Instructions of Amenemope

THE TEACHING OF AMEN-EM-APT,

THE SON OF KA-NEKHT.

TRANSLATION.

[The TITLE OF THE WORK AND ITS OBJECT.]

1. (Col. I). THE BEGINNING OF THE TEACHING

CONCERNING LIFE (i.e., of how to live),

2. [and of] the testimonies (or, admonitions) of

(i.e., which lead to) safe conduct,

[and of] the directions for behaviour set

forth by the AgAotu (i.e., the high officials

who had the privilege of entering the

council chambers of kings and governors),

4. [and of] the commandments! of the SMERU

(i.e., the friends [of the king], or high

officers of state).

[This Teaching and the precepts con-

tained therein will enable a man]

5. to know how to return a suitable answer to

him that has spoken to him,

6. [and] to carry back a [satisfactory] report

to the man who has despatched him on

a mission,

7. [and] will make him to follow a straight

course on the roads of life,

1 The testimonies, directions for behaviour, and command-

ments mentioned in the above lines are the equivalents of

the testimonies, precepts, and righteous judgements spoken

of by David in Psalm cxix, and the “ instruction of wisdom,

justice and judgement and equity,” referred to by Solomon

in Proverbs, Chap. I.

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17,

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[and] will enable him to maintain his position

of safety upon the earth,

[and] will cause his heart to descend (or,

enter) its case,

[and] make him steer his course away from

evil (or, the evil one),

[and] make him to deliver himself! from

the mouth of the common folk (?)

[and] to be applauded by the mouth of men

of understanding.

[AMEN-EM-APT AND HIS TITLES.]

[This Teaching was]

made (i.e., written) by the Director of the

Crops, who was highly skilled and expe-

rienced in his profession,

Scribe of the grain? of Upper and Lower

Egypt,

Overseer of the barley crops, heaping up the

grain to overflowing in the divine granary

(or, granary of the god),

Officer in chief in charge of the harvests of

his lord,

Registrary of the arable lands [and] of the

coming in of the gifts (or, offerings) as

ordered by the Law

in (?) the Great Name of His Majesty,

Custodian (?) of the funerary memorials on

the boundaries of the Aakhut (i.e., of the

ancestral spirits whose bodies were buried

in a special quarter of the necropolis, or

merely the blessed dead in general).

1 Literally, “‘ to save him.”

2 Or,

perhaps, “Grain scribe,” a well-known title of an

agricultural official.

142 THE TEACHING OF AMEN-EM-APT

20. (Col. II). Defender of the King in his

edicts of government,

21. Performer of the office of deputy (Wazir ?)

of Kam (Egypt),

22. Scribe of the various grains [that formed]

the divine offerings of all the gods,

23. Allotter of farms to the peasants [who wished

to become tenants on the royal estates],

24. Overseer of the barley crops, Purveyor of

supplies of grain,

25. Supplier of the Ahat (palace or tomb ?) with

stores of barley,

26. GER MAA? of the town of Teni® and of the

town of Nifu-ur,*

27. Reporter of the town of Apu® (Panopolis),

28. Master of the Necropolis by the town

Amentt® [and] of the town of Sen,’

1 Presumably of Memphis, Abydos and Thebes, but his

effective overlordship was probably limited to that part of

Egypt which in later days was called the Thebaid.

2 I.e., a real GER, not a titular GER. The meaning of ger

is “‘ to be silent, to hold one’s peace.” It may be the religious

title of the head of some form of the Egyptian Religion, and

if this be so, the use of maa in connection with it suggests

that this title was sometimes bestowed upon men honorifically.

The inscriptions speak of a “‘ real royal scribe,” 1.¢., a scribe

who could and did work as a scribe, and also of a “‘ real royal

kinsman,”’ meaning a man of the same blood as the king,

and not an honorary kinsman. But see above, p. 101.

§ Ten, or Teni, was the capital of the nome of Abydos

in Upper Egypt: it is the ls or @ivs of the Greek writers.

* A quarter of Abydos.

