Ομιλία του Γιώργου Σεφέρη κατά την τελετή παραλαβής του Βραβείου Νόμπελ Λογοτεχνίας,
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Σ’ αὐτὸ τὸν
κόσµο, ποὺ ὁλοένα στενεύει,
ὁ καθένας µας χρειάζεται ὅλους τούς ἄλλους.
Πρέπει ν’ ἀναζητήσουµε τὸν ἄνθρωπο,
ὅπου καὶ νὰ βρίσκεται. |
«Ἀνήκω σὲ µία χώρα µικρή.
Ἕνα πέτρινο ἀκρωτήρι στὴ Μεσόγειο, ποὺ
δὲν ἔχει ἄλλο ἀγαθὸ παρὰ τὸν ἀγώνα τοῦ λαοῦ, τὴ θάλασσα, καὶ τὸ φῶς τοῦ
ἥλιου. Εἶναι µικρὸς ὁ τόπος µας, ἀλλὰ ἡ παράδοσή του εἶναι τεράστια καὶ
τὸ πράγµα ποὺ τὴ χαρακτηρίζει εἶναι ὅτι µᾶς παραδόθηκε χωρὶς διακοπή.
Ἡ
ἑλληνικὴ γλῶσσα δὲν ἔπαψε ποτὲ της νὰ µιλιέται. Δέχτηκε τὶς ἀλλοιώσεις
ποὺ δέχεται καθετὶ ζωντανό, ἀλλὰ δὲν παρουσιάζει κανένα χάσµα.
Ἄλλο
χαρακτηριστικὸ αὐτῆς τῆς παράδοσης εἶναι ἡ ἀγάπη της γιὰ τὴν ἀνθρωπιά,
κανόνας της εἶναι ἡ δικαιοσύνη. Στὴν ἀρχαία τραγωδία, τὴν ὀργανωµένη µὲ
τόση ἀκρίβεια, ὁ ἄνθρωπος ποὺ ξεπερνᾶ τὸ µέτρο, πρέπει νὰ τιµωρηθεῖ ἀπὸ
τὶς Ἐρινύες.
Ὅσο γιὰ µένα συγκινοῦµαι παρατηρώντας πὼς ἡ συνείδηση
τῆς δικαιοσύνης εἶχε τόσο πολὺ διαποτίσει τὴν ἑλληνικὴ ψυχή, ὥστε νὰ
γίνει κανόνας τοῦ φυσικοῦ κόσµου.
Καὶ ἕνας ἀπὸ τοὺς διδασκάλους µου, τῶν ἀρχῶν τοῦ περασµένου αἰώνα,γράφει:
«… θὰ χαθοῦµε γιατί ἀδικήσαµε …».
Αὐτὸς
ὁ ἄνθρωπος ἦταν ἀγράµµατος. Εἶχε µάθει νὰ γράφει στὰ τριάντα πέντε
χρόνια τῆς ἡλικίας του. Ἀλλὰ στὴν Ἑλλάδα τῶν ἡµερῶν µας, ἡ
προφορικὴ παράδοση πηγαίνει µακριὰ στὰ περασµένα ὅσο καὶ ἡ γραπτή. Τὸ
ἴδιο καὶ ἡ ποίηση.Εἶναι γιὰ µένα σηµαντικὸ τὸ γεγονὸς ὅτι ἡ Σουηδία
θέλησε νὰ τιµήσει καὶ τούτη τὴν ποίηση καὶ ὅλη τὴν ποίηση γενικά, ἀκόµη
καὶ ὅταν ἀναβρύζει ἀνάµεσα σ’ ἕνα λαὸ περιορισµένο. Γιατί πιστεύω πὼς
τοῦτος ὁ σύγχρονος κόσµος ὅπου ζοῦµε, ὁ τυρρανισµένος ἀπὸ τὸ φόβο καὶ
τὴν ἀνησυχία, τὴ χρειάζεται τὴν ποίηση.
