The Wisdom of Ptahhotep 2,300 BC

The Wisdom of Ptahhotep 2,300 BC

The Ancient Egyptians engaged in construction projects on a mbuttive scale unmatched by any society since.

The Chief Justice

Follow Your Heart

1 Follow your heart as long as you live,

Do no more than is required.

Don't waste time on daily cares,

beyond providing for your household.

When wealth has come, follow your heart.

Wealth does no good if one is sad or glum!

Conduct

2 If you want perfect conduct,

To be free from every evil,

Guard against the vice of selfishness:

a grievous sickness without cure.

There is no treatment for it.

It embroils fathers, mothers,

brothers and sisters.

Wives and husbands argue because of selfishness;

it is a compound of all evils,

a bundle of all hateful things.

People do better with goodness and love, not selfishness.

He who walks with selflessness and love;

He will have a good life.

The greedy have problems in life.

3 Be generous as long as you live.

What leaves the storehouse does not return;

It is basic necessities of life which are fought over,

One whose belly is empty is an accuser;

One deprived becomes an opponent.

Don't get involved in selfishness.

Kindness is a man's memorial,

for the years after the action.

4 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 precious than diamonds,

yet is found among even children.

5 Do not repeat a bad story about anyone,

nor should you listen to it.

It is the spouting of the hot-bellied.

Report a thing observed, not heard,

If it is minor, don't say anything.

If it is a serious crime, report it honestly.

The courts and judges know truth and honesty.

If an arrest or buttet seizure is ordered and carried out,

hatred will arise against those carrying this out;

Ignore that hatred and do not involve with it.

Gossip and hatred is like a fake story that tries to get in the way.

Forget it.

6 Do not plunder a neighbor's house.

Do not steal the goods of someone,

lest he denounce you before you are heard.

A quarreler is a mindless person.

If he is known as an aggressor,

he will have trouble in the neighborhood.

Trust

7 When you are among people doing business,

gain supporters by being trustworthy;

The trusted man who does not vent his belly's speech,

he will himself become a leader.

A man who can do things, what is he like ?

Your name is good, you are not maligned.

Your body is nice, your face is innocent.

Someone praises you, without your knowing.

He whose heart obeys his belly and follows selfishness,

puts contempt of himself in place of love.

His heart is empty, his compbuttion is little.

8 If you are a man of trust,

sent by one great man to another,

adhere to the nature of him who sent you.

Give his message as he said it.

Guard against nasty, derogatory speech,

which embroils one against another.

Keep to the truth, don't exceed it,

If you hear hatred or some outburst, do not repeat it.

No retaliation against someone who honestly reports a crime

9 A witness to a crime must report a crime honestly without faltering,

A man should make a report to the proper council.

If he is fluent in his speech,

it will not be hard for him to make an honest report,

nor will he be answered, "Who is he to say this?"

As to the wealthy criminal, his affairs will fail,

if he plans to retaliate against the person reporting the crime,

he should refrain from this.

In Public

10 He who uses elbows to push people is not helpful.

11 If you are among guests

at a table of one greater than you,

take what is set before you.

Look at what is before you,

don't look at him too much.

12 Don't speak to him until he speaks to you.

One does not know what may displease.

Speak only when he speaks to you,

Then your words will please the heart.

13 If you are in the lobby,

Stand patiently and wait in line,

as was buttigned you when you arrived.

Do not push to get in - you will be turned back.

Good is the face of the person who enters when he is supposed to.

Spacious the seat of him who has been called.

Every entrance and lobby has rules, one person at a time.

Humility

14 Do not boast at your neighbors' side.

One has great respect for the silent man.

A man of good character is a man of wealth.

If someone steals, he is a thief, and this can be shown in court.

Don't embarrbutt someone who is childless,

nor mock on someone without children.

There is many a father who has grief;

mothers with children have problems too.

15 If you are poor, work for a wealthy man so you can learn things.

Do not recall if he once was poor.

Don't be arrogant toward your boss,

knowing his former state of poverty.

Respect him for what he has accrued,

for wealth does not come by itself.

It is their law for him whom they love,

His gain, he earned it himself.

Friendship

16 As ill will comes from opposition,

goodwill and cooperation will instead increase love.

17 Know who helps you, and you will prosper.

Don't be mean toward your friends,

they are a person's livelihood,

Friends are more valuable than money.

