DDbDP transcription: sb.20.14401 [xml]
AD 147 Arsinoite
παρὰ Πτολεμαίου Διοδώρο̣υ̣ το[ῦ] καὶ Διοσκόρου τῶν ἀπὸ τοῦ Ἀρσινοείτου(*).
πά̣ν̣των αἴσχιστον τῶν ἐν̣ βίῳ ἀτοπημάτων ἐστὶν τὸ τοὺς ἐλευθέρους τύ-
[πτ]ε̣σ̣θαι καὶ ὑβρίζεσθαι κ̣α̣ὶ μ[άλ]ιστα ὑπὸ δούλων εὐώνων ἢ καὶ ὑπὸ ὀψωνια-
5ζομένων. τοῦτο δὲ χεῖρόν ἐσ̣τιν ὕ̣βρεως ἀνηκέστου. πολλάκις οὖν, κύριε, βου-
λόμενοι ἐγ̣δ̣ι̣κίας(*) τυχεῖν, ἀπ̣ο̣ρ̣οῦμεν διὰ τὸ μακρὰν εἶναι τοῦ ἐνθάδε δικαίου. ὧν
ἐστιν Πτολεμαῖος υἱ(*)ὸς Πάππο̣[υ] τ̣ινὸς γεγυμνασιαρχηκότος ἀπὸ τοῦ αὐτοῦ Ἀρσινο-
είτου(*), α̣ὐ̣θάδης τῷ τρόπῳ κ[αὶ βί]α̣ι̣ο̣ς̣, δανιστιμὸν(*) βίον̣ ζῶων(*) καὶ πράσσων ἀνόσια
πάν̣[τα] ἀ̣πειρημένα, στατηρι̣[αίο]υ̣ς̣ τόκους ἀπαιτῶν τῇ περὶ αὐτὸν ἐν τῷ νομῷ
10δυν̣[άμε]ι, παρηγησάμενος τὰς τῶ[ν] ἐ̣πάρχων κρίσεις καὶ τὰς τῶν Αὐτοκρατόρων
ἐντ̣ο̣λάς, ἐν οἷς κἀ̣μοὶ τὸ αὐτὸ διεπράξατο, καὶ στατηριαίους τόκους πράσσει,
ἐ̣π̣ι̣κατερχόμενος εἰς τὰς κ̣[ώμ]ας μετὰ πλήθους κ̣αὶ ὕ̣βρεις πλείστας τοῖς ἁπ-
[τομ]έ̣ν̣οις παρεχόμ̣ενος. π̣[ολλά]κ̣ις οὖν κἀμοί, κύριε, τὸ αὐτὸ ποιήσας ἀλόγους ὕβρις(*)
[διὰ] τ̣ῶ̣ν ὑπʼ αὐτοῦ, ἐ̣ὰν βου̣[λη]θ̣ῶμεν στρατηγῷ ἐ̣ν̣τυχεῖν περὶ τῆς αὐτοῦ βίας
15[τὰ] ὑ̣πάρχοντα ἕ̣ως τοῦ [ν]ῦ̣ν ἐ̣φέλκεται ἐπὶ τὰ στρατήγια καὶ συνεδρεύουσι τῷ δικασ-
[τ]ῇ. ἐ̣κ̣ τούτου συμβ̣αίνει μὴ τυγχάνειν ἡμᾶς ἐγδικίας(*). ἀποδείξω δὲ αὐτὸν {ἀποδίξω(*)}
δά̣νι̣ον(*) ἐν μιᾷ κώμῃ ἐκ̣δανίσαντα τρία ἥμισυ τὰ λεπτὰ κατὰ μέρος λαμβάνων-
[τα](*) σ̣τ̣ατηριαῖον τ̣όκον ὡς συνάγεσθαι κατʼ ἔτος ἡμιόλιον, ὃν καὶ εὑρήσεις παρʼ ἐ-
νίων ὀκταπλάσιον του(*) καὶ ἄλλου εἰληφότα ἐν ὀλίγο<ι>ς ἔτεσι, ὅπερ ἀπείρηται πλέ̣-
20ον̣ τ̣ο̣ῦ ἴσου κεφαλ[α]ίου τόκον \μὴ/ ἐκπράσσεσθαί τινα παντὶ τῷ χρόνῳ. τῶν οὖν
το̣ι̣ούτων ἐπιστά̣σεως ὀφιλόντων(*) τυγχάνειν, ἐπὶ σὲ τὴν καταφυγὴν \ἐ/ποι-
ησά̣μ̣ην τὸν πάντων εὐεργέτην ὅπως ἐ̣[ν] τοῖς εὐμενεστάτοις τοῦ κυρίου
ἡμῶν Ἀντωνίνου [κ]α̣ι̣ροῖς <δυνηθῶ> ἐν τῇ ἰ(*)δίᾳ συνμένειν(*) <καὶ> κελεύσῃς γραφῆναι τῷ τῆς
Ἡ̣ρ̣α̣κ̣λ̣είδου στρ̣[α]τηγῷ ὅπως ἀνεπηρέαστος καὶ ἀνύβριστος ὑπὸ τοῦ Πτολεμαίου
25φυλαχθῶ καὶ <οὗ> ἀπ̣ο̣δέδωκα εἰς τόκον̣ περισσὸν τοῦ δραχμιαίου εἰς κεφάλαι-
όν μοι ἐλλογηθῆν̣αι, καὶ ἐάν τι φανῶ αὐτῷ ὀφείλων μετὰ ταῦτα, ἰσχύσω αὐτῷ
ἀποδῶναι(*) εὐγνω̣μόνως, εἰς δὲ ἀπόδιξιν(*) τῶν προγεγραμμένων τὸν στρατηγὸν
κελεῦσαι ἀχθῆναι ἐπʼ αὐτὸν Ἀφρ̣[ο]δί̣σ̣ι̣ό̣ν τ̣[ιν]α καὶ Ζωίλον ὀψωνιαζομένους
ὑπʼ αὐτοῦ μετὰ τῶν ἀκ̣ε̣ραιωμ̣[ένω]ν̣ τῆ[ς ε]ἰσπράξεως τῶν τόκων, λαμβά-
30νων αὐτῶν ἱκανὸν ἐπὶ τὴν σὴν διάγ̣ν̣ω̣[σι]ν̣,
καὶ ἐκ τούτου φανήσεται ἡ ἐκείν̣ο̣υ ἰ̣δ̣ία διαπρασσομένη, ἵνʼ ὦ ὑπὸ σοῦ βεβοηθημένος.
διευτύχει.
(hand 2) (ἔτους) ια, Φαῶφι κα̣.
τῷ στρατηγῷ ἔντυχε. (hand 3) ἀπόδος.
Apparatus
^ 1. l. Πουπλίῳ
^ 1. l. Μαρκίῳ
^ 2. l. Ἀρσινοίτου
^ 6. l. ἐκδικίας
^ 7. υϊοσ papyrus
^ 7-8. l. Ἀρσινο |ίτου
^ 8. l. δανειστικὸν
^ 8. l. ζῶν
^ 13. l. ὕβρεις
^ 16. l. ἐκδικίας
^ 16. l. ἀποδείξω
^ 17. l. δάνειον
^ 17-18. l. λαμβάνον |τα
^ 19. l. τινὸς
^ 21. l. ὀφειλόντων
^ 23. ϊδια papyrus
^ 23. l. συμμένειν
^ 27. l. ἀποδοῦναι
^ 27. l. ἀπόδειξιν
Editorial History; All History; (detailed)
© Duke Databank of Documentary Papyri.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