5 Ap, Api, or Apu was the capital of the nome f

(Panopolites) in Upper Egypt ; perhaps = Khem . oes 2

The Greeks called it Panopolis,- and the Copts CARIN,

which is preserved in the modern Arabic name of Akhmim.

6 Translation doubtful. Some pyramid-town on the western

bank of the Nile may be referred to.

’ The famous sanctuary of the god Menu at Panopolis.

29. Master of the sanctuary (?)! of Abydos,

30. AMEN-EM-APT, THE SON OF Ka-NEKHT,

31. whose word is truth, of Nifu-ur.

32. His son is the little one? (youngest ?) of his

children.

33. Overseer of the mysteries of the god

Menti (?)? in the character of Ka-mut-f*

(t.é., the “‘ Bull or husband of his mother ’’).

34. He is the man of least account among his

relatives [and acquaintances],

35. Inductor® of Un-Nefer,®

36. Inductor of Horus upon the throne of his

father,

37. Watcher (?)’ who is in his holy shrine.

38. [Text mutilated. ]

39. (Cov.II1). Surveyor of the Mother of theGod.

40. Inspector of the Black Bulls of the stable (?)

of Menti (?),

41. Defender of the god Menti (?) in his sanc-

tuary.

1 IT cannot complete the transcription of the hieratic text

of this name. Some well-known quarter of Abydos must be

referred to.

2 Or, perhaps, “ least,’ using the word in a depreciatory

sense.

3 J.e., Menu , the Greek Mi. For a list of

some of his forms see my Egyptian Hieroglyphic Dictionary,

. 299.

4 A self-produced and self-existent god who was much

worshipped at Panopolis (Akhmim). He is the Kdpy¢us or

Kapjdis of the Greeks (see Damascius, ed. Wolf, tom. III,

p. 261), and perhaps the Ku7y¢ mentioned by Wessely (Eph.

Gr., p. 20, No. 171). ae

5 Probably the priest whose duty it was to “ bring in”

Un-Nefer.

6 J.e,, the Good or Beneficent Being, a form of Osiris.

7 Or, perhaps, “ inspecting priest.’” The break in the text

makes the transcription of the title doubtful.

pa

144 THE TEACHING OF AMEN-EM-APT

42. Horus as the Truth-speaker, his name of

Maat (his real name ?)},

43. Boy begotten by a nobleman (or, magistrate)

of Ap (Panopolis),

44. Son of the sistrum-bearer and directress of

the singing of the god Shu? and the goddess

Tefnut,®

Powerful of word (i.e., Mistress) in the

College of Horus, [called] Ta-Usrir.

[With the name of the mother of Amen-em-apt

the Introduction to the ‘‘ Teaching,’ which con-

tains the title and object of the work, and the

genealogy and list of offices held by its author,

comes to an end. The “ Teaching ”’ itself begins

with the words :—]

46. He speaks the First CHAPTER.

47. I pray thee to lend me thine ears, hearken

to the things that will be said [by me].

48. I pray thee to give thy mind (or, pay

attention) to the difficult matters which

will be unravelled [by me].

49. The setting of them in thy heart will be

advantageous [to thee],

1 This line suggests that when Amen-em-apt wrote his

Teaching the identity of Menu, or Menti, was absorbed in

that of Horus. The following forms of the dual god are well

known : aN <— , Menu-Horus of the lifted

—~<tom rany - : ag I

arm, NS | 6? Menu-Horus, son of Isis, s

oS, — Menu-Horus, the avenger of his father.

2 He was an emanation of Tem, or Khepera, or Ra, and

the personification of heat, light, and dryness, and the god

of the space between earth and sky.

8 She was an emission of Tem, or Khepera, or Ra, and

the personification of water and moisture of every kind.

-

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54-

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And the rejection of them will be a calamity

{for thee].

I beseech thee to deposit them in the treasure-

house of thy belly.

They will enable thy heart (or, mind) to

tight itself!

When a gale of words is beating hard upon

it, [and]

They will form a guiding support in thy

tongue.

If thou wilt live thy life day by day these

things being in thy heart

Thou wilt find them [beneficial] in the

season of adversity’s trial.

