Mr.Evans

‘If it is a boy, let it live; if it is a girl, expose it.’ 📜 This is a letter a Roman soldier wrote to his wife in the 1st century BC it comes from a papyrus known as P.Oxy. 744, dated to 1st century BC Egypt (around 1 BCE), written by a man named Hilarion to his wife Alis while he was in Alexandria. "Hilarion to my dearest Alis, warmest greetings; and heartiest wishes to our dear Berous and Apollonarion. I want you to know that we are still in Alexandria. If the others return while I end up staying behind here, don’t you worry. I’m begging and pleading with you: please take good care of our little one. As soon as I get my pay, I’ll send it straight to you. If—and I wish you the best of luck with it—you give birth to a child: if it is a boy, let it live; if it is a girl, expose it. You sent word to me through our friend Aphrodisias, saying, 'Don’t forget me.' How could I ever forget you? So please, I’m asking you, don’t settle into worry."