The Instruction of Ptah-Hotep and the Instruction of Ke'Gemni
and courtly; but whether law-abiding is another matter. We know
nothing about their laws, but we know {37} that the law-courts were
busy, and that legal officials were numerous; and we know, further,
that their duplicity and lack of straightforwardness were proverbial
among the Greeks and Romans, and persists to this day.
I have noted above the resemblance of the Egyptian Instructions to the
Jewish didactic books (_Proverbs and Ecclesiastes_ in the _Old
Testament_, _Wisdom of Solomon_ and _Ecclesiasticus_ in the
_Apocrypha_); this will be obvious to all readers. Compare, e.g., the
opening of Ptah-hotep (Sec.B) with the opening of Proverbs. It is not
necessary to point out all the parallels in detail.
I come, lastly, to speak of other translations.[19] The first into any
language was that of the Rev. D. I. Heath, Vicar of Brading, Isle of
Wight. This version, which first appeared in 1856, was ruined by the
translator's theory that the Prisse Papyrus contained references to the
Exodus, and was written by the 'Shepherd-King,' Aphobis. How he
obtained that name from Ptah-hotep, how he read the Exodus into his
book, or how he got three-fourths of his translation, it is not
possible to say. Written in a style which is in itself a matter for
decipherment, it is full of absurdities and gratuitous mistakes, and
{38} is entirely worthless. It is one more instance of the lamentable
results that arise when a person with a preconceived Biblical theory
comes into contact with Egyptian records. In the following year M.
Chabas did part of the papyrus into French, and, as might be expected
of an Egyptologist of such attainments, his version was infinitely more
accurate than the foregoing. In 1869 Herr Lauth made a
translation--also partial--into Latin, and in 1884; M. Philippe Virey
published a careful study and complete translation of both books. His
rendering[20] was subsequently translated into English and published
(with some alterations) in _Records of the Past_, 1890, and has
remained the only complete translation in English. It has been taken
bodily (even the footnotes) into Myer's _Oldest Books in the World_,
and has been put into charming verse by Canon Rawnsley in his _Notes
for the Nile_. Thus it appears to be, in a sense, the standard
version. Nevertheless, it leaves very much to be desired in point of
accuracy, although the general sense of each section is usually caught.
Of later years Mr. Griffith has done important work on this text, and I
am indebted to his translations for several readings.
As regards the version here offered, I will only say that it has been
done with considerable care, {39} without prejudice, and, it is
thought, in accordance with scientific methods of translation; and that
it has been compared with all previous renderings, and will be found to
be, on the whole, the most accurate that has yet appeared.
And now I will leave Ptah-hotep to speak for himself. It may be
thought that he has been introduced at too great length; but I would
point out that his book has been strangely overlooked by the educated
public hitherto, although it would be difficult to over-estimate its
importance, to literature as the oldest complete book known, to ethics
and theology as the earliest expression of the mystery we name
Conscience, and to lovers of antiquity as one of the most instructive
and touching relics of a people and a power that once were great and
are now brought to nothing. By a happy chance the words of our sage
have been justified, in that he said, '_No word that hath here been set
down shall cease out of the land for ever_.' Would indeed that we had
more of such books as this, whereby we may a little lighten the
darkness that lies behind the risings of a million suns; and learn how
little the human heart, and the elements of human intercourse, alter
throughout the ages. And what of the other writers of that time, whose
works and whose very names are entirely swept away? To this there is
no better answer made than in the lamentation made by the harper close
upon five {40} thousand years ago, which was written up in the tomb of
King 'Entef:
_Those that built them tombs_, he sang, _have now no resting-place.
Lo! what of their deeds? I have heard the words of Yemhotep and of
Hardedef, whose sayings men repeat continually. Behold! where are
their abodes? Their walls are over-thrown, and their places are not,
even as though they had not been._'
The burden of Egypt.
BATTISCOMBE G. GUNN.
3, PARK HILL ROAD,
CROYDON.
[1] Much ingenuity has been expended to show that Egyptian manners and
customs, books, and other things, were "much the same" as our own, as
though the supposed similarity reflected any credit either on them or
on us. Except in customs which are common to all times and places, as
drinking beer, writing love-letters, making wills, going to school, and
other things antecedently probable, the Egyptian life can show very few
parallels to the life of to-day.
[2] The monuments leave no doubt of this. Pen and ink were used in the
First Dynasty, and speech had been reduced to visible signs before that.
[3] About B.C. 1770. In all Egyptian dates given in this book I follow
Professor Petrie's chronology.
[4] These are round figures, of course, and in the case of Solomon and
Moses traditional dates. Modern criticism places _Genesis_ and
_Proverbs_ much later than 1500 and 1000 B.C.
[5] See Appendix for the literature of this papyrus.
[6] These were kings of the Eleventh Dynasty, about 2986 B.C.
[7] In the translation these divisions are indicated, for purposes of
reference, by numbers and letters, which are not, of course, in the
original. So also in the Instruction of Amenemhe'et (Appendix).
[8] Pwenet: the identification is not certain.
[9] Fragments of another are in the British Museum.
[10] It has been thought to be as late as the Seventeenth (about 1600
B.C.), but the balance of opinion favours the above-mentioned period.
