C.D. Warner, et al., comp. The Library of the World’s Best Literature.
An Anthology in Thirty Volumes. 1917.
The Prisse Papyrus: Instruction of Ptahhetep
By Egyptian Literature
1. [The first section lays down axioms in regard to discretion in speech.]
“T
“If thou sittest [at meat] with a company, hate the bread that thou desirest—it is a little moment. Restrain appetite; gluttony is base…. A cup of water, it quencheth the thirst; a mouthful of melon, it stayeth the appetite. It is a good thing to make substitute for a luxury [or, that which is good can replace a luxury]; a little of a small matter can replace a great thing. It is a base fellow who is mastered by his belly, who passeth time that he wotteth not, free ranging of his belly in their houses.”
“If thou sittest at meat with a gormandizer and eatest [?], his desire departeth; if thou drinkest with a toper and takest wine, his heart is satisfied. Be not afraid of meat in company with the greedy; take what he giveth thee; refuse it not, for it will humor him.”
“If there be a man devoid of sociability [lit., making himself known], on whom no word hath power, sulky of countenance to him who would soften the heart by being gracious to him; he is rude to his mother and to his people, every one [crieth]: ‘Let thy name come forth! thou art silent with the mouth when spoken to.’”
“Let not thy heart be proud for valor in the midst of thy troops. Beware of overbearingness [?]: one knoweth not what shall happen; what a god will do when he striketh.”
Then the majesty of King Huni moored his ship; then was set up the majesty of King Sneferu as the good King in this whole land. Then Kagemni was appointed governor of the royal city, and wazîr.
After a blank the second text begins.]
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“O King my lord, years come on, old age befalleth, decrepitude arriveth, weakness is renewed, he lieth helpless day by day; the two eyes are contracted, the ears are dull, strength diminisheth from weariness of heart; the mouth is silent and speaketh not, the heart is closed and remembereth not yesterday;… good becometh evil, all taste departeth; old age is evil for man in every way: the nose is stopped and breatheth not, standing and sitting are [alike] weary [?].
“It hath been commanded the servant to make a successor. Let me tell unto him the sayings of those who obeyed, the conduct of them of old, of them who obeyed the gods; would that the like may be done to thee, that ill may be banished from among the Rekhyt, and the two lands serve thee.”
Said the Majesty of this god:—
“Teach him according to the words of former days; let him do what is admirable for the sons of the nobles, so that to enter and listen unto his words will be the due training of every heart; and that which he saith shall not be a thing producing satiety.”
Beginning of the proverbs of good words spoken by the ha-prince, the father of the god who loves the god, the King’s eldest son of his body, the governor of the city and wazîr, Ptahhetep, as teaching the ignorant to know according to the rule of good words, expounding the profit to him who shall hearken unto it, and the injury to him who shall transgress it. He saith unto his son:—
“Let not thy heart be great because of thy knowledge; converse with the ignorant as with the learned: the boundary of skill is not attainable; there is no expert who is completely provided with what is profitable to him: good speech is hidden more than the emeralds that are found by female slaves on the pebbles.”
“If thou findest a debater in his moment, persuading the heart as more successful than thyself: droop thy arms, bend thy back, let not thy heart challenge him; then he will not reach unto thee. Be sparing of evil words, as if declining to refute him in his moment. He will be called ignorant of things, while thy heart restraineth its wealth.”
“If thou findest a debater in his moment, thine equal, who is within thy reach, to whom thou canst cause thyself to become superior: be not silent when he speaketh evil; a great thing is the approval of the hearers, that thy name should be good in the knowledge of the nobles.”
“If thou findest a debater in his moment, a poor man, that is to say, not thine equal, let not thine heart leap out at him when he is feeble. Let him alone, let him refute himself, question him not overmuch. Do not wash the heart of him who agreeth with [?] thee: it is painful, despising the poor,… thou strikest him with the punishment of nobles.”
“If thou art a guide, commanding the conduct of a company, seek for thyself every good aim, so that thy policy may be without error;[?] a great thing is justice, enduring and surviving; it is not upset since the time of Osiris; he who departs from the laws is punished and…. It is the modest[?] that obtain wealth; never did the greedy[?] arrive at their aim; he saith, ‘I have captured for mine own self’; he saith not, ‘I have captured by [another’s] command.’ The end of justice is that it endureth long; such as a man will say, ‘It is from [?] my father.’”
“Make not terror amongst men; God punisheth the like. There is the man that saith, ‘Let him live thereby who is without the bread of his lips.’ There is the man that saith, ‘Strong is he who saith, I have captured for myself what I have recognized.’ There is the man who saith, ‘Let him smite another who attaineth, in order to give to him who is in want’: never did violence among men succeed: what God commandeth cometh to pass. Then thou mayest live in a palace; pleasure cometh, and people give things freely.”