(Col. IV). Thou wilt find my words to be

like a treasure-house of life,

And a source of strength and safety [as

long as thou art] upon the earth.

SECOND CHAPTER.

a

Guard thyself against plundering the poor

man

And from treating with harshness the desti-

tute.

1D

Make not thy hand to turn aside at the

approach of an aged man,

Thou assuming the mouth (i.¢., speech) of a

great man.

1 J.e., they will help the ship of the heart not to overturn

(which is the usual meaning of pena) but to alter its course,

and to sail, if necessary, in the opposite direction.

K

146 THE TEACHING OF AMEN-EM-APT

III.

64. Not ever (i.e., never) let a man be despatched

by thee on a dangerous mission

6s. When thou hast any affection for him who

is to carry it out.

WwW

66. Thou shalt not inflict an injury on him

that has attacked thee

67. When thou art able to return an answer to

him on thine own behalf.

V.

68. The worker of iniquity—abandon him to the

dyke (or, river) bank,

69. His water-flood he will bring [upon] himself.

70. The north wind hurled upon him will bring

to an end in misery his hour (or, period of

life),

71. He will be seized by the raging waters,

72. The Storm fiend will mount on high [and]

the evil crocodiles.

Wk

73. The fiery, hot-headed man—what is he like

to thee ?

74. He shrieks imprecations, his voice soars

upwards into the heights of heaven,

75. The god Aahu (.e., the Moon-god) stands

still in his course, and holds him to be an

abomination.

VII.

76. (Col. V). Work the steering oar, we must

give a passage to the wicked man

1 The translation of the last half of the line is doubtful ;

for wicked man we should perhaps read “the man in evil

case,

77. May not we become ourselves like unto him ?

78. Set him up on his feet, extend to him gladly

thy hand,

79. Commit him to the hands of the God

80. Fill his belly with the bread-cakes of thy

providing.

82. Another “occasion of beneficence is in the

heart of the God,

83. Idleness of the mind is speech [in this case].

84. THIRD CHAPTER.

VIII.

85. Couple not together the chattering man with

the devil Tar (?)

86. When thou canst pierce him in speech.

87. Idle in int [is] the crooked man (?), bow

thyself to the attacker.

ME cr 3 ee [is] speech.

89. A raging wind he rushes forth like a destroy-

ing fire among the reeds.

go. The noisy, hot-headed man in his hour

(.e., when his rage is greatest),

gt. Turn thyself aside from before him, leave

the matter of him

92. To the God [Who] knows how to requite

him.

1 “The God,” pa neter, DK IN ney Amen-em-apt,

like the earlier and later writers of this class of literature,

does not mention the name of any particular god, and “ the

God” to him meant what Al‘All4h means to the Arabs.

In the course of his Teaching he mentions Ra, Aten, and

other gods, but I do not think he is referring to any of them

here. In funerary texts “ the god”’ frequently means Osiris,

but this Teaching is not a funerary text.

K 2

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IOI.

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r06.

107.

1 Some noun seems to be wanting after KAI l mee

Ko

THE TEACHING OF AMEN-EM-APT

EX;

If thou wilt pass the days of thy life

[keeping] these things in thy heart,

Thy children, behold them !

FourRTH CHAPTER.

X.

(Col. VI). Now (or, as for) the noisy, hot-

headed man of the house of the god (or,

temple),

He is like a large, leafy tree planted in the

courtyard [of a temple] ;

Its [leaves]! come to an end (i.e., wither), his

unripe fruit drops off,

Brought when its end has come to the

water-course (?)

It is [cast] into the water, and carried away

far from its place,

The flame of fire is its winding-sheet (or,

shroud).

[But] the Ger Maa who sets himself by the

side [of the road],

He is like a large leafy tree planted in shining

(or, fertile) ground (?).

It blossoms, it doubles its yield of fruit in the

summer.

It has its place before the face of its lord

(or, Owner).

Its foliage (or, fruit) is sweet, the shadow

thereof is pleasant,

And it is carried at its-end (i.e., finally) into

the groves of the God.

q

d

108. FIFTH CHAPTER.

XI.

