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The
Precepts of Ptah-Hotep, c. 2200 BCE
The prefect, the feudal lord Ptah-hotep, says: O Ptah with the two crocodiles,
my lord, the progress of age changes into senility. Decay falls upon man
and
decline takes the place of youth. A vexation weighs upon him every day;
sight
fails, the ear becomes deaf; his strength dissolves without ceasing. The
mouth
is silent, speech fails him; the mind decays, remembering not the day before.
The whole body suffers. That which is good becomes evil; taste completely
disappears. Old age makes a man altogether miserable; the nose is stopped
up, breathing no more from exhaustion. Standing or sitting there is here
a
condition of . . . Who will cause me to have authority to speak, that I
may
declare to him the words of those who have heard the counsels of former
days? And the counsels heard of the gods, who will give me authority to
declare them? Cause that it be so and that evil be removed from those that
are enlightened; send the double . . . The majesty of this god says: Instruct
him in the sayings of former days. It is this which constitutes the merit
of the
children of the great. All that which makes the soul equal penetrates him
who
hears it, and that which it says produces no satiety.
Beginning of the arrangement of the good sayings, spoken by the noble lord,
the divine father, beloved of Ptah, the son of the king, the first-born
of his
race, the prefect and feudal lord Ptah-hotep, so as to instruct the ignorant
in
the knowledge of the arguments of the good sayings. It is profitable for
him
who hears them, it is a loss to him who shall transgress them. He says
to his
son:
Be not arrogant because of that which you know; deal with the ignorant
as
with the learned; for the barriers of art are not closed, no artist being
in
possession of the perfection to which he should aspire. But good words
are
more difficult to find than the emerald, for it is by slaves that that
is
discovered among the rocks of pegmatite.
If you find a disputant while he is hot, and if he is superior to you in
ability,
lower the hands, bend the back, do not get into a passion with him. As
he will
not let you destroy his words, it is utterly wrong to interrupt him; that
proclaims that you are incapable of keeping yourself calm, when you are
contradicted. If then you have to do with a disputant while he is hot,
imitate
one who does not stir. You have the advantage over him if you keep silence
when he is uttering evil words. "The better of the two is he who is
impassive," say the bystanders, and you are right in the opinion of the
great.
If you have, as leader, to decide on the conduct of a great number of men,
seek the most perfect manner of doing so that your own conduct may be
without reproach. Justice is great, invariable, and assured; it has not
been
disturbed since the age of Ptah. To throw obstacles in the way of the laws
is
to open the way before violence. Shall that which is below gain the upper
hand, if the unjust does not attain to the place of justice? Even he who
says: I
take for myself, of my own free-will; but says not: I take by virtue of
my
authority. The limitations of justice are invariable; such is the instruction
which every man receives from his father.
Inspire not men with fear, else Ptah will fight against you in the same
manner. If any one asserts that he lives by such means, Ptah will take
away
the bread from his mouth; if any one asserts that he enriches himself thereby,
Ptah says: I may take those riches to myself. If any one asserts that he
beats
others, Ptah will end by reducing him to impotence. Let no one inspire
men
with fear; this is the will of Ptah. Let one provide sustenance for them
in the
lap of peace; it will then be that they will freely give what has been
torn from
them by terror.
If you are among the persons seated at meat in the house of a greater man
than yourself, take that which he gives you, bowing to the ground. Regard
that which is placed before you, but point not at it; regard it not frequently;
he is a blameworthy person who departs from this rule. Speak not to the
great man more than he requires, for one knows not what may be displeasing
to him. Speak when he invites you and your worth will be pleasing. As for
the great man who has plenty of means of existence, his conduct is as he
himself wishes. He does that which pleases him; if he desires to repose,
he
realizes his intention. The great man stretching forth his hand does that
to
which other men do not attain. But as the means of existence are under
the
will of Ptah, one can not rebel against it.
