“Your heart the weight,
Your two lips are its arms.”
Source: Ancient Egyptian Literature, Volume I: The Old and Middle Kingdoms
“None light of heart is weighty in conduct.”
Source: Ancient Egyptian Literature, Volume I: The Old and Middle Kingdoms
“Let the eyes see, let the heart take notice.
Be not harsh in your power, lest trouble befall you.
Pass over a matter, it becomes two.
He who eats tastes; one addressed answers.
It is the sleeper who sees the dream;
and a judge who deserves punishment is a model for the (evil) doer.”
“The heart’s intent cannot be known.
Don’t delay! Act on the charge!”
Source: Ancient Egyptian Literature, Volume I: The Old and Middle Kingdoms
“I have seen many beatings
Set your heart on books!
I watched those seized for labor
There’s nothing better than books!”
Source: Ancient Egyptian Literature, Volume I: The Old and Middle Kingdoms
“The worthy attendant said: Take heart, my lord!”
Source: Ancient Egyptian Literature, Volume I: The Old and Middle Kingdoms
“As to everyone on whom I placed my hand, no misfortune ever befell him, because my heart was sealed and my counsel excellent. But as to any fool, any wretch, who stands up in opposition. I shall give according as he gives. “O woe,” will be said of one who is accused by me, his will take water like a boat. For I am a champion without peer!
THE FIRST PART OF THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF ANKHTIFI”
Source: Ancient Egyptian Literature, Volume I: The Old and Middle Kingdoms
“THE INSTRUCTION OF PTAHHOTEP
Epilogue
Part II
The fool who does not hear,
He can do nothing at all;
He sees knowledge in ignorance,
Usefulness in harmfulness.
He does all that one detests
And is blamed for it each day;
He lives on that by which one dies.
His food is distortion of speech.
His sort is known to the officials,
Who say: "A living death each day.”
One passes over his doings,
Because of his many daily troubles.
A son who hears is a follower of Horus,
It goes well with him when he has heard.
When he is old has reached veneration.
He will speak likewise to his children,
Renewing the teaching of his father.
Every man teaches as he acts,
He will speak to the children,
So that they will speak to their children:
Set an example, don’t give offense,
If justice stands firm your children will live.
As to the first who gets into trouble,
When they see (it) people will say:
“That is just like him.”
And will say to what they hear:
"That’s just like him too.”
To see everyone is to satisfy the many,
Riches are useless without them.
Don’t take a word and then bring it back,
Don’t put one thing in place of another.
Beware of loosening the cords in you,
Lest a wise man say:
“Listen, if you want to endure in the mouth of the hearers.
Speak after you have mastered the craft!”
If you speak to good purpose.
All your affairs will be in place.
Conceal your heart, control your mouth.
Then you will be known among the officials;
Be quite exact before your lord.
Act so that one will say to him: "He’s the son of that one.”
And those who hear it will say:
“Blessed is he to whom he was born!”
Be deliberate when you speak,
So as to say things that count;
Then the officials who listen will say:
“How good is what comes from his mouth!”
Act so that your lord will say of you:
“How good is he whom his father taught;
When he came forth from his body.
He told him all that was in (his) mind,
And he does even more than he was told,”
Lo, the good son, the gift of god,
Exceeds what is told him by his lord,
He will do right when his heart is straight.
As you succeed me, sound in your body.
The king content with all that was done.
May you obtain (many) years of life!
Not small is what I did on earth,
I had one hundred and ten years of life
As gift of the king,
Honors exceeding those of the ancestors,
By doing justice for the king.
Until the state of veneration!”
Source: Ancient Egyptian Literature, Volume I: The Old and Middle Kingdoms
“When you drink with a drunkard.
Take when his heart is content.
THE INSTRUCTION ADDRESSED TO KAGEMNI
Papyrus Prisse, pp. 1-2
Fragment”
Source: Ancient Egyptian Literature, Volume I: The Old and Middle Kingdoms
“To every action there is a response.
While generation succeeds generation,
God who know's characters is hidden;
One can not oppose the lord of the hand,
He reaches all that the eyes can see.”
Source: Ancient Egyptian Literature, Volume I: The Old and Middle Kingdoms
“The dignities of Unas will not be taken from him,
For he has swallowed the knowledge of every god;
Unas's lifetime is forever, his limit is eternity
In his dignity of "If-he-likes-he-does if-he-hates-he-does-not,"
As he dwells in lightland for all eternity.
Lo, their power is in Unas's belly,
Their spirits are before Unas as broth of the gods,
Cooked for Unas from their bones.
