Letter from Herieous to Paieous seeking aid for an indebted brother TM 16853Herakleopolites bzw. Kynopolitesca. 330 - 340

[…] to his brother Paieous, Herieous, greetings in the Lord. Those who have fallen into […] misfortune, the divine word commands all of us to help, especially our brothers. Since, then, our brother Pamonthes, having fallen into no ordinary difficulties, has suffered most shamefully at the hands of pitiless and godless men, so that, so to speak, he has been forced to be deprived of our blessed hope, it was therefore necessary for us to send this very letter to your brotherhood, making known his whole situation, so that you too, knowing it, may contribute to him, remembering the blessed apostle who says not to overlook the weak, not only in the faith but also in worldly affairs. For this brother of ours was once a wine merchant, and having been much harassed by the magistrates of his home town to pay beyond his means, and having on that account borrowed a mass of money, and being asked for repayment and unable to meet his debts, he was forced by his creditors to sell everything he had, even the clothes covering his nakedness; and when these were sold he was barely able to raise half of the money for the creditors, who, those pitiless and godless men, carried off all his children, quite infants. Therefore we send this letter to you, asking you to contribute to him whatever you can give, so that he may get them back from them […] [margin] […] sons of our heavenly Father. [verso] […] my […] your […] […] help him very much, especially since […] the brother, because they seized his children into slavery. So do not neglect the […] and in every way. (Coptic) […] the command of the gods (?) […] the command of the gods (?) Address: Deliver to Paieous, priest, from Herieous, his brother.