Growing in Spirit

by Constantine P. Cavafy

English version by Edmund Keeley and Philip Sherrard
Original Language Greek

He who hopes to grow in spirit
will have to transcend obedience and respect.
He will hold to some laws
but he will mostly violate
both law and custom, and go beyond
the established, inadequate norm.
Sensual pleasures will have much to teach him.
He will not be afraid of the destructive act:
half the house will have to come down.
This way he will grow virtuously into wisdom.

-- from C. P. Cavafy: Collected Poems, by Constantine P. Cavafy / Translated by Edmund Keely

| More Poems by Constantine P. Cavafy | Next Poem >>


View All Poems by Constantine P. Cavafy



Recommended Books: Constantine P. Cavafy

This Dance of Bliss: Ecstatic Poetry from Around the World C. P. Cavafy: Collected Poems The Complete Poems of Cavafy: Expanded Edition Cavafy's Alexandria Cavafy: A Biography



Growing in Spirit