If you are one of those who bring the messages of one great man to another,
conform yourself exactly to that wherewith he has charged you; perform
for
him the commission as he has enjoined you. Beware of altering in speaking
the offensive words which one great person addresses to another; he who
perverts the trustfulness of his way, in order to repeat only what produces
pleasure in the words of every man, great or small, is a detestable person.
If you are a farmer, gather the crops in the field which the great Ptah
has
given you, do not boast in the house of your neighbors; it is better to
make
oneself dreaded by one's deeds. As for him who, master of his own way of
acting, being all-powerful, seizes the goods of others like a crocodile
in the
midst even of watchment, his children are an object of malediction, of
scorn,
and of hatred on account of it, while his father is grievously distressed,
and as
for the mother who has borne him, happy is another rather than herself.
But
a man becomes a god when he is chief of a tribe which has confidence in
following him.
If you abase yourself in obeying a superior, your conduct is entirely good
before Ptah. Knowing who you ought to obey and who you ought to
command, do not lift up your heart against him. As you know that in him
is
authority, be respectful toward him as belonging to him. Wealth comes only
at Ptah's own good-will, and his caprice only is the law; as for him who
. .
Ptah, who has created his superiority, turns himself from him and he is
overthrown.
Be active during the time of your existence, do no more than is commanded.
Do not spoil the time of your activity; he is a blameworthy person who
makes a bad use of his moments. Do not lose the daily opportunity of
increasing that which your house possesses. Activity produces riches, and
riches do not endure when it slackens.
If you are a wise man, bring up a son who shall be pleasing to Ptah. If
he
conforms his conduct to your way and occupies himself with your affairs
as
is right, do to him all the good you can; he is your son, a person attached
to
you whom your own self has begotten. Separate not your heart from him....
But if he conducts himself ill and transgresses your wish, if he rejects
all
counsel, if his mouth goes according to the evil word, strike him on the
mouth in return. Give orders without hesitation to those who do wrong,
to
him whose temper is turbulent; and he will not deviate from the straight
path,
and there will be no obstacle to interrupt the way.
If you are employed in the larit, stand or sit rather than walk about.
Lay
down rules for yourself from the first: not to absent yourself even when
weariness overtakes you. Keep an eye on him who enters announcing that
what he asks is secret; what is entrusted to you is above appreciation,
and all
contrary argument is a matter to be rejected. He is a god who penetrates
into
a place where no relaxation of the rules is made for the privileged.
If you are with people who display for you an extreme affection, saying:
"Aspiration of my heart, aspiration of my heart, where there is no remedy!
That which is said in your heart, let it be realized by springing up
spontaneously. Sovereign master, I give myself to your opinion. Your name
is approved without speaking. Your body is full of vigor, your face is
above
your neighbors." If then you are accustomed to this excess of flattery,
and
there be an obstacle to you in your desires, then your impulse is to obey
your
passion. But he who . . . according to his caprice, his soul is . . .,
his body is .
. . While the man who is master of his soul is superior to those whom Ptah
has loaded with his gifts; the man who obeys his passion is under the power
of his wife.
Declare your line of conduct without reticence; give your opinion in the
council of your lord; while there are people who turn back upon their own
words when they speak, so as not to offend him who has put forward a
statement, and answer not in this fashion: "He is the great man who will
recognize the error of another; and when he shall raise his voice to oppose
the other about it he will keep silence after what I have said."
If you are a leader, setting forward your plans according to that which
you
decide, perform perfect actions which posterity may remember, without
letting the words prevail with you which multiply flattery, which excite
pride
and produce vanity.
If you are a leader of peace, listen to the discourse of the petitioner.
Be not
abrupt with him; that would trouble him. Say not to him: "You have already
recounted this." Indulgence will encourage him to accomplish the object
of
his coming. As for being abrupt with the complainant because he described
what passed when the injury was done, instead of complaining of the injury
itself let it not be! The way to obtain a clear explanation is to listen
with
kindness.
