Letter by John Cavafy to C. P. Cavafy

GR-OF CA CA-SF02-S01-SS02-F20-SF001-0039 (414)

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[Ramleh] 18 December 1883
    My dearest Constantine,        I am in receipt of your affectionate     letter of the 10th instant which I have read with great     interest, particularly so as regards the state of your     eyesight: and cannot say how much I am grieved to     read the distressing accounts you give me. Learning     is mere dross compared to the value of man’s sight,     and I earnestly implore you to throw all books and writing to     the days, until such time as your ocular organs
    may be strengthened. About spectacles I don’t know     and you must ask better advice than mine, but I     should certainly recommend you to refrain from     any straining exercise ― As an instance I mention     Miani. Your eyes are certainly not as bad as his were ―     and yet he can see now as well as I can. And what     did the doctors recommend him to restore his fast-     going faculty? Simply this: they required of him to     abstain all reading and writing for a period of three months
    and not to expose himself to the broad daylight. I know     you have sufficient good sense to feel certain that     you will be careful, ― and I further beg of you to     cease writing to me: do not think I shall in such     case forget you ― I promise faithfully to send you my     weekly news as hitherto. ― Your happiness and welfare     I have nearer at heart than anything in the world, and     it is sadly distressing to me to hear that anything ails
you.     The Gentleman’s Magazine I posted last week ― The       Annual has not yet come to hand. I shall not fail     to subscribe you for the first six months of 1884 to     the Temple Bar ― in fact I shall do so tomorrow as soon     as I get into town, for I write these lines from my     room at the Hotel in Ramleh, where I am again     staying at Moss’ invitation ― Your various questions     about Alexandria Society I have asked Aristides     to respond to: he being more “au courant” of such     matters than I am.
       The Greek parable is very nice and much to my taste.     I am now very sorry I sent you “Ossian”, for I am     afraid your curiosity for literary works will have the     Tbetter of your prudence and induce you to read the     poems to the detriment of your eyes ― Put     the old bard away in a corner. ―
    Pray excuse this hurried letter and offer my love     to mother, Alexander and Paul
          believing me ever
               Your very affectionate
                    John

DIGITAL OBJECT DESCRIPTION

IDENTITY AREA

REFERENCE CODE:

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GR-OF CA CA-SF02-S01-SS02-F20-SF001-0039 (414)

TITLE:

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Letter by John Cavafy to C. P. Cavafy

DATE(S):

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18/12/1883

LEVEL OF DESCRIPTION:

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Item

EXTENT AND MEDIUM:

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44 x 27.5 cm

FORMER REFERENCE CODE:

Records the former identifier of the item as given by the Historical G. P. Savvidis Catalogue.

F52_Φ1-31

CONTEXT AREA

NAME OF CREATOR(S):

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Cavafy, John

CONTENT AND STRUCTURE AREA

SCOPE AND CONTENT:

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Handwritten letter by John Cavafy to C. P. Cavafy on the first three pages of a double sheet letterhead of R. J. Moss & Co., Alexandria. The last page is blank. Advice on the problems with the eyes and vision of C. P. Cavafy. (Alexandria)

CONDITIONS OF ACCESS AND USE AREA

CONDITIONS GOVERNING REPRODUCTION:

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CC BY-SA 4.0 Cavafy Archive Onassis Foundation

LANGUAGE AND SCRIPT NOTES:

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English

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS AND TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS:

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Writing in ink. Watermark: R. J. Moss & Co., Alexandria. Physical item wear: oxidation; holes.

NOTES AREA

NOTE:

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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.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:

Literary annotation, providing additional information on the digital object.

Reference to Ossian, which in this case is most probably a poem by John rather than a publication of the known collection of Ossian poems by James Macpherson.

ACCESS POINTS

Key-words aiming to facilitate search within the fonds.

SUBJECTS:

Letter

Journals:

Gentleman's Magazine, The

Temple Bar

Works by other authors:

"Ossian" [Cavafy, John C.]

PLACES:

Cairo (Egypt)

Istanbul / Constantinople (Turkey)

PERSONS:

Cavafy (Fotiadi), Charikleia

Cavafy, Alexandros P.

Cavafy, Aristeidis

Cavafy, John Constantine

Cavafy, Paul

Miani, (?)

Moss, Robert Johnson

CITATION:

For citation purposes, please use the reference provided here.

Cavafy, John Constantine. “Letter by John Cavafy to C. P. Cavafy”. Letter, 18.12.1883. GR-OF CA CA-SF02-S01-SS02-F20-SF001-0039 (414), Onassis Foundation C. P. Cavafy Fonds. From The Digital Collection of the Cavafy Archive, edited by Onassis Foundation, Athens, last modified 01.10.2025. https://doi.org/10.26256/CA-SF02-S01-SS02-F20-SF001-0039.