Let Ithaka be always in your thoughts.
To get there is your goal and destiny.
But do not hasten to your journey’s end:
it’s better if it lasts for many years
so that you'll reach the island when you’re old,
wealthy with all you’ve gained along the way,
not hoping Ithaka will make you rich.
Your marvellous journey is Ithaka’s gift.
Without her you would not have started out.
But she has nothing more to give you now.
And if you find she's poor, you’ve not been fooled.
So wise have you become, so much you’ve learned,
that you will know what Ithakas must be.
Source: Seen in passing on X-Twitter. Holler if you want the whole thing.
Author/Translator: Armand D'Angour, Professor of Classics, Oxford. Cello lover. Larkin about. Turning life into Latin verse, one hexameter at a time. Podcast “It’s All Greek (& Latin!) to Me”.
Posted: Feb 06
I’m sure I have been guilty, at some point in the past, of making racist comments about Asians. Along with sexist jokes. I don’t remember dressing up in blackface, but it’s possible. Thank God there were no cell phones around in those days to record my slips from perfection.
Jim T
Jim T – Yes. And we shouldn’t expect perfection in ourselves or demand it from others, but we should (I think) keep trying to do better. Sensibilities have changed a lot even in my lifetime. They’re still on the move.