THE ALEXANDRIAN MIND
75
has been stripped of much random complexity by the introduction of
seemingly simple conditions-conditions almost 'ideal' in the labora–
tory sense. The example of Cavafy shares the virtues-as well as the
limitations-of all extreme cases adduced in proof of a position: the
reader
is
free to apply what seems to him valid in these reasonings to
cases less patent or 'pure' yet nevertheless as germane to the type as
this modern Greek poet. My business here
is
to enumerate some of the
strands which in their entirety compose the difficult web of Alex–
andrian attitudes and to support, whenever necessary, my conten–
tions from the text in hand.
Marginal Hold on History; Passivity Toward Experience
All experience
is
viewed as essentially historical, that is to say
as flowing through the subject toward an unspecified term. But
though the subject remains passive, he is no longer content to be
merely part of the waters; rather, like the pile of a bridge, he ob–
structs, and by obstructing divides them. He has become the point
of resistance to history and so of history's bifurcation and temporary
dispersion. Yet history remains withal the center of man's fascination:
it is undergone in the form of fantasy or nightmare and constantly
mude to relate to the moment through a process of wry accommoda–
tion. The adventures of the past are made to look (contrary to the
tradition of the textbooks) as though they were happening today:
unheroically, opportunely. The hero who is both clever and per–
severing-Ulysses
2
being of course the great exemplar-emerges as
the archetypal hero of the doctored myth. In the social realm, too,
a premium is placed on endurance while virility, ready action, are
held in slight esteem. EvelY Alexandrian age professes a deep skep–
ticism in the matter of political ends, together with a fastidious dis–
dain for rough means. The maxim
Wait and See
(witness its elegant
oriental elaborations in Eliot) comes to be elected as the maxim fit to
govern all conduct.
Rejection of Pain or What Might Induce Pain
This may be conveniently examined by perusing the text. It
is
characteristic that in Cavafy's poetry the dramatic-narrative pieces
2 Shrewd as he was in his actions, Ulysses was even more resourceful in
his speech; to a considerable extent, his speeches
were
his actions. Such an
exceptional accomplishment must endear him to every Alexandrian.
