The Precepts of Ptah-Hotep
c. 2200 BC
Precepts of the prefect, the lord Ptah-hotep,
under the Majesty of the King of the South and North,
Assa, living eternally forever.
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 find a disputant while he is hot, do not despise him because you are not of the
same opinion. Be not angry against him when he is wrong; away with such a thing. He fights
against himself; require him not further to flatter your feelings. Do not amuse yourself
with the spectacle which you have before you; it is odious, it is mean, it is the part of
a despicable soul so to do. As soon as you let yourself be moved by your feelings, combat
this desire as a thing that is reproved by 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.
Source:
From: Charles F. Horne, The Sacred Books and Early Literature of the East (New York:
Parke, Austin, & Lipscomb, 1917), Vol. II: Egypt, pp. 62-78.
Scanned by: J. S. Arkenberg, Dept. of History, Cal. State Fullerton.