[11] The inscriptions and sculptures from this tomb have not yet been
published, but a work dealing with it will shortly appear. The above
titles, excepting the first, are from Lepsius, _Denkmaeler aus Aegypten
und Aethiopien_, Abth. II. 48, Berlin, 1849-68.
[12] Called Ptah-hotep I. by Egyptologists. For a description of his
tomb, see Mariette, A., _Les Mastabas de l'Ancien Empire_, Paris, 1889,
D. 62. For the other Ptah-hotep under Isosi, see Quibell, J. E., and
Griffith, F. L., _Egyptian Research Account; The Ramesseum and the Tomb
of Ptah-Hotep_, London, 1898. Also Davies, N. de G., and Griffith, F.
L., _Egypt Exploration Fund; The Mastaba of Ptahhetep and Akhethetep at
Saqqara_, 2 vols., London, 1900, 1901. The little figure on the cover
of this book is from this tomb.
[13] _The Wisdom of the Son of Sirach_, chap. xliv.
[14] The Egyptians were monogamists at this time, and the wife enjoyed
social equality with her husband.
[15] Page 29, footnote.
[16] _Noter_.
[17] This is an arbitrary name not existing in the original. It would
be better named 'The Declaration of Innocence.'
[18] It has been thought by many Egyptologists that 'the God' mentioned
in this and other texts is a nameless monotheistic abstraction
transcending all named gods. Although this theory has the support of
many great names, I venture to say that the evidence for such an
important doctrine is in the highest degree unsatisfactory.
[19] The books mentioned here are set forth in detail in the
Bibliography.
[20] Only of Ptah-hotep.
{41}
THE INSTRUCTION OF PTAH-HOTEP
The Ethics of Argument--Manners for Guests--From Father to Son--A Just
Judge--The Treatment of Servants--Duties of the Great--The Test of
Friendship--The Beauty of Obedience--One Generation to Another--Whom
the King Honoureth
The Instruction of the Governor of his City, the Vizier, Ptah-hotep, in
the Reign of the King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Isosi, living for ever,
to the end of Time.
A. The Governor of his City, the Vizier, Ptah-hotep, he said: 'O
Prince, my Lord, the end of life is at hand; old age descendeth [upon
me]; feebleness cometh, and childishness is renewed. He [that is old]
lieth down in misery every day. The eyes are small; the ears are deaf.
Energy is diminished, the heart hath no rest. The mouth is silent, and
he speaketh no word; the heart stoppeth, and he remembereth not
yesterday. The bones are painful throughout the body; good turneth
unto evil. All taste departeth. These things doeth old age for
mankind, being evil in all things. The nose is stopped, and he
breatheth not for weakness (?), whether standing or sitting.
'Command me, thy servant, therefore, to make over my princely authority
[to my son]. Let me speak unto him the words of them that hearken to
the counsel of the men of old time; those that {42} hearkened unto the
gods. I pray thee, let this thing be done, that sin may be banished
from among persons of understanding, that thou may enlighten the lands.'
Said the Majesty of this God:[1] 'Instruct him, then, in the words of
old time; may he be a wonder unto the children of princes, that they
may enter and hearken with him. Make straight all their hearts; and
discourse with him, without causing weariness.'
B. Here begin the proverbs of fair speech, spoken by the Hereditary
Chief, the Holy Father,[2] Beloved of the God, the Eldest Son of the
King, of his body, the Governor of his City, the Vezier, Ptah-hotep,
when instructing the ignorant in the knowledge of exactness in
fair-speaking; the glory of him that obeyeth, the shame of him that
transgresseth them.
He said unto his son:
1. Be not proud because thou art learned; but discourse with the
ignorant man, as with the sage. For no limit can be set to skill,
neither is there any craftsman that possesseth full advantages. Fair
speech is more rare than the emerald that is found by slave-maidens on
the pebbles.
2. If thou find an arguer talking, one that is well disposed and wiser
than thou, let thine arms {43} fall, bend thy back,[3] be not angry
with him if he agree (?) not with thee. Refrain from speaking evilly;
oppose him not at any time when he speaketh. If he address thee as one
ignorant of the matter, thine humbleness shall bear away his
contentions.
3. If thou find an arguer talking, thy fellow, one that is within thy
reach, keep not silence when he saith aught that is evil; so shalt thou
be wiser than he. Great will be the applause on the part of the
listeners, and thy name shall be good in the knowledge of princes.
4. If thou find an arguer talking, a poor man, that is to say not
thine equal, be not scornful toward him because he is lowly. Let him
alone; then shall he confound himself. Question him not to please
thine heart, neither pour out thy wrath upon him that is before thee;
it is shameful to confuse a mean mind. If thou be about to do that
which is in thine heart, overcome it as a thing rejected of princes.
5. If thou be a leader, as one directing the conduct of the multitude,
endeavour always to be gracious, that thine own conduct be without
defect. Great is Truth, appointing a straight path; never hath it been
overthrown since the {44} reign of Osiris.[4] One that oversteppeth
the laws shall be punished. Overstepping is by the covetous man; but
degradations (?) bear off his riches, for the season of his evil-doing
ceaseth not. For he saith, 'I will obtain by myself for myself,' and
saith not, 'I will obtain because I am allowed.' But the limits of
justice are steadfast; it is that which a man repeateth from his father.
6. Cause not fear among men; for [this] the God punisheth likewise.
For there is a man that saith, 'Therein is life'; and he is bereft of