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A private letter from an unnamed writer to his brother at Oxyrhynchus in the 2nd century AD. He recalls advising him in person about slave girls, insists the advice was given out of affection after his own bad experience with them, and wishes him well in whatever he has done, closing with greetings from family and friends.
The sender's and addressee's names are lost at the start. 'Brother' and 'sister' may be terms of affection rather than strict kinship, and 'may the evil eye spare them' renders the protective epithet abaskanta.
Working translation of the DDbDP edition, made with Claude Opus 5.5 from the edition and the catalogue records shown below (catalogued as Letter). It has not been reviewed by a papyrologist: check the edition before citing. Restorations follow the edition; […] marks lost text and (?) an uncertain reading.
[r] […] τῶι ἀδελφῷ χαίρειν. καὶ κατʼ ὄψιν σοι ἐνετειλάμην περὶ παιδισκῶν σὺ δὲ δοκεῖς με ἄλλως περὶ σοῦ φρονεῖν καὶ οὐ φιλῶν σε συνβούλευον, ἐμοῦ παθόντος ἀπʼ αὐτῶν. ἄλλʼ ὅ τι ἔπραξας γένοιτο ἐπὶ τοῦ συμφέροντος. περὶ ὧν βούλει γράφε μοι. ἀσπάζεταί σε τὰ ἀβάσκαντά σου παιδία καὶ …
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