POxy 292

1 Θέων Τυράννωι τῶι τιμιωτάτωι
2 πλεῖστα χαίρειν.
3 Ἡρακλείδης ὁ ἀποδιδούς σοι τὴν
4 ἐπιστολήν ἐστίν μου ἀδελφός·
5 διὸ παρακαλῶ σε μετὰ πάσης δυνά-
6 μεως ἔχειν αὐτὸν συνεσταμέ-
7 νον. ἠρώτησα δὲ καὶ Ἑρμί[α]ν
8 τὸν ἀδελφὸν διὰ γραπτοῦ ἀνηγεῖ[σθαί
9 σοι περὶ τούτου. χαρίεσαι δέ μοι τὰ μέγιστα
10 ἐάν σου τῆς ἐπισημασίας τύχηι.
11 πρὸ δὲ πάντων ὑγια<ί>νειν σε εὔχ[ο-
12 μαι ἀβασκάντως τὰ ἄριστα
13 πράττων.

Very straight forward for the most part, but I’m interested in precisely what is being said with the last phrase,

ἀβασκάντως τὰ ἄριστα πράττων.

ἀβασκάντως τὰ ἄριστα πράττων is incorporated into the regular sign-off, as a superstitious coda. ἀβασκάντως is something like “without incurring the evil eye.” The evil eye was quite a thing, and not just in Roman Egypt.

I once had an interesting literary papyrus that accused Aristotle of βασκανία against Plato, perhaps the most extreme example of the Platonist/Aristotelian divide.

Thanks, that confirms how I was reading it. G&H rendered:

Before all else you have my good wishes for unbroken health and prosperity.

Which seems to me to miss the force of the statement entirely.

11 πρὸ δὲ πάντων ὑγια<ί>νειν σε εὔχ[ο-
12 μαι ἀβασκάντως τὰ ἄριστα
13 πράττων.

πράττων nominative gets me a little. I’d think it the same sentiments of “ευ πραττειν”, whether or not he believed in literal witches or malevolent stars. But with nominative πράττων, isn’t he saying, as written, “above all else, I pray you to have good health as I work the best without ill-enchantment”? Or is it formulaic and implying a new phrase?

Your translation gives the literal meaning pretty well, but it’s a fairly colorless phrase, conveying good wishes. Cf. e.g. POxy.300, a personal letter from a woman which towards the end has ασπαζω Θεωνα τον κυριον και (4 more names) τους αβασκαντους—i.e. protected from the evil eye from malicious ill-wishers, but the sense is much faded.