Lo, their power is with Unas,
Their shadows (are taken) from their owners,
For Unas is of those who risen is risen, lasting lasts.
Not can evildoers harm Unas's chosen seat
Among the living in this land for all eternity!
Utterances 273·274
Antechamber, East WaU
The king feeds on the gods”
Source: Ancient Egyptian Literature, Volume I: The Old and Middle Kingdoms
“Lo, great and small say, 'I wish i were dead’
Little children say, “He should not have made me live!”
Lo, children of nobles are dashed against wails,
Infants are put out on high ground.”
Source: Ancient Egyptian Literature, Volume I: The Old and Middle Kingdoms
“No sleeper whom you have wakened,
None downcast whom you have roused,
None whose shut mouth you have opened, None ignorant whom you gave knowledge. None foolish whom you have taught.”
Source: Ancient Egyptian Literature, Volume I: The Old and Middle Kingdoms
“When you walk behind officials,
Follow at a proper distance.
When you enter a man's house.
And he’s busy with someone before you,
Sit with your hand over your mouth.
Do not ask him for anything,
Only do as he tells you,
Beware of rushing to the table
Be weighty and very dignified,
Do not speak of secret things,
Who hides his thought shields himself.
Do not say things recklessly,
When you sit with one who’s hostile.”
Source: Ancient Egyptian Literature, Volume I: The Old and Middle Kingdoms
“A man’s mouth can save him.
His speech makes one forgive him.”
Source: Ancient Egyptian Literature, Volume I: The Old and Middle Kingdoms
“May you cross the sky united in the dark,
May you rise in Iightland, the place in which you shine!
Horus, go proclaim to the powers of the east
And their spirits:
This Unas comes, a spirit indestructible,
Whom he wishes to live will live,
Whom he wishes to die will die!
UNAS PYRAMID TEXTS
Utterance 217
Sarcophagus Chamber, South Wall
The king joins the sun-god”
Source: Ancient Egyptian Literature, Volume I: The Old and Middle Kingdoms
“Rise up,
0 Teti, you shall not die!
Utterance 373
Antechamber, West Wall
The king is raised from his tomb”
Source: Ancient Egyptian Literature, Volume I: The Old and Middle Kingdoms
“This Unas comes, a spirit indestructible,
If he wishes you to die, you will die,
If he wishes you to live, you will live!
UNAS PYRAMID TEXTS
Utterance 217
Sarcophagus Chamber, South Wall
The king joins the sun-god”
Source: Ancient Egyptian Literature, Volume I: The Old and Middle Kingdoms
“The sundisk, covered, shines not for people to see,
One cannot live when clouds conceal.”
Source: Ancient Egyptian Literature, Volume I: The Old and Middle Kingdoms
“If one fights in the arena forgetful of the past,
Success will elude him who ignores what he should know.”
Source: Ancient Egyptian Literature, Volume I: The Old and Middle Kingdoms
“Lo, none is allowed to take his goods with him,
Lo, none who departs comes back again!”
Source: Ancient Egyptian Literature, Volume I: The Old and Middle Kingdoms
“Don’t brood on what has not yet come, nor rejoice at what has not yet happened.
The patient man prolongs friendship;
he who destroys a case will not be trusted.”
Source: Ancient Egyptian Literature, Volume I: The Old and Middle Kingdoms
“Do not tell lies against your mother,
the magistrates abhor it.
The descendant who does what is good.
His actions all emulate the past.
Do not consort with a rowdy.
It harms you when one hears of it.
If you have eaten three loaves, drunk two jugs of beer, and the belly is not sated, restrain it!
When another eats, don't stand there, beware of rushing to the table!”
Source: Ancient Egyptian Literature, Volume I: The Old and Middle Kingdoms
“This peasant said;
He who should rule by law commands theft, Who then will punish crime?
The straightener of another’s crookedness Supports another’s crime.”
Source: Ancient Egyptian Literature, Volume I: The Old and Middle Kingdoms
“Now this peasant came to petition him a ninth time; he said: “O high steward, my lord! The tongue is men’s stand-balance. It is the balance that detects deficiency. Punish him who should be punished, and none shall equal your rectitude. When falsehood walks it goes astray.”
Source: Ancient Egyptian Literature, Volume I: The Old and Middle Kingdoms
“The bet comes to the place it knows,
It does not miss its former path,
No kind of magic holds it back
It comes to those who give it water.”
Source: Ancient Egyptian Literature, Volume I: The Old and Middle Kingdoms
“Parrying a blow before it strikes,
Giving a commission to one who is skillful.”