If you desire to excite respect within the house you enter, for example
the
house of a superior, a friend, or any person of consideration, in short
everywhere where you enter, keep yourself from making advances to a
woman, for there is nothing good in so doing. There is no prudence in taking
part in it, and thousands of men destroy themselves in order to enjoy a
moment, brief as a dream, while they gain death, so as to know it. It is
a
villainous intention, that of a man who thus excites himself; if he goes
on to
carry it out, his mind abandons him. For as for him who is without
repugnance for such an act, there is no good sense at all in him.
If you desire that your conduct should be good and preserved from all evil,
keep yourself from every attack of bad humor. It is a fatal malady which
leads to discord, and there is no longer any existence for him who gives
way
to it. For it introduces discord between fathers and mothers, as well as
between brothers and sisters; it causes the wife and the husband to hate
each
other; it contains all kinds of wickedness, it embodies all kinds of wrong.
When a man has established his just equilibrium and walks in this path,
there
where he makes his dwelling, there is no room for bad humor.
Be not of an irritable temper as regards that which happens at your side;
grumble not over your own affairs. Be not of an irritable temper in regard
to
your neighbors; better is a compliment to that which displeases than rudeness.
It is wrong to get into a passion with one's neighbors, to be no longer
master
of one's words. When there is only a little irritation, one creates for
oneself an
affliction for the time when one will again be cool.
If you are wise, look after your house; love your wife without alloy. Fill
her
stomach, clothe her back; these are the cares to be bestowed on her person.
Caress her, fulfil her desires during the time of her existence; it is
a kindness
which does honor to its possessor. Be not brutal; tact will influence her
better
than violence; her . . . behold to what she aspires, at what she aims,
what she
regards. It is that which fixes her in your house; if you repel her, it
is an
abyss. Open your arms for her, respond to her arms; call her, display to
her
your love.
Treat your dependents well, in so far as it belongs to you to do so; and
it
belongs to those whom Ptah has favored. If any one fails in treating his
dependents well it is said: "He is a person . . ." As we do not know the
events
which may happen tomorrow, he is a wise person by whom one is well
treated. When there comes the necessity of showing zeal, it will then be
the
dependents themselves who say: "Come on, come on," if good treatment has
not quitted the place; if it has quitted it, the dependents are defaulters.
Do not repeat any extravagance of language; do not listen to it; it is
a thing
which has escaped from a hasty mouth. If it is repeated, look, without
hearing it, toward the earth; say nothing in regard to it. Cause him who
speaks to you to know what is just, even him who provokes to injustice;
cause that which is just to be done, cause it to triumph. As for that which
is
hateful according to the law, condemn it by unveiling it.
If you are a wise man, sitting in the council of your lord, direct your
thought
toward that which is wise. Be silent rather than scatter your words. When
you speak, know that which can be brought against you. To speak in the
council is an art, and speech is criticized more than any other labor;
it is
contradiction which puts it to the proof.
If you are powerful, respect knowledge and calmness of language. Command
only to direct; to be absolute is to run into evil. Let not your heart
be
haughty, neither let it be mean. Do not let your orders remain unsaid and
cause your answers to penetrate; but speak without heat, assume a serious
countenance. As for the vivacity of an ardent heart, temper it; the gentle
man
penetrates all obstacles. He who agitates himself all the day long has
not a
good moment; and he who amuses himself all the day long keeps not his
fortune. Aim at fulness like pilots; once one is seated another works,
and
seeks to obey one's orders.
Disturb not a great man; weaken not the attention of him who is occupied.
His care is to embrace his task, and he strips his person through the love
which he puts into it. That transports men to Ptah, even the love for the
work
which they accomplish. Compose then your face even in trouble, that peace
may be with you, when agitation is with . . .These are the people who
succeed in what they desire.
Teach others to render homage to a great man. If you gather the crop for
him
among men, cause it to return fully to its owner, at whose hands is your
subsistence. But the gift of affection is worth more than the provisions
with
which your back is covered. For that which the great man receives from
you
will enable your house to live, without speaking of the maintenance you
enjoy, which you desire to preserve; it is thereby that he extends a beneficent
hand, and that in your home good things are added to good things. Let your
love pass into the heart of those who love you; cause those about you to
be
loving and obedient.
