Letter [2nd year of Tiberius]
End of a letter of recommendation
One text, 3 sources · Trismegistos-Text 20447
End of a letter of recommendation TM 20447Oxyrhynchos16 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 →
The surviving end of a letter of recommendation from Oxyrhynchus, dated 6 April AD 16 in the second year of Tiberius. The writer asks the recipient to look after a man described as 'one of ours' and to help him in any just request, and invites the recipient to write about anything he wants in return.
In English machine translation
[…] since he is one of ours. I ask you therefore to hold him recommended, and in whatever matters he may approach you justly, you will act for him out of regard for me. And you, write about whatever you wish.
[… 4 lines lost …]
Only the closing part of the letter survives, so the names of the writer, the recipient and the man recommended are lost. The phrase 'out of regard for me' renders a formula meaning roughly 'for my sake' or 'to my credit'.
Working translation of the DDbDP edition, made with Claude Opus 5.5 from the edition and the catalogue records shown below (catalogued as Letter [2nd year of Tiberius]). 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.4.787
ὡς ἔστιν ἡμέτερος. ἐρωτῶ σε οὖν ἔχειν αὐτὸν συνεσταμένον καὶ ἐν οἷς ἐάν σοι προσέρχηται ἐκ δικαίου εἰς τὴν ἐμὴν καταλογὴν ποιήσεις αὐτῶι. σὺ δὲ ὑπὲρ ὧν ἐὰν αἱρῇ γράφε. [… 4 lines lost …]