109. Make no encroachment on the dykes of the

house of the god.

pS hE

tro. Commit not an act of avariciousness so that

thou mayest find (i.e., obtain) additional

wealth.

XIII.

11m. Make not to turn aside from his duty a

servant of God

112. To do what is profitable to another man.

XIV.

113. Say not, “ To-day is even as to-morrow

morning [will be].”

114. The end (or, result) of this [reasoning] will

be like what ?

1z5. (Col. VII). To-morrow has yet to come,

to-day has yet to pass away.

XV.

116. The water-flood (Inundation) is on the

mouth (1.e., crest) of the surging waves.

117. The crocodiles make themselves visible

(from the mud], the hippopotami appear in

the light [from the water].

118. The fish leap (?) in the waters.

11g. The wolves gorge themselves, the geese keep

high festival.

120. The restraining cords are cast loose.

121. Now every GER of the house of God

122. Shall say, ‘‘Great is the graciousness of

Ra.”’

127,

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132,

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THE TEACHING OF AMEN-EM-APT

O thou who art filled with silence, thou shalt

find the life,

Thy body shall be preserved in safety upon

the earth.

SIXTH CHAPTER.

XVI.

Thrust not aside the funerary monument on

the boundaries of the Aakhu (i.e., remove

not a tombstone which is on the borders of

the Necropolis)

When thou art marking out additional lands

for crops (?).

XVII.

Commit no robbery (i.e., filch not away land)

by means of the cubit of the fields

When thou art assessing the bounds of the

estate of the widow.

The land that has gone back from the

plough is the waste of a man’s lifetime.

He who cheats thee, himself belonging to the

fields (or, land),

Is snared in the counsels of iniquity,

He is fettered by the Divine Souls (i.e., Will)

of Aahu (the Moon-god).

(Col. VIII). Make thyself to see what he

does upon the earth.

He is a greedy robber of the helpless man.

He is the deadly enemy who would work the

overthrow of thy body.

Life is snatched away by the mere sight of

his aspect. “as

His house is the enemy of the town [in which

he lives].

[But] his store-houses shall be swept away

as by a flood,

140. His possessions shall be carried off from

the hand{s] of his sons and daughters,

141. His goods (or, wealth) shall be given to

another (7.¢., stranger).

XVIII.

142. Take good heed concerning the treading down

of the boundaries of the fields,

143. Lest horrible calamity be brought upon thee.

XIX.

144. Likewise make propitiatory offerings to God

by the Divine Souls (i.e., Will) of Aahu

(the Moon-god).

145. Occupy thyself with the affairs of the

boundaries of the Aakhu (7.¢., the Ancestral

Spirits, or the blessed dead).

146. Be kind to thyself, make thy body strong

and happy,

147. [But] take good heed to thyself in respect of

Nebertcher.t

XX.

148. Drive not thy furrows through the lands? of

another.

149. Profitable to thee is the strength (or, well-

being) which comes by their mouth (?).

150. Plough thou in the fields which thou findest

to be thy own property,

151. Take thou the bread-cakes from the store-

house of thy body.

1 J.¢., ‘‘ Lord to the uttermost limit,” or God of the Universe,

the All-Lord.

tos 5 ae

t dge of a field where

Ga aNG re perhaps the edg

the plough turns.

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t60.

TOT:

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THE TEACHING OF AMEN-EM-APT

RAL.

Better is one aft of land (about six feet)

which the God has given thee

Than five thousand ats which thou hast

gotten by fraud (or, violence).

XXII.

(Col. IX). Do not acquire the habit of

passing the day in eating-houses and places

where roasted meat [is sold].

Do not acquire the habit [of passing the day]

in tasting one pot of beer after another.

Those who pass their whole time at the

food-store?

Become to-morrow [merely] victuals.

XXIII.

Better is the beggar who is in the hand of

the God

Than the rich who are safely housed in a

comfortable dwelling.

XXIV.

Better are bread-cakes of flour and water

with a loving heart (or, mind)

Than rich meats that carry with them

bickering and quarrelling.