Ἡ ποίηση ἔχει τὶς ρίζες της
στὴν ἀνθρώπινη ἀνάσα – καὶ τί θὰ γινόµασταν ἂν ἡ πνοή µας λιγόστευε;
Εἶναι µία πράξη ἐµπιστοσύνης – κι ἕνας Θεὸς τὸ ξέρει ἂν τὰ δεινά µας δὲν
τὰ χρωστᾶµε στὴ στέρηση ἐµπιστοσύνης. Παρατήρησαν, τὸν περασµένο χρόνο
γύρω ἀπὸ τοῦτο τὸ τραπέζι, τὴν πολὺ µεγάλη διαφορὰ ἀνάµεσα στὶς
ἀνακαλύψεις τῆς σύγχρονης ἐπιστήµης καὶ στὴλογοτεχνία. παρατήρησαν πὼς
ἀνάµεσα σ’ ἕνα ἀρχαῖο ἑλληνικὸ δράµα καὶ ἕνα σηµερινό, ἡ διαφορὰ εἶναι
λίγη.
Ναί, ἡ συµπεριφορὰ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου δὲ µοιάζει νὰἔχει ἀλλάξει
βασικά. Καὶ πρέπει νὰ προσθέσω πὼς νιώθει πάντα τὴν ἀνάγκη ν’ ἀκούσει
τούτη τὴν ἀνθρώπινη φωνὴ ποὺ ὀνοµάζουµε ποίηση.
Αὐτὴ ἡ φωνὴ ποὺ
κινδυνεύει νὰ σβήσει κάθε στιγµὴ ἀπὸ στέρηση ἀγάπης καὶ ὁλοένα
ξαναγεννιέται. Κυνηγηµένη, ξέρει ποὺ νὰ ’βρει καταφύγιο, ἀπαρνηµένη,
ἔχει τὸ ἔνστικτο νὰ πάει νὰ ριζώσει στοὺς πιὸ ἀπροσδόκητους τόπους.
Γι’ αὐτὴ δὲν ὑπάρχουν µεγάλα καὶ µικρὰ µέρη τοῦ κόσµου.
Τὸ βασίλειό της εἶναι στὶς καρδιὲς ὅλων τῶν ἀνθρώπων τῆς γῆς. Ἔχει τὴ χάρη ν’ ἀποφεύγει πάντα τὴ συνήθεια, αὐτὴ τὴ βιοµηχανία.
Χρωστῶ
τὴν εὐγνωµοσύνη µου στὴ Σουηδικὴ Ἀκαδηµία ποὺ ἔνιωσε αὐτὰ τὰ πράγµατα,
ποὺ ἔνιωσε πὼς οἱ γλῶσσες, οἱ λεγόµενες περιορισµένης χρήσης, δὲν πρέπει
νὰ καταντοῦν φράχτες ὅπου πνίγεται ὁ παλµὸς τῆς ἀνθρώπινης καρδιᾶς, ποὺ
ἔγινε ἕνας Ἄρειος Πάγος ἱκανός νὰ κρίνει µὲ ἀλήθεια ἐπίσηµη τὴν ἄδικη
µοίρα τῆς ζωῆς, γιὰ νὰ θυµηθῶ τὸν Σέλλεϋ, τὸν ἐµπνευστή, καθώς µᾶς λένε,
τοῦ Ἀλφρέδου Νοµπέλ, αὐτοῦ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ποὺ µπόρεσε νὰ ἐξαγοράσει
τὴνἀναπόφευκτη βία µὲ τὴ µεγαλοσύνη τῆς καρδιᾶς του.
Σ’ αὐτὸ τὸν
κόσµο, ποὺ ὁλοένα στενεύει, ὁ καθένας µας χρειάζεται ὅλους τούς ἄλλους.
Πρέπει ν’ ἀναζητήσουµε τὸν ἄνθρωπο, ὅπου καὶ νὰ βρίσκεται.
Ὅταν στὸ δρόµο τῆς Θήβας, ὁ Οἰδίπους συνάντησε τὴ Σφίγγα, κι αὐτὴ τοῦ ἔθεσε τὸ αἴνιγµά της, ἡ ἀπόκρισή του ἦταν: ὁ ἄνθρωπος.