“If thou art a man of those who sit at the place of a greater man than thyself, take what he giveth with thy hand to thy nose; thou shalt look at what is before thee; pierce him not with many glances; it is abomination to the soul for them to be directed at him. Speak not unto him until he calleth: one knoweth not the evil at heart [that it causeth]; thou shalt speak when he questioneth thee, and then what thou sayest will be good to the heart. The noble who hath excess of bread, his procedure is as his soul commandeth; he will give to him whom he praiseth: it is the manner of night-time. It befalleth that it is the soul that openeth his hands. The noble giveth; it is not that the man winneth [the gift]. The eating of bread is under the management of God: it is the ignorant that rebelleth [?] against it.”
“If thou art a man that entereth, sent by a noble to a noble, be exact in the manner of him who sendeth thee; do the business for him as he saith. Beware of making ill feeling by words that would set noble against noble, in destroying justice; do not exaggerate it; but the washing of the heart shall not be repeated in the speech of any man, noble or commoner: that is abomination of the soul.”
“If thou plowest, labor steadily in the field, that God may make it great in thine hand; let not thy mouth be filled at thy neighbor’s table. It is a great thing to make disturbance of the silent. Verily he who possesseth prudence is as the possessor of goods: he taketh like a crocodile from the officials. [?] Beg not as a poor man of him who is without children, and make no boast of him. The father is important when the mother that beareth is wanting, and another woman is added unto her: a man may produce a god such that the tribe shall pray [to be allowed] to follow him.”
“If thou failest, follow a successful man; let all thy conduct be good before God. When thou knowest that a little man hath advanced, let not thine heart be proud towards him by reason of what thou knowest of him; a man who hath advanced, be respectful to him in proportion to what hath arrived to him; for behold, possessions do not come of themselves, it is their [the gods’] law for those whom they love: verily he who hath risen, he hath been prudent for himself, and it is God that maketh his success; and he would punish him for it if he were indolent.”
“Follow thy heart the time that thou hast; do not more than is commanded; diminish not the time of following the heart; that is abomination to the soul, that its moment should be disregarded. Spend not [on labor] the time of each day beyond what [is necessary] for furnishing thy house. When possessions are obtained, follow the heart; for possessions are not made full use of if [the owner] is weary.”
“If thou art a successful man and thou makest a son by God’s grace [?], if he is accurate, goeth again in thy way and attendeth to thy business on the proper occasion, do unto him every good thing: he is thy son to whom it belongeth, that thy Ka begat: estrange not thy heart from him; inheritance [?] maketh quarrels. [?] If he err and transgress thy way, and refuseth [?] everything said while his mouth babbleth vain words….”
“If thou art in the council hall, standing and sitting until thy going [forward], that hath been commanded for thee on the earliest day: go not away if thou art kept back, while the face is attentive to him who entereth and reporteth, and the place of him who is summoned is broad. The council hall is according to rule, and all its method according to measure. It is God that promoteth position; it is not done to those who are ready of elbows.”
“If thou wishest to prolong friendship in a house into which thou enterest as master, as brother, or as friend, [in fact in] any place that thou enterest, beware of approaching the women: no place in which that is done prospereth. The face is not watchful in attaining it. A thousand men are injured in order to be profited for a little moment, like a dream, by tasting which death is reached.”…
“If thou desirest thy procedure to be good, take thyself from all evil: beware of any covetous aim. That is as the painful disease of colic. He who entereth on it is not successful. It embroileth fathers and mothers with the mother’s brothers, it separateth wife and husband. It is a thing that taketh to itself all evils, a bundle of all wickedness. A man liveth long whose rule is justice, who goeth according to its [the rule’s] movements. He maketh a property thereby, while a covetous man hath no house.”
“Let not thine heart be extortionate about shares, in grasping at what is not thy portion. Let not thy heart be extortionate towards thy neighbors: greater is the prayer to a kindly person than force. Poor is he that carrieth off his neighbors [by violence] without the persuasion of words. A little for which there hath been extortion maketh remorse when the blood is cool.”
“If thou art successful and hast furnished thine house, and lovest the wife of thy bosom, fill her belly, clothe her back. The medicine for her body is oil. Make glad her heart during the time that thou hast. She is a field profitable to its owner.”…
“If thou art strong, inspiring awe by knowledge or by pleasing, speak in first command; that is to say, not according to [another’s] lead. The weak man [?] entereth into error. Raise not thine heart, lest it be cast down. Be not silent. Beware of interruption and of answering words with heat [?]…. The flames of a fiery heart sweep away the mild man, when a fighter treadeth on his path. He who doth accounts all day long hath not a pleasant moment; he who enjoyeth himself all day long doth not provide his house. The archer will hit his mark even as he that worketh the rudder, at one time letting it alone, at another pulling; he that obeyeth his heart [conscience?] shall command.”
“If thou gainest great after small things and makest wealth after poverty, so that thou art an example thereof in thy city, thou art known in thy nome and thou art become prominent: do not wrap up [?] thy heart in thy riches that have come to thee by the gift of God,… another like unto thee to whom the like hath fallen.”