SEVENTH CHAPTER.

XXV.

Fashion not thy heart in such wise that it

hankers after things of wealth (i.e.,

luxurious foods and apparel),

Not unknowing are the god Shai (Luck) and

the goddess Renenit (Destiny).

Let not thyself abandon thy heart (or, mind)

to the things that are extraneous.

1 Literally, “ granary.”

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17S.

179.

Let every man have his hour (?.e., let every

man choose his own time for his own

affairs).

XXVI.

Form not the habit of ordering thyself to

seek for more than thou hast

[When] thy own goods and possessions are

in thy safe keeping.

XXVII.

If valuable goods which have been obtained

by robbery have been brought together by

thee

They will not pass the night in thy hands,

At daybreak certainly they will not be in thy

house.

They will look at the place where they were,

and most assuredly they will not be

[there]; they have swallowed them-

selves.

Either the ground has opened its mouth, and

swallowed them up straightway,

(Col. X). And they have sunk down deep

in the abyss [thereof] ;

[Or] they have become a great broken heap

through rust (or, decay) ;

[Or] they have become submerged in the

room [for waste] ;

[Or] they have made for themselves wings

like the geese,

[And] have spread their wings and flown up

into the sky.

XXVITI.

Make not thyself to take pleasure in rich

treasures that have been obtained by

robbery,

154 THE TEACHING OF AMEN-EM-APT

180.

I8r.

182.

Whilst sighing (i.e., pretending to grieve) for

the man who has been plundered (or, the

beggar).

oe XXIX.

When the chieftain of the Stiu (Asiatics, or

bowmen ?) departs from a man

His servants destroy him.

XXX.

[If] thou sailest with a robber thou wilt be

left in the stream,

[But] the boat of the Ger has a fair wind

[behind it].

XXXI.

Accustom thyself to direct thy sincere prayer

to the Aten (i.e, the God of the Solar

Disk or the Disk itself) when he is rolling

up into the sky,

Saying, ‘‘Grant to me, I beseech thee,

strength and health.”

He will give to thee the things that are

necessary for the life.

Thou shalt be safe from anxious care.

EIGHTH CHAPTER.

XXXII.

Bestow thou thy beneficence (or, bounty ?)

on the bodies of the people,

[And] thou shalt be applauded by all faces

(1.¢., everybody).

XXXII.

Praise and exult in the Serpent (1.e., Goddess),

Spit upon Apep. :

XXXIV.

Keep thy tongue from speech of lying (or,

slander).

a

XAXXYV.

195. (Col. XI). Show thou kindness (or, affec-

_tion) to people of humble condition.

XXXVI.

196. Find thou thy seat in the sanctuary of the

: house of the god,

197. The gifts made by thee shall be the cake-

offerings of thy Lord.

198. Make thyself to be [as if] thou wast one of

the blessed dead, [and as if] thou wast a

swathed [mummy] in thy coffin.

AXXVIT.

199. Be thou strong for the Divine Souls (i.e.,

Will) of God (to do His Will ?).

AXXVITLI.

200. Make not an invocation to bring a detestable

thing upon people.

XXXIX.

201. Hide [thou] the affairs (or, plans) of the

fugitive (slave ?)

XL.

202. Whether thou hearest the thing that is good

or the thing that is evil,

203. Treat it as a matter that is outside thy

interest ; hearken not to it.

204. I beseech thee to spread with thy tongue

only the report of that which is good upon

the earth,

205. Whilst as far as reports of evil are concerned,

hide them in thy belly.

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THE TEACHING OF AMEN-EM-APT

NINTH CHAPTER.

XLI.

Make not to be a friend of thine the hasty,

hot-headed man,

Even though thou hast to go to his house

frequently to have speech with him.

XLII.

Keep well thy tongue in making an answer

to him that is thy chief,

At the same time guarding thyself against

reviling him.

Never permit his speech to fall on thee like

‘a lasso

So that thou must uncoil it by means of thy

answer.

Put questions to him (or, consult with him),

answering like a subordinate in thy agita-

tion.