If you are a son of the guardians deputed to watch over the public
tranquillity, execute your commission without knowing its meaning, and
speak with firmness. Substitute not for that which the instructor has said
what
you believe to be his intention; the great use words as it suits them.
Your part
is to transmit rather than to comment upon.
If you are annoyed at a thing, if you are tormented by someone who is acting
within his right, get out of his sight, and remember him no more when he
has
ceased to address you.
If you have become great after having been little, if you have become rich
after having been poor, when you are at the head of the city, know how
not
to take advantage of the fact that you have reached the first rank, harden
not
your heart because of your elevation; you are become only the administrator,
the prefect, of the provisions which belong to Ptah. Put not behind you
the
neighbor who is like you; be unto him as a companion.
Bend your back before your superior. You are attached to the palace of
the
king; your house is established in its fortune, and your profits are as
is fitting.
Yet a man is annoyed at having an authority above himself, and passes the
period of life in being vexed thereat. Although that hurts not your . .
. Do not
plunder the house of your neighbors, seize not by force the goods which
are
beside you. Exclaim not then against that which you hear, and do not feel
humiliated. It is necessary to reflect when one is hindered by it that
the
pressure of authority is felt also by one's neighbor.
Do not make . . . you know that there are obstacles to the water which
comes to its hinder part, and that there is no trickling of that which
is in its
bosom. Let it not . . . after having corrupted his heart.
If you aim at polished manners, call not him whom you accost. Converse
with him especially in such a way as not to annoy him. Enter on a discussion
with him only after having left him time to saturate his mind with the
subject
of the conversation. If he lets his ignorance display itself, and if he
gives you
all opportunity to disgrace him, treat him with courtesy rather; proceed
not to
drive him into a corner; do not . . . the word to him; answer not in a
crushing
manner; crush him not; worry him not; in order that in his turn he may
not
return to the subject, but depart to the profit of your conversation.
Let your countenance be cheerful during the time of your existence. When
we see one departing from the storehouse who has entered in order to bring
his share of provision, with his face contracted, it shows that his stomach
is
empty and that authority is offensive to him. Let not that happen to you;
it is
. . .
Know those who are faithful to you when you are in low estate. Your merit
then is worth more than those who did you honor. His . . ., behold that
which
a man possesses completely. That is of more importance than his high rank;
for this is a matter which passes from one to another. The merit of one's
son
is advantageous to the father, and that which he really is, is worth more
than
the remembrance of his father's rank.
Distinguish the superintendent who directs from the workman, for manual
labor is little elevated; the inaction of the hands is honorable. If a
man is not
in the evil way, that which places him there is the want of subordination
to
authority.
If you take a wife, do not . . . Let her be more contented than any of
her
fellow-citizens. She will be attached to you doubly, if her chain is pleasant.
Do not repel her; grant that which pleases her; it is to her contentment
that
she appreciates your work.
If you hear those things which I have said to you, your wisdom will be
fully
advanced. Although they are the means which are suitable for arriving at
the
maat, and it is that which makes them precious, their memory would recede
from the mouth of men. But thanks to the beauty of their arrangement in
rhythm all their words will now be carried without alteration over this
earth
eternally. That will create a canvass to be embellished, whereof the great
will
speak, in order to instruct men in its sayings. After having listened to
them
the pupil will become a master, even he who shall have properly listened
to
the sayings because he shall have heard them. Let him win success by placing
himself in the first rank; that is for him a position perfect and durable,
and he
has nothing further to desire forever. By knowledge his path is assured,
and
he is made happy by it on the earth. The wise man is satiated by knowledge;
he is a great man through his own merits. His tongue is in accord with
his
mind; just are his lips when he speaks, his eyes when he gazes, his ears
when
he hears. The advantage of his son is to do that which is just without
deceiving himself.
