Revue égyptologique (N.S.1.1919)

some private letters of the roman period

209

TRANSLATION :— ' Ascles to Serenus his brother, greeting. Before everything I pray
for your health and that I may see you soon. We were much grieved that you missed (?) the
ship; please, therefore, let me know how'you are. If you can settle (?) your outstanding trans-
actions, corne to us quickly. Farewell. Epeiph

Addressed :—

' To Serenus my brother, Ascles.'

7 f. r^cpooTi/ivai : this word, the présent indicative of which mustbe à^cpoSéo), is new
so far as printed texts go, but it is the Ms. reading in Hesychius, s. v. à6poxâ£w|j.sv,
where editors read à|.tapxw|j.ev, ouep -^eT? Xéyq^ev Sia^cpoS^ffWfisv, k.t.X. The présent passage
supports the Ms. reading aix^^ney against the 8iajj«p. of the editors, though it must
be remarked that the very similar gloss in the Etym. M., s. v. àSpoxà^ofxev, is xô
âTiXwç aîroTu^eiv o xiveç 8taja.<poSt]aat cpaaîv. At ail events the meaning of àijLœooéw must be
"to go astray" and so perhaps "to miss". Other compounds of à^cçoSîw have similar
meanings; so in BGU., IV, 1030, 5 (third cent.), èX[6]é«[xot eW 'îêîwva 8ià Nap(xo'j0Ewç, ^

ïv; Vettius Valens, Anth. Libri, ed. G. Kroll, 1908, IX,

Cap. 11, on 8s Tiapà tï|V àvavSpEÎav xwv piExtôvxcov xà 1uâOir]tjt.a xaî xoùç |j.ï] ÈYY'J^^aOévxai; k*1* xpô-rcov ixspl
xàç Ttôv xavôvwv Siacpopàç sa8' oxs irap a |i.cp o 8eT ; th., IX, 16, xaî xoij ^pôvo'j xaxà 7rpôa6E<Ttv f] àtpatpeuiv
Trapapt.cpoSs'îv Soxeï.

11. [jiExÉwpa : "incomplète", applied to légal documents and transactions; see
P Oxy., Il, 238, introd.; P. Fa.y., 116, 12, etc.

12. àpTcaXîcrriç : the letter read as X looks more like x, but it is difficult to see what
apTiax'.TTjt; could be. ApTCaXîÇw seems to be a poetical word, occurring only in Aesch.,
Sept. c. Theb., 243,

[ir, vuv, sàv Gv'^cxxovxa; t/\ xExpioij.svouç
tx'jGrjtjOe, -/.w/.uxoTaiv àpTcaXEÇExs,

and Eum., 983,

àvx'.tçôvo'ji; axaç
aoTraXtuai ttoXewç;

and Hesychius has (after àp7ts8oyai) àpiiaX^o^ai- àa|jivwç or^at. Probably the word here
has the sensé of getting hold of, taking in hand, and so, in the présent context,
"settling" the incompleted contracts. [Prof. Crônert, at the time of writing a
prisoner of war in England, writes that the contracts may probably be of sale, and
suggests the translation, "rébus propositis raptim (àpTiaXéwç) comparatis".]

H. I. BELL.

Reoue égyptologique, i

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