of
wits the transcendant star,
To whose
seat, on thy left hand side,
My duteous
hommage I shall guide.
The tide of wit for ever flows
From his high
throne. Now beliquose,
Fiery; now
laughing and jocose.
And as men
always persecute
True worth
when joined to mind acute,
Against him
anger is directed
When aught of
wrong has been detected;
And all
inspired by exasparation
Shout for a
speedy situation.
Then, sole
amid the increasing noise,
His wit to
fruitful ends employs -
Silences
every accusing voice
By proofs
that none denies.-
Be happy, Foreman, with thy station
Which offers
wit and information
For every
question and occasion.
Have always
thy untiring sight
On thy left
and on thy right;
Study each
conduct and be taught
From every
word and every thought,
What to
believe & what to say -
When to say
"yes" & when to say "nay",
What to eat
and what to drink,
What on
everything to think,
How to dress
and how to talk,
How to sleep
and how to walk,
For every
human thing is brought
To
perfection, and is taught
In this
Pancosmium of Thought.-
Κωνσταντίνος Π. Καβάφης