There Will Be Time, IX, p. 95.
We remember Ys.
From the flat roof of a house on a hill in the middle of Constantinople in 1195, Jack Havig sees:
vast towered walls enclosing the city;
a maze of thoroughfares;
countless dwellings;
soaring church domes;
the grand avenue called the Mese;
flowering countryside beyond the Gate of Charisius;
statues on columns;
monasteries;
museums;
libraries with lost works by Aeschylus and Sappho;
pulsing forums;
the Hippodrome;
the Imperial Palace;
the glittering blue Sea of Marmora;
masts crowding the Golden Horn;
smargadine heights beyond rich suburbs;
a river of traffic.
He hears a blend of:
wheels;
hoofs;
feet;
talk;
song;
laughter;
sobbing;
cursing;
praying.
The breeze carries odors of:
sea;
woodsmoke;
food;
animals;
humanity.
3 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
A very Andersonian list, describing the life of a busy and active city.
And I also remember the line about "however raddled her domain was, New Rome was still the queen city of the Mediterranean" (quoting from memory).
Ad astra! Sean
"However raddled her dominion, New Rome remained the queen of Europe." (p.94)
Kaor, Paul!
Aw, darn and drat! I got the idea and "raddled" right, but the details wrong.
Ad astra! Sean
Post a Comment