Source: Ancient Egyptian Literature, Volume I: The Old and Middle Kingdoms
“Awake in peace, you of back-turned face, in peace,
You who looks backward, in peace,
Sky's ferryman, in peace,
Nut's ferryman, in peace,
Ferryman of gods, in peacel!
Unas has come to you
That you may ferry him in this boat in which you ferry the gods.
Unas has come to his side as a god comes to his side,
Unas has come to his shore as a god comes to his shore.
No one alive accuses Unas,
No dead accuses Unas;
No goose accuses Unas,
No ox accuses Unas
If you fail to ferry Unas,
He will leap and sit on the wing of Thoth.s
Then he will ferry Unas to that side
Utterance 270
Antechamber, South Wall
The king summons the ferryman”
Source: Ancient Egyptian Literature, Volume I: The Old and Middle Kingdoms
“But your laziness leads you astray;
your greed makes you dumb;
your gluttony makes enemies for you.”
Source: Ancient Egyptian Literature, Volume I: The Old and Middle Kingdoms
“A man who saw has turned blind,
A hearer deaf,
A leader now leads astray!”
Source: Ancient Egyptian Literature, Volume I: The Old and Middle Kingdoms
“He who could not find plow-oxen owns cattle.”
Source: Ancient Egyptian Literature, Volume I: The Old and Middle Kingdoms
“The arbitrator is a robber,
The peacemaker makes grief,
He who should soothe makes sore.
But he who cheats diminishes justice!”
Source: Ancient Egyptian Literature, Volume I: The Old and Middle Kingdoms
“As watercourse is replaced by watercourse,
So no river allows itself to be concealed.
It breaks the channel in which it was hidden.”
Source: Ancient Egyptian Literature, Volume I: The Old and Middle Kingdoms
“Now this peasant came petition him an eighth time; he said: “0 high steward, my lord! Men fall low through greed. The rapacious man lacks success ; his success is loss. Though you are greedy it does nothing for you. Though you steal you do not profit. Let a man defend his rightful cause!”
Source: Ancient Egyptian Literature, Volume I: The Old and Middle Kingdoms
“The descendant who does what is good.
His actions all emulate the past.
Do not consort with a rowdy.
It harms you when one hears of it.”
Source: Ancient Egyptian Literature, Volume I: The Old and Middle Kingdoms
“I have come here from my city,
I have descended from my nome;
I have built a house, set up (its) doors,
I have dug a pool, planted sycamores.
The king praised me,
My father made a will for me.
I was one worthy ---
One beloved of his father,
Praised by his mother,
Whom all his brothers loved.
I gave bread to the hungry,
Clothing to the naked,
I brought the boatless to land.
O you who live upon earth,
Who shall pass by this tomb
Going north or going south,
Who shall say: "a thousand loaves and beer jugs
For the owner of this tomb,"
I shall watch over them in the necropolis.
I am an excellent equipped spirit (akh),
A lector-priest who knows his speech.
As for any man who enters this tomb unclean,
I shall seize him by the neck like a bird,
He will be judged for it by the great god!
I was one who spoke fairly, who repeated what was liked,
I never spoke evilly against any man to his superior,
Never did I judge between two [contenders]
In a manner which deprived a son of his father's legacy.
Harkhuf”
Source: Ancient Egyptian Literature, Volume I: The Old and Middle Kingdoms
“The scribe is regarded as one who hears,
For the hearer becomes a doer.”
Source: Ancient Egyptian Literature, Volume I: The Old and Middle Kingdoms
“The affairs of the people have gone to ruin.
See, all the craftsmen, they do not work,
The land’s foes have despoiled its craftsmen.”
Source: Ancient Egyptian Literature, Volume I: The Old and Middle Kingdoms
“Lo, [scribes] are slain,
Their writings stolen,
Woe is me for the grief of this time!”
Source: Ancient Egyptian Literature, Volume I: The Old and Middle Kingdoms
“Unas is lord of seed who takes wives from their husbands,
Whenever Unas wishes, as his heart urges.
Utterance 317
Entrance to the Antechamber, West Wall
The king appears as the crocodile-god Sobk”
Source: Ancient Egyptian Literature, Volume I: The Old and Middle Kingdoms
“A man asked for an early meal.
His wife said: “It is for supper.”
Source: Ancient Egyptian Literature, Volume I: The Old and Middle Kingdoms
“When a man remains over after death,
His deeds are set beside him as treasure, And being yonder lasts forever.
A fool is who does what they reprove!”
Source: Ancient Egyptian Literature, Volume I: The Old and Middle Kingdoms
“Truly, he who is yonder will be a wise man.”
