Πα[ύλ]ωι τῶι κυρίωι καὶ ἀδελφῶι πλε[ῖσ]τ̣α χαίρειν πρὸ πάντων εὔχομαί σε ἐρρῶσσθαι καὶ [εὐ]τυ- χεῖν ὅπερ ἐμοὶ διʼ εὐχῆς ἐστιν τό σεν ἐρρῶσσθαι ὡς ἐμὸν σεμνὸν κύριον καὶ ἀδελφόν. γράφεις μ̣[οι] λέγων· ἐὰν δυνηθῇς ἀνάπλευσον· νὴ τὴν σήν μοι σωτηρίαν καὶ τὴν τοῦ τεκνίου μου καὶ ὀρθοποδίαν, ἧς πέπεισμαί σε κήδεσθαι οὐκ ἔλλασσόν μου, ἤθελον μηθὲν πράσσιν ἄλλο εἰ μὴ τὴν ὄψιν σου πρὸς τὰ ἐδάφη σου προσκυνεῖν, ἀλλʼ οὐ δεδύνημαι οὐδὲ δύναμαι· νῦν γὰρ πάλι κ[αὶ] ὑ̣πὸ Ἀπολλωτᾶ ἐχειμ[ά]σθην· ὅταν γὰρ π[τ]ερώσωσιν παρʼ ἐμοί, ἐμοῦ ταλαι̣π̣[ωρο]ῦντος ἰς τὸ πέλαγος, καὶ πλου-τήσω[σι]ν̣, τ[ό]τε καὶ ἐπιλαθόμενοι οἷοι ἦσαν παρʼ ἐ[μοὶ] τότε καὶ νῦν οἷοί εἰσιν, ἐπεμβαί- νου[σί] μ̣οι μᾶλλον, ὡς καὶ ὁ ἰσχαρὸς ἱέραξ(?) τότ[ε ἐπ]ο̣[ί]η[σ]ε̣ν̣ πάλιν σὺν αὐτῷ. ὡς̣ ν̣ῦν̣ οὖν Δημήτ[ριο]ς̣ γ̣ε̣ν̣ό̣μενος παρʼ ἐμὲ ἐξ αὐ- τοψ[ία]ς̣ ἐθε[ά]σατό με κλαίοντα πλείστοις δάκρυσιν. τί οὖν ἐστιν; ἐγὼ πεπεισμένος μου τ[ῇ δι]ανοίᾳ μηθὲν κακῷ ἢ πονηρῷ συνει̣δ̣ότι, δοκῶ μηδὲν ὃ ἐὰν οὖν ἐφ[ί]δ̣ω̣ πῶς μου τὰ πραγμάτια χω- ρεῖ πάλιν σ[ο]ι δηλώσω, κύριε· οἶδα γὰρ ὅτι τοῦτο [ἔ]χεις [ὡ]ς ὑπὲρ σεαυτοῦ. οὐκ ἄρτι σε δεῖ με ἐπιγε̣[ιν]ώσκιν. ὁ Δημήτριος οὖν ἀρ- τίως μοι μ[ε]τέδωκεν ἐξέρχεσθαι ἑατὸν καὶ ἐμεμψάμην αὐτὸν ὅτι μοι το- σαύταις ἡμέραις οὐκ ὦπται καὶ ἔφη περισπᾶσ- θ[α]ι περὶ ἀργυρωματίων σὺν Κέρτῳ. εὔχομαί σε εἰσχύιν. περὶ Πτολλαρίωνος ἡ μήτηρ μέμφεται. οὐκ ἐμοὶ λαλεῖ, ἀλλὰ καὶ φεύγι με ἐὰν ἴδῃ, ἀλλὰ τοῖς ἐμοῖς ἀπομέμφεται αὐ- τόν. ἐγὼ ἐπιτειμῶ Πτολλαρίωνι· λέγει μοι λοιδορεῖσθαι ὑπʼ αὐτῆς τὰ πλεῖστα ἀδίκως καὶ ὑβριστικῶς. ἔφην ὅτι· ἐγὼ γέρων ἤδη ̣ ̣ (ἐτῶν) εἰμι καὶ ὡς παιδίῳ νηπί- ῳ οὕτως λαλεῖ καὶ λοιδο- ρεῖ· ἐὰν δὲ αὐτῆς ἀνάσχῃ, οὐκ ἔστιν σου μήτηρ τῷ τρόπῳ ἡ καὶ μάμμη; οὐ-κ ἰσχύω ἰς ὄψιν ἀκοῦσαι δι- ελεγχομένων αὐτῶν, ἵνʼ ἐπιγνῶ τὸν ἀδικοῦν- τα. οἶδα μὲν ὀξυτάτην αὐτὴν καὶ ὀλιόψυχον οὖσαν, οὗτος δὲ οὐ φέρι τυχὸν αὐτῆς τὸ ὀξύ. ἐγὼ μὲν οὖν ἐὰν ἰσέλθω [ἰ]ς <τὸν> τριακοντάκλεινον θε- ωρῶ αὐτὸν ὁσάκις ἂν ἰσέλθω. ⟦ ̣ ̣ ̣ ⟧ ὁ δὲ Πάτρων ἀβασκάντ[ως] [ἐ-] φιλοπόνει · λείαν ὀξύ- τατος ἐξέβη. ἔρρωσσο, κύριε, σὺν τῇ κυρίᾳ μου συνβίῳ σο[υ] Πολίτ- τῃ καὶ ἀσπάζου αὐτὴν πολ- λά. ἀσπάζεταί σε ἡ σύ̣μβιός μου Χαιρημονὶς καὶ Πόλλιτ- τα ἡ καὶ Σαραπιὰς ὁμοίως ἀσπάζεται ἀμφοτέρους.
(ἔτους) β Τραιανοῦ Ἁδριανοῦ σεβαστοῦ Χοίακ ια v (hand 2) Παύλωι
To Paul, to the Lord and to the brother, greetings. I wish you to be well and to prosper, which is what I pray for you through my prayers. I wish you to be well as my esteemed lord and brother. You write to me saying: if you are able, come back. By your salvation and that of my child and the well-being of which I am confident you care for me, I would wish nothing else but to worship your face towards your lands, but I am unable. For now, I have again been caught by Apollot. For when they fly away from me, while I am suffering, into the sea, and they will become rich, then they will forget how they were with me then and how they are now, they are more intervening with me, as also the sharp hawk did then. Now, therefore, Demetrius, having been born from me, saw me weeping with many tears. What then is it? I, being convinced in my mind, do not think anything evil or wicked, I believe I will not suffer anything. If I should see how my affairs are going again, I will inform you, lord; for I know that you have this as for yourself. You do not need me to be recognized. Demetrius has rightly allowed me to go out and I have reproached him that I have not seen him for so many days and he said he was being distracted about money with Kertus. I pray for your strength. About Ptolemaios, the mother is complaining. She does not speak to me, but also flees from me if she sees, but she reproaches him to my people. I rebuke Ptolemaios; she says to me that she is being insulted by her most unjustly and insultingly. I said that I am already an old man and as a child speaks and insults; but if she should take hold of him, is not your mother in this way and grandmother? I am not able to hear in person those being accused, so that I may know the one doing wrong. I know her to be very sharp and of little spirit, but he does not bear her sharpness. Therefore, if I enter into the thirty-fold, I will see him as often as I enter. The patron, without envy, works hard; he came out very sharp. Be strong, lord, with my lady, your wife Politta, and greet her much. My wife Chairemonis greets you and Pollita, and also Sarapias greets both of you similarly.