Letter of Cyrillus
A brief apology for a departure occasioned by the desire to recover a loan. (Grenfell & Hunt)
One text, 3 sources · Trismegistos-Text 28366
Letter from Kyrillos to Kalokairos apologizing for his departure TM 28366Oxyrhynchos2nd CE
The same ancient text or artifact as recorded by 3 records across 3 independent projects, recognised as one entity by its TM-Text identifier. View on Trismegistos →
A short private letter from Kyrillos to Kalokairos, apologizing for leaving him abruptly and explaining his departure with a remark about interest and capital on a loan. He says he is travelling up with a dancer and insists he would have kept his word in any case. It comes from Oxyrhynchus in the first half of the 2nd century AD.
In English machine translation
Greetings, Kalokairos,
I, Kyrillos, salute you. I was not indifferent at leaving you without explanation (?), for no one who receives the interest in Tybi recovers the capital tenfold. But I am going up with the dancer; even if he were not going up, I would not have broken my word.
Farewell.
[verso]
Deliver to Kalokairos.
The sentence about interest received in Tybi and capital recovered 'tenfold' is obscure. It was taken by the first editors to refer to the recovery of a loan.
Working translation of the DDbDP edition, made with Claude Opus 5.5 from the edition and the catalogue records shown below (catalogued as Letter of Cyrillus). It has not been reviewed by a papyrologist: check the edition before citing. Restorations follow the edition; […] marks lost text and (?) an uncertain reading.
p.oxy.3.526
[r] χαίροις Καλόκαιρε, Κύριλλός σε προσαγορεύω. οὐκ ἤμην ἀπαθὴς ἀλόγως σε καταλείπειν, οὐ γάρ τις λαμβάνων τοῦ Τῦβι τὸν τόκον δεκαπλοῦν κεφάλαιον κομίζει. ἀλλὰ ἀναβαίνω σὺν τῷ ὀρχηστῇ· εἰ καὶ μὴ ἀνέβαινε ἐγὼ τὸν λόγον μου οὐ παρέβαινον. εὐτύχει. [v] ἀπόδος Καλοκαίρῳ.