Τούτη ἡ ἁπλὴ λέξη χάλασε τὸ τέρας. Ἔχουµε πολλὰ τέρατα νὰ καταστρέψουµε.
Ἂς συλλογιστοῦµε τὴν ἀπόκριση τοῦ Οἰδίποδα.»
Giorgos Seferis' speech at the Nobel Banquet
at the City Hall in Stockholm, December 10, 1963
(Translation)
I feel at this moment that I am a living
contradiction. The Swedish Academy has decided that my efforts
in a language famous through the centuries but not widespread in
its present form are worthy of this high distinction. It is
paying homage to my language - and in return I express my
gratitude in a foreign language. I hope you will accept the
excuses I am making to myself.
I belong to a small country. A rocky promontory in the
Mediterranean, it has nothing to distinguish it but the efforts
of its people, the sea, and the light of the sun. It is a small
country, but its tradition is immense and has been handed down
through the centuries without interruption. The Greek language
has never ceased to be spoken. It has undergone the changes that
all living things experience, but there has never been a gap.
This tradition is characterized by love of the human; justice is
its norm. In the tightly organized classical tragedies the man
who exceeds his measure is punished by the Erinyes. And this norm
of justice holds even in the realm of nature.
«Helios will not overstep his measure»; says
Heraclitus, «otherwise the Erinyes, the ministers of
Justice, will find him out». A modern scientist might profit
by pondering this aphorism of the Ionian philosopher. I am moved
by the realization that the sense of justice penetrated the Greek
mind to such an extent that it became a law of the physical
world. One of my masters exclaimed at the beginning of the last
century, «We are lost because we have been unjust» He
was an unlettered man, who did not learn to write until the age
of thirty-five. But in the Greece of our day the oral tradition
goes back as far as the written tradition, and so does poetry. I
find it significant that Sweden wishes to honour not only this
poetry, but poetry in general, even when it originates in a small
people. For I think that poetry is necessary to this modern world
in which we are afflicted by fear and disquiet. Poetry has its
roots in human breath - and what would we be if our breath were
diminished? Poetry is an act of confidence - and who knows
whether our unease is not due to a lack of confidence?
Last year, around this table, it was said that there is an
enormous difference between the discoveries of modern science and
those of literature, but little difference between modern and
Greek dramas. Indeed, the behaviour of human beings does not seem
to have changed. And I should add that today we need to listen to
that human voice which we call poetry, that voice which is
constantly in danger of being extinguished through lack of love,
but is always reborn. Threatened, it has always found a refuge;
denied, it has always instinctively taken root again in
unexpected places. It recognizes no small nor large parts of the
world; its place is in the hearts of men the world over. It has
the charm of escaping from the vicious circle of custom. I owe
gratitude to the Swedish Academy for being aware of these facts;
for being aware that languages which are said to have restricted
circulation should not become barriers which might stifle the
beating of the human heart; and for being a true Areopagus, able
«to judge with solemn truth life's ill-appointed lot»,
to quote Shelley, who, it is said, inspired Alfred Nobel, whose
grandeur of heart redeems inevitable violence.
In our gradually shrinking world, everyone is in need of all the
others. We must look for man wherever we can find him. When on
his way to Thebes Oedipus encountered the Sphinx, his answer to
its riddle was: «Man». That simple word destroyed the
monster. We have many monsters to destroy. Let us think of the
answer of Oedipus.
Prior to the speech, I. Svennilson of the
Royal Academy of
Sciences addressed the poet: «Giorgos Seferis - Nathan
Söderblom, a friend of Alfred Nobel, later Sweden's
Archbishop and one of the Nobel Peace Prize winners, developed on
the basis of his scientific studies the idea that religion should
be regarded as a continuous revelation of spiritual values by a
long procession of prophets and saints. We know that the great
classics are dear to the Greek people, and we greet you as an
innovator within that living tradition.
From Nobel Lectures, Literature 1901-1967, Editor Horst Frenz, Elsevier Publishing Company, Amsterdam, 1969
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