Quote#Time
Why have our two consuls and praetors come out today
Quote byKonstantinos P. Cavafy · 1863–1933
Commonly attributed — not confirmed in an authoritative edition. Cited on Wikiquote to: Waiting for the Barbarians (1904), l. 16.
English (original)
Why have our two consuls and praetors come out today wearing their embroidered, their scarlet togas? Why have they put on bracelets with so many amethysts, rings sparkling with magnificent emeralds? Why are they carrying elegant canes beautifully worked in silver and gold?Because the barbarians are coming today and things like that dazzle the barbarians.
— Konstantinos P. Cavafy
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