Source: Ancient Egyptian Literature, Volume I: The Old and Middle Kingdoms
“THE INSTRUCTION OF PTAHHOTEP
Instruction of the Mayor of the city, the Vizier Ptahhotep, under the Majesty of King Isesi, who lives for all eternity. The mayor of the city, the vizier Ptahhotep, said:
O king, my lord!
Age is here, old age arrived.
Feebleness came, weakness grows,
Childtike one sleeps all day.
Eyes are dim, ears deaf.
Strength is waning through weariness,
The mouth, silenced, speaks not,
The heart, void, recalls not the past,
The bones ache throughout.
Good has become evil, all taste is gone,
What age does to people is evil in everything.
The nose, clogged, breathes not,
Painful are standing and sitting.
May this servant be ordered to make a staff of old age,
So as to teil him the words of those who heard,
The ways of the ancestors,
Who have listened to the gods.
May such be done for you.
So that strife may be banned from the people,
And the Two Shores may serve you!
Said the majesty of this god:
Instruct him then in the sayings of the past,
May he become a model for the children of the great,
May obedience enter him,
And the devotion of him who speaks to him,
No one is born wise.
Beginning of the formulations of excellent discourse spoken by the Prince, Count, God's Father, God's beloved, Eldest Son of the King, of his body, Mayor of the city and Vizier, Ptahhotep, in instructing the ignorant in knowledge and in the standard of excellent discourse, as profit for him who will hear, as woe to him who would neglect them. He spoke to his son:
Don’t be proud of your knowledge.
Consult the ignorant and the wise;
The limits of art are not reached,
No artist’s skills are perfect;
Good speech is more hidden than greenstone,
Yet may be found among maids at the grindstones.
If you meet a disputant in action,
A powerful man, superior to you.
Fold your arms, bend your back,
To flout him will not make him agree with you.
Make little of the evil speech
By not opposing him while he's in action;
He will be called an ignoramus,
Your self-control will match his pile (of words).
If you meet a disputant in action
Who is your equal, on your level,
You will make your worth exceed his by silence,
While he is speaking evilly,
There will be much talk by the hearers.
Your name will be good in the mind of the magistrates.
If you meet a disputant in action,
A poor man, not your equal.
Do not attack him because he is weak,
Let him alone, he will confute himself.
Do not answer him to relieve your heart,
Do not vent yourself against your opponent,
Wretched is he who injures a poor man,
One will wish to do what you desire.
You will beat him through the magistrates’ reproof.
If you are a man who leads,
Who controls the affairs of the many,
Seek out every beneficent deed,
That your conduct may be blameless.
Great is justice, lasting in effect,
Unchallenged since the time of Osiris.
One punishes the transgressor of laws,
Though the greedy overlooks this;
Baseness may seize riches,
Yet crime never lands its wares;
In the end it is justice that lasts,
Man says: “It is my father's ground.”
Do not scheme against people,
God punishes accordingly:
If a man says: “I shall live by it,”
He will lack bread for his mouth.
If a man says: “I shall be rich'
He will have to say: “My cleverness has snared me.”
If he says: “I will snare for myself,”
He will be unable to say: “I snared for my profit.”
If a man says: "I will rob someone,”
He will end being given to a stranger.
People’s schemes do not prevail,
God’s command is what prevails;
Live then in the midst of peace,
What they give comes by itself.”
Source: Ancient Egyptian Literature, Volume I: The Old and Middle Kingdoms
“Ladies suffer like maidservants.”
Source: Ancient Egyptian Literature, Volume I: The Old and Middle Kingdoms
“Lo, all maidservants are rude in their speech, When the mistress speaks it irks the servants.”
Source: Ancient Egyptian Literature, Volume I: The Old and Middle Kingdoms
“Wealthy is he who is rich in his nobles.
Speak truth in your house.”
Source: Ancient Egyptian Literature, Volume I: The Old and Middle Kingdoms
“Earth’s rightness lies in justice
Speak not falsely, you are great.
Act not tightly, you are weighty
Speak not falsely, you are the balance.”
Source: Ancient Egyptian Literature, Volume I: The Old and Middle Kingdoms
“No hasty man attains excellence,
No impatient man is leaned upon.”
Source: Ancient Egyptian Literature, Volume I: The Old and Middle Kingdoms
“Good nature is a man’s heaven,
The cursing of the [furious] is painful.
If you are skilled in speech, you will win,
The tongue is [a king’s] sword;
Speaking is stronger than all fighting,
The skillful is not overcome.”
Source: Ancient Egyptian Literature, Volume I: The Old and Middle Kingdoms