APIS Translation (English)
"To Publius Marcus (sic) Crispus. vir egregius, epistrategus, from Ptolemaeus son of Diodorus alias Discorus of those from the Arsinoite. Worst of all offences in life is for free men to be beaten and outraged, particularly by cheap slaves or indeed by those who work for hire. This is worse than utter insolence. Although we have often wanted to get legal satisfaction, lord, we are at a loss because of being far from justice here. One of these men is Ptolemaeus, son of a certain Pappus ex-gymnasiarch, from the same Arsinoite nome, reckless in his conduct and violent, leading the life of a moneylender and commiting every impious and forbidden act, by demanding interest at the rate of a stater per mina per month by virtue of the power he has in the nome, in disregard of the prefects' decisions and the ordinances of the emperors. I too among those against whom he has committed the same act. And he exacts interest at a stater per mina per month by descending into the villages with a gang and committing very many acts of outrage against those he lights upon. Accordingly having likewise committed groundless acts of outrage against me too, lord, via those under him, if ever we want to make an approach to the strategus about his violence, up until now he has been dragging the the present matters before the office of the strategus and it is they who sit in council with the judge. As a result of this we are not getting legal satisfaction. And I shall lay evidence how having made a loan in one village, by successively getting three and a half obols as interest at a stater per mina per month, he is collecting annually half as much again. You will also find from others that he has got eight times the capital from someone else in a few years, although it is forbidden for anyone to exact more interest than the sum of the capital over the whole period of the loan. Accordingly since such persons ought to meet with a deterrent, I have had recourse to you the benefactor of all, that in the most gracious times of our lord Antoninus (I may be able) to remain in my place of residence and that you may order written instructions to be sent to the strategus of the meris of Heracleides so that I may be kept free from threats and acts of outrage by Ptolemaeus, and that the interest (which) I have paid in excess of a drachma per mina per month be credited for me against the principal, and if it is apparent that I owe him anything after this, I shall undertake to repay him in a reasonable manner. And that for proof of the aforementioned matters the strategus give orders for a certain Aphrodisius and Zoilus, who are in his pay, to be brought before him, along with those who are innocent of the exaction of interest, taking surety from them for your investigation, and as a result of this that person's private intrigue will be made apparent, in order that I may be benefitted by you. Farewell." (2nd hd.) "Year 11, Phaophi 21. Make application to the strategus." (3rd hd.) "Deliver to the petitioner."