Letter by John Cavafy to C. P. Cavafy

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[Alexandria] Monday 4 December 1882
    My dear Constantine,             I am in receipt of your letter 26th ultimo     which, as usual, is very interesting and for which I sincerely     thank you. Your dream is wonderful: strange thing     I never dream, or if I do I cannot recollect them.     Such dreams, as this of yours, are, I believe, peculiar to     the quick imagination of poets or, as Horace hath it, to     the “genus irritabile vatum” (the irritable race of minstrels)     and strongly characterise the extreme susceptibility of the
    “literati”. ― Your essay on “Prayers” is excellent: and,     for the lore it contains, is an invaluable treasure to me.     I have indeed no corrections to make ― the style is at once     concise and clear. In exchange for this article and in     fulfilment of my promise, I now enclose “Periplus” and     “Streams of life” and also, you dear little fellow, the subject     of your absurd postscript I can easily picture to myself     the frame of mind you are in, when such necessaries     as blotting-paper etc. are wanting. I take good note     of your mention of the Annual of the Gentleman’s Maga-
    zine, and hope to send it to you, along with the Number     for December, by next week’s mail.     Mamma asks in her letter to Aristides what chance     there is of an increase in my salary. This is extremely     doubtful ― What with the losses the firm has sustained     and the little profitable business now doing, I am sorely
    afraid, that salaries will have to stand as they are.     About my future movements nothing further has transpired     than what I wrote to you some time ago, viz.     an occasional hint from Mr. Moss to send me to Liverpool next     spring ― From the quiet way in which he mentions it     I can see that he has decided to do it, and he seldom,     if ever, changes his mind.     For the first time since the late disturbances, the Pen-     insular and Oriental steamer leaves Alexandria for Brindisi on Wednesday.     Hitherto the English mails have been despatched from     Portsaid, but the old routine is now about to be adopted.
    In this steamer therefore, leaving after tomorrow, Mr. Moss     has engaged his passage: and in ten days hence will be     in Liverpool. He has sold all the remaining furniture     of his house, and when I went to “Colline Moss” the other     day, I felt much depressed to see the place looking so     bare and deserted. I am very sorry at the approaching     departure of Mr. Moss: he has been so very kind to me.     As I intimated in my last letter, I have been to     Ramleh with him at the Hotel Beau Séjour, where I     stayed since last Tuesday up to this morning, and I     must say he did all he possibly could to make me     feel comfortable and happy ― At the same time I
    cannot state having enjoyed my stay, for to be     well looked after and surrounded with every comfort,     and to think of mamma and you so miserably lodged     at Yeunikeuy and suffering so many deprivations, ― was sadly distressing. ―
   With regard to our Indemnity claim, please assure    mamma that I am always “sur le qui vive” ― Our    lawyer Semiani is giving it his best attention,    and you need not fear that, ― if it is possible for us to be payed in    virtue of our claim not exceeding £ 800, ― the opportunity    shall be overlooked. As a matter of fact the Egyptian    Government has not yet come to any decision. ―    I read the worthy newspaper Νεολόγος here on the Exchange    and I can safely state that everything it inserts in re. Egyptian    affairs is in direct opposition to actualities. ―    By the time this letter reaches us, you will doubtless
   hear of the sudden ending of Araby’s trial ― He was    arraigned yesterday morning on the charge of rebellion,    sentenced to death, and pardoned by the Khedive, his sentence    being commuted into exile for life. The whole affair    is looked upon as a comedy and a mockery, and I do    think there never was a greater injustice perpetrated.    For to hang those guilty of murders and petty larcenies,    and to allow the man who instigated them to these crimes    to go “scot-free”, appears to me to be the very height of
   folly, not to say, cruelty. ― I am posting you by    this mail, today’s Gazette with full details of this    hurried mock-trial ―      I shall now take up your queries and answer them    to the best of my ability:
   “parded” means “spotted” ― in fact the word “pard” is given    to any spotted beast.    “coruscation” is a flash, or a sudden burst of light:    it is also used as a synonym for intellectual brilliance.    The English for “proue” is “prow” i.e. the head of a ship.    “πίσσα” = tar: in French, “goudron”, or “poix”. I quote    from memory for I have no Greek dictionary.    “gravées dans le cerveau” I would translate “impressed    on the mind” ― or better, “impressed on the memory”.    “points d’admiration” in English “points of admiration”                                     or, “exclamation”.    “Shall and Will” ― This is a most difficult grammatical    problem to pronounce an opinion upon. I mainly guide    myself by the ear, though perhaps the following rules    are sometimes useful.
     1o For the future tense that simply predicts, “shall” is    used in the first person, and “will” in the other ―      2o For the future tense conveying a command, “will” is    used by the first person, and “shall” when speaking of others:    e.g. “I will go” ― “You shall go”, “He shall go”.      3o To inform one’s self of something, “shall” is used in    the first and second persons, and “will” in the third person:    thus, “Shall I see you tomorrow?”                “Shall you go to London”?                “Will he succeed in his undertaking?”
   But when you enquire of a person as to the actions of    another person, according to the wish of him of whom    you enquire, ― “shall” must be used: e.g. “Shall he go?”
4o With a note of interrogation, the person speaking naturally uses “shall” ― but when speaking of other persons, uses “will”: thus ― “Shall I write?” “Will you write” ―
I have tried to condense all my experiences of “shall” and “will” in the above four rules, and hope I have made my meaning clear. Altogether it is a most intricate subject, and has puzzled the best grammarians, not excepting Murrey. Here I must pause, otherwise I shall not have time to copy out «Periplus» etc. Remember me to all and with best love to mamma and you, believe me Your affectionate brother John

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GR-OF CA CA-SF02-S01-SS02-F20-SF001-0013 (388)

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Letter by John Cavafy to C. P. Cavafy

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4/12/1882

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Item

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44 x 27.5 cm

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F50_Φ1-27

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Cavafy, John

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Handwritten letter by John Cavafy to C. P. Cavafy, on two double sheet letterheads of R. J. Moss & Co., Alexandria. Pages 2-5 are numbered. The author refers to his financial state and to that of his brother’s Aristeidis, to his professional prospects as well as to the issue of indemnity for the destruction of the family’s assets in Alexandria. Update on the political developments in Egypt. Linguistic remarks on the proper use and meaning of specific words and phrases in English.

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CC BY-SA 4.0 Cavafy Archive Onassis Foundation

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English

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Writing in ink. Watermark: R. J. Moss & Co Alexandria. Physical item wear: oxidations.

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The transcription and editing of the letters of John Constantine Cavafy addressed to C. P. Cavafy was first carried out by Katerina Ghika; said transcriptions were subsequently uploaded to the official website of the Cavafy Archive.