To attend therefore profits the son of him who has attended. To attend
is the
result of the fact that one has attended. A teachable auditor is formed,
because I have attended. Good when he has attended, good when he speaks,
he who has attended has profited, and it is profitable to attend to him
who
has attended. To attend is worth more than anything else, for it produces
love, the good thing that is twice good. The son who accepts the instruction
of his father will grow old on that account. What Ptah loves is that one
should attend; if one attends not, it is abhorrent to Ptah. The heart makes
itself its own master when it attends and when it does not attend; but
if it
attends, then his heart is a beneficent master to a man. In attending to
instruction, a man loves what he attends to, and to do that which is
prescribed is pleasant. When a son attends to his father, it is a twofold
joy for
both; when wise things are prescribed to him, the son is gentle toward
his
master. Attending to him who has attended when such things have been
prescribed to him, he engraves upon his heart that which is approved by
his
father; and the recollection of it is preserved in the mouth of the living
who
exist upon this earth.
When a son receives the instruction of his father there is no error in
all his
plans. Train your son to be a teachable man whose wisdom is agreeable to
the great. Let him direct his mouth according to that which has been said
to
him; in the docility of a son is discovered his wisdom. His conduct is
perfect
while error carries away the unteachable. Tomorrow knowledge will support
him, while the ignorant will be destroyed.
As for the man without experience who listens not, he effects nothing
whatsoever. He sees knowledge in ignorance, profit in loss; he commits
all
kinds of error, always accordingly choosing the contrary of what is
praiseworthy. He lives on that which is mortal, in this fashion. His food
is evil
words, whereat he is filled with astonishment. That which the great know
to
be mortal he lives upon every day, flying from that which would be profitable
to him, because of the multitude of errors which present themselves before
him every day.
A son who attends is like a follower of Horus; he is happy after having
attended. He becomes great, he arrives at dignity, he gives the same lesson
to
his children. Let none innovate upon the precepts of his father; let the
same
precepts form his lessons to his children. "Verily," will his children
say to
him, "to accomplish what you say works marvels." Cause therefore that to
flourish which is just, in order to nourish your children with it. If the
teachers
allow themselves to be led toward evil principles, verily the people who
understand them not will speak accordingly, and that being said to those
who
are docile they will act accordingly. Then all the world considers them
as
masters and they inspire confidence in the public; but their glory endures
not
so long as would please them. Take not away then a word from the ancient
teaching, and add not one; put not one thing in place of another; beware
of
uncovering the rebellious ideas which arise in you; but teach according
to the
words of the wise. Attend if you wish to dwell in the mouth of those who
shall attend to your words, when you have entered upon the office of master,
that your words may be upon our lips . . . and that there may be a chair
from
which to deliver your arguments.
Let your thoughts be abundant, but let your mouth be under restraint, and
you shall argue with the great. Put yourself in unison with the ways of
your
master; cause him to say: "He is my son," so that those who shall hear
it shall
say "Praise be to her who has borne him to him!" Apply yourself while you
speak; speak only of perfect things; and let the great who shall hear you
say:
"Twice good is that which issues from his mouth!"
Do that which your master bids you. Twice good is the precept of his father,
from whom he has issued, from his flesh. What he tells us, let it be fixed
in
our heart; to satisfy him greatly let us do for him more than he has
prescribed. Verily a good son is one of the gifts of Ptah, a son who does
even
better than he has been told to do. For his master he does what is
satisfactory, putting himself with all his heart on the part of right.
So I shall
bring it about that your body shall be healthful, that the Pharaoh shall
be
satisfied with you in all circumstances and that you shall obtain years
of life
without default. It has caused me on earth to obtain one hundred and ten
years of life, along with the gift of the favor of the Pharoah among the
first of
those whom their works have ennobled, satisfying the Pharoah in a place
of
dignity.
It is finished, from its beginning to its end, according to that which
is found in
writing.