For what belongs to one, belongs to another.

The good character of a son is profit to him;

Good nature is a memorial.

18 If you want to know the character of a friend,

don't ask others about him, talk to him yourself.

Deal with him alone, so as not to be confused.

Take time to learn how someone is.

If there was a dispute, calmly talk to the person about it.

Be compbuttionate when you ask questions.

If he forgot what happened in the dispute,

or if he says things that annoy you,

still be compbuttionate with him. Don't get mad or angry.

Be restrained, don't let your mouth fly.

Don't answer with hostility,

Don't depart from his company, and don't argue with him either.

Gentle honesty and forgiveness solves all disputes.

19 If you want friendship to endure in the house you enter,

as master, brother, or friend.

In whatever place you enter,

beware of frivolous love with women!

Unhappy is the place where it is done.

Unwelcome is he who intrudes on them.

Men who do this are turned away from good paths.

A short moment of pbuttion is like a dream,

serious problems and headaches can arise from illicit love.

Family

20 When you prosper and have a house,

and love your wife,

put food on the table, buy her nice clothes.

Ointment soothes her body.

Gladden her heart as long as you live.

She is filled with love.

Do not argue with her.

Do not get her angry about anything.

Her eyes are filled with merriment.

Give, thus you will make a happy home for her.

21 If you are a man of worth

and have children by the grace of god,

They will be straight, they take after their parents.

Your children will take good care of your possessions.

Do for them all that is good,

They are your children, from your love.

Don't withdraw your heart from your children, or deny them things.

A child sometimes may make trouble.

If a child strays and neglects your counsel,

and disobeys all that is said,

his mouth spouting evil speech,

punish him for his talk, so he stops it.

Leadership

22 If you are a boss or group leader,

who controls the affairs of the many,

Seek out every good deed,

that your conduct may be blameless.

Great is justice, lasting in effect.

Unchallenged for all time.

One punishes the transgressor of laws,

though the greedy and selfish overlook this.

Baseness and perverseness may temporarily steal money,

yet crime never keeps what it steals.

In the end it is justice that lasts,

We say: "God's laws are beautiful and unchangeable.''

23 If you are mighty, gain respect through knowledge,

and through gentleness of speech.

Don't demand things when you speak, except only when needed.

He who provokes people gets into trouble.

Don't be haughty, lest you be humbled,

Don't be mute, lest you be chided.

When you answer one who is fuming,

remain calm, avert your face and control yourself.

The flame of the hot-heart sweeps across.

He who steps gently, his path is easy.

He who worries all day has no happy moment.

He who plays and wastes time all day cannot keep house.

24 If you are a man who leads,

listen calmly to the speech of one who pleads.

Don't stop him from pouring out his heart

of everything he planned to tell you.

A man in distress wants to pour out his heart,

more than that his case be won.

When someone denies a request,

someone says: "Why did he say no ?"

Not all one pleads can be granted,

but a good hearing soothes the heart.

25 Punish firmly and chastise soundly,

so the prosecution of crime becomes an example.

Punishment when there is no crime,

turns the false accuser into a criminal.

Respect superiors

26 If you are a man of worth

who sits in his employer's advisory committee,

concentrate on excellence.

Your silence is better than chatter.

Speak when you know you have a solution.

It is the send who should speak in council;

Speaking is harder than all other work,

he who understands it makes it serve.

27 Don't oppose a great man's action.

Don't vex the heart of one who is burdened.

28 Give grace and respect to your superior,

your overseer from the palace;

Then your house will endure in its wealth,

your rewards in their right place.

Wretched is he who opposes a superior.

One lives as long as he is mild,

baring the arm does not hurt it.

Disputes

29 If you meet a disputant in action,

a powerful man, superior to you,

Fold your arms, be quiet and respect him.

To argue will not make him agree with you.

Make little of evil speech,

by not opposing him.

He will be called an ignoramus.

Your self-control will match his pile of words.

30 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 minds of the magistrates.

31 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.

The Value of Wisdom

32 If you listen to these sayings,

all your affairs in life will go well.

This wisdom has great worth,

and goodness continues in the speech of men,

because of its immense value.

Related sites Egyptian Words of Wisdom

Quotes from the Wisdom of Amenemope