What are we waiting for, assembled in the forum?
\nThe barbarians are due here today.
\nWhy isn\u2019t anything going on in the senate?
\nWhy are the senators sitting there without legislating?<\/p>\n
Because the barbarians are coming today.
\nWhat\u2019s the point of senators making laws now?
\nOnce the barbarians are here, they\u2019ll do the legislating.<\/p>\n
Why did our emperor get up so early,
\nand why is he sitting enthroned at the city\u2019s main gate,
\nin state, wearing the crown?<\/p>\n
Because the barbarians are coming today
\nand the emperor\u2019s waiting to receive their leader.
\nHe\u2019s even got a scroll to give him,
\nloaded with titles, with imposing names.<\/p>\n
Why have our two consuls and praetors come out today
\nwearing their embroidered, their scarlet togas?
\nWhy have they put on bracelets with so many amethysts,
\nrings sparkling with magnificent emeralds?
\nWhy are they carrying elegant canes
\nbeautifully worked in silver and gold?<\/p>\n
Because the barbarians are coming today
\nand things like that dazzle the barbarians.<\/p>\n
Why don\u2019t our distinguished orators turn up as usual
\nto make their speeches, say what they have to say?<\/p>\n
Because the barbarians are coming today
\nand they\u2019re bored by rhetoric and public speaking.<\/p>\n
Why this sudden bewilderment, this confusion?
\n(How serious people\u2019s faces have become.)
\nWhy are the streets and squares emptying so rapidly,
\neveryone going home lost in thought?<\/p>\n
Because night has fallen and the barbarians haven’t come.
\nAnd some of our men just in from the border say
\nthere are no barbarians any longer.<\/p>\n
Now what\u2019s going to happen to us without barbarians?
\nThose people were a kind of solution.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
“Waiting for the Barbarians” from C.P. Cavafy: Collected Poems. <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Translated by Edmund Keeley and Philip Sherrard. What are we waiting for, assembled in the forum? The barbarians are due here today. Why isn\u2019t anything going on in the senate? Why are the senators sitting there without legislating? Because the barbarians are coming today. What\u2019s the point of senators making laws now?…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16095,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[132],"tags":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/20-2-e1451950694345.jpg?fit=496%2C328&ssl=1","rttpg_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/20-2-e1451950694345.jpg?fit=496%2C328&ssl=1",496,328,false],"landscape":["https:\/\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/20-2-e1451950694345.jpg",496,328,false],"portraits":["https:\/\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/20-2-e1451950694345.jpg",496,328,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/20-2-e1451950694345.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/20-2-e1451950694345.jpg?fit=300%2C199&ssl=1",300,199,true],"large":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/20-2-e1451950694345.jpg?fit=496%2C328&ssl=1",496,328,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/20-2-e1451950694345.jpg?fit=496%2C328&ssl=1",496,328,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/20-2-e1451950694345.jpg?fit=496%2C328&ssl=1",496,328,true],"portfolio-square":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/20-2-e1451950694345.jpg?resize=496%2C328&ssl=1",570,570,true],"portfolio-portrait":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/20-2-e1451950694345.jpg?resize=496%2C328&ssl=1",600,625,true],"portfolio-landscape":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/20-2-e1451950694345.jpg?resize=496%2C328&ssl=1",800,600,true],"menu-featured-post":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/20-2-e1451950694345.jpg?resize=345%2C198&ssl=1",345,198,true],"qode-carousel_slider":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/20-2-e1451950694345.jpg?resize=400%2C260&ssl=1",400,260,true],"portfolio_slider":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/20-2-e1451950694345.jpg?resize=496%2C328&ssl=1",500,380,true],"portfolio_masonry_regular":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/20-2-e1451950694345.jpg?resize=496%2C328&ssl=1",500,500,true],"portfolio_masonry_wide":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/20-2-e1451950694345.jpg?resize=496%2C328&ssl=1",944,500,true],"portfolio_masonry_tall":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/20-2-e1451950694345.jpg?resize=496%2C328&ssl=1",500,625,true],"portfolio_masonry_large":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/20-2-e1451950694345.jpg?resize=496%2C328&ssl=1",496,328,true],"portfolio_masonry_with_space":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/20-2-e1451950694345.jpg?fit=700%2C463&ssl=1",700,463,true],"latest_post_boxes":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/20-2-e1451950694345.jpg?resize=496%2C303&ssl=1",539,303,true],"woocommerce_thumbnail":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/20-2-e1451950694345.jpg?resize=300%2C300&ssl=1",300,300,true],"woocommerce_single":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/20-2-e1451950694345.jpg?fit=496%2C328&ssl=1",496,328,true],"woocommerce_gallery_thumbnail":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/20-2-e1451950694345.jpg?resize=100%2C100&ssl=1",100,100,true]},"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"admin","author_link":"https:\/\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/author\/admin\/"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":"Poetry<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"What are we waiting for, assembled in the forum? The barbarians are due here today. Why isn\u2019t anything going on in the senate? Why are the senators sitting there without legislating? Because the barbarians are coming today. What\u2019s the point of senators making laws now?...","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17833"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17833"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17833\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17834,"href":"https:\/\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17833\/revisions\/17834"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16095"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17833"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17833"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lecturesbureau.gr\/1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17833"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nC. P. Cavafy,<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n
\nSource:C.P. Cavafy: Collected Poems(Princeton University Press, 1975)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"