“Bend thy back to thy chief, thy superior of the king’s house, on whose property thine house dependeth, and thy payments in their proper place. It is ill to be at variance with the chief. One liveth [only] while he is gracious.”…
“If thou seekest the character of a friend, mind thou, do not ask; go to him, occupy thyself with him alone so as not to interfere with his business. Argue with him after a season, test [?] his heart with an instance of speech.”…
“Let thy face be shining the time that thou hast: verily that which cometh out of the store doth not enter again; but bread is for apportionment, and he that is niggardly is an accuser, empty of his belly. It befalleth that a quarrelsome man is a spoiler of things; do it not unto him who cometh unto thee. The remembrance of a man is of his kindliness in the years after the staff [of power?].”
“Know thy tradesman when thy affairs are unsuccessful; thy good reputation with thy friend is a channel well filled; it is more important than a man’s wealth. The property of one belongeth to another. A profitable thing is the good reputation of a man’s son to him. The nature is better than the memory.”[?]
“If thou makest a woman ashamed, wanton of heart, whom her fellow townspeople know to be under two laws, be kind to her a season; send her not away, let her have food to eat. The wantonness of her heart appreciateth guidance.”
“If thou hearkenest to these things that I tell thee, and all thy behavior is according to what precedeth, verily they have a true course. They are precious, their memory goeth in the mouth of men by reason of the excellence of their phrasing; and each saying is carried on; it is not destroyed out of this land ever; it maketh a rule to advantage by which the nobles may speak. It is a teaching for a man that he may speak to the future. He that heareth them becometh an expert. A good hearer speaketh to the future of what he hath heard. If good fortune befalleth by reason of him who is at the head of affairs, it is to him good forever, and all his satisfactoriness remaineth to eternity. It is he who knoweth that blesseth his soul in establishing his excellence upon earth: he who knoweth hath satisfaction of his knowledge. A noble taketh his right course in what his heart and his tongue provide; his lips are correct when he speaketh, his eyes in seeing, his ears just in hearing; a profitable thing for his son is doing right, free from wrong.
“It is a profitable thing for the son of one who hath hearkened [to instruction] to hearken [to his father], entering and listening to a hearkener. A hearkener becometh a person hearkened to, good in hearkening and good in speech; a hearkener possesseth what is profitable: profitable to the hearkener is hearkening. Hearkening is better than anything: it befalleth indeed that love is good, but twice good is it when a son receiveth what his father saith: old age cometh to him therewith. He who loveth God hearkeneth, he who hateth God doth not hearken: it is the heart that maketh its possessor hearken or not hearken, and the Life, Prosperity, and Health of a man is his heart. The hearkener heareth what is said. He that loveth to hear doeth according to what is said. Twice good is it for a son to hearken to his father. How happy is he to whom these things are told! A son, he shineth as possessing the quality of hearkening. The hearkener to whom they are told, he is excellent in body. He that is pious-and-well-pleasing to his father, his memory is in the mouth of the living who are upon earth, whoever they shall be.”
“If the son of a man receive what his father saith, no plan of his shall fail. [He whom] thou teachest as thy son, or the listener that is successful in the heart of the nobles, he guideth his mouth according to what he hath been told. He that beholdeth is as he that obeyeth, i.e., a son; his ways are distinguished. He faileth that entereth without hearing. He that knoweth, on the next day is established; he who is ignorant is crushed.”
“The son of a hearkener is as an Attendant of Horus: there is good for him when he hath hearkened; he groweth old, he reacheth Amakh; he telleth the like to his children, renewing the teaching of his father. Every man teacheth as he hath performed; he telleth the like to his sons, that they may tell again to their children. Do what is admirable; cause not thyself to be mocked;[?] establish truth that thy children may live. If virtue entereth, vice departeth: then men who shall see such-like shall say, ‘Behold, that man spoke to one who hearkened!’ and they shall do the like; or ‘Behold, that man was observant.’ All shall say, ‘They pacify the multitude; riches are not complete without them.’ Add not a word, nor take one away; put not one in the place of another. Guard thyself against opening the lacunæ[?] that are in thee. Guard thyself against being told, ‘One who knoweth is listening; mark thou. Thou desirest to be established in the mouth of those who hear when thou speakest. But thou hast entered on the business of an expert; thou speakest of matters that belong to us, and thy way is not in its proper place.’”
“Let thy heart be overflowing, let thy mouth be restrained: consider how thou shalt behave among the nobles. Be exact in practice with thy master: act so that he may say, ‘The son of that man shall speak to those that shall hearken. Praiseworthy also is he who formed him.’
“Apply thine heart while thou art speaking, that thou mayest speak things of distinction; then the nobles who shall hear will say, ‘How good is that which proceedeth out of his mouth!’”
“Do according to that thy master telleth thee. How excellent [to a man] is the teaching of his father, out of whom he hath come, out of his very body, and who spake unto him while he was yet altogether in his loins! Greater is what hath been done unto him than what hath been said unto him. Behold, a good son that God giveth doeth beyond what he is told for his master; he doeth right, doing heartily [?] in his goings even as thou hast come unto me, that thy body may be sound, that the King may be well pleased with all that is done, that thou mayest spend years of life. It is no small thing that I have done on earth; I have spent 110 years of life while the King gave me praises as among the ancestors, by my doing uprightly to the King until the state of Amakh.”