At the same time taking good heed not to

oppose (?) him.

XLIII.

(Col. XII). The word that is uttered by a

man with malicious (?) intent is swifter to

hurt

Than the wind that precedes the storm (?).

This man casts to the ground, this man

builds up with his tongue,

He gives utterance to strings of words that

carry destruction in them.

This man makes an answer that merits a

beating (?).

[For] the burden (i.¢., object) thereof is to

do harm. aS

He trafficks by means of a boat after the

manner of other folk.

He loads the boat with the discourse of

iniquity,

223. He makes himself the ferryman of him that

catches [men] in a net of words.

224. [Whether] he is going away [or whether]

he is coming back, he continues to chatter

(or, gossip).

225. Whether he is eating or whether he is

drinking, even in his own house, }

226. His conversation returns to matters that ar

outside (or, that have-nothing to do with

him).?

227. The Day itself stands up and makes an

accusation against his abominable deeds,

228. His sons and daughter cry out ‘‘ Woe” to

themselves.

229. The god Khnem-Ra? makes a process (or,

brings a case) against him.

1 J.e., his answer to any question is always beside the mark.

2? Khnemu was one of the oldest gods of Egypt, and the

animal sacred to him was the flat-horned ram, which dis-

appears from the monuments before the XIIth dynasty.

His name means “‘ the uniter,” 7.¢., it was he who put together

the material from which man was made. He was also the

“* builder,” Q INSEE of men. He was older than Ra,

and was “‘ the fashioner of mankind, the creator of the gods,

the Father, “ who was in the beginning.” He “made

the things that are, and will make those that shall be ; he is

the source from which all that is sprang, and was the Father

of fathers, and the Mother of mothers.” He was “the

Grandfather of the gods and goddesses, he was self-created,

and the maker of heaven, earth, underworld, water, and

mountains.”” Later he associated with himself Ra, Shu, Geb

and Osiris, and his priests identified him with the primeval

Water-god Nu, or Nenu, and subsequently with Hap-Ur,

the Great Nile of Egypt. Amen-em-apt, assuming that the

mischief-making scandal-monger whom he is denouncing was

made by Khnem-Ra, suggests that the god is so disgusted

with the behaviour of the being whom he created that he

renounces all responsibility for him.

158 THE TEACHING OF AMEN-EM-APT

230. He is of the potter’s wheel of (i.e., worked by)

the devil Tar}

231. He mixes together and kneads [material] to

destroy the hearts (or, minds of men)

therewith.

232. He is like a whelp of [one of] the dogs

(literally, wolves) of the stable (or, farm-

yard)

233. With his eye fixed jealously on [the move-

ments of] his companions.

234. (CoL. XIII). He causes men and women to

become enemies by his scandal-mongering.

235. He goes before every wind like the blast

that goes before the habiéb (1.e., the sand-

storm or whirlwind of the desert). .

236. He destroys the hair (or, skin) of Shu?

237. He gathers his tail (i.e., bends it round)

about him like the young crocodile,

238. Bringing it close to him ready for the deadly

sweep.

239. His lips are date-syrup, his tongue is a

deadly dagger.

240. A consuming fire blazes within his belly.

241. Make no flights (i.e., attempts) to fill (i.e.,

please) that fellow,

242. Lest thou bring calamity upon thyself.

243. TENTH CHAPTER.

ALIYV,

244. Allow not thyself to be greeted as a friend

among thy [neighbours] by the hasty,

hot-headed man who is thy opponent ;

1 This devil is mentioned in the Rubric to Chap. CLXIV

of the Saite Recension of the Book of the Dead under the

a

form p Ys

? This seems to be an allusion to the obscuring of the face

of the sky by the storm-clouds produced by the hurricane.

245. [If thou dost] thou wilt thyself damage thy

heart (or, mind).

246. Make not thyself to say to him, “ Thou art

praised,’’ with evil intent,

247. There being terror in thy body.

XLV.

248. Hold not converse in the company of men

of iniquity, me

249. For that is an abominable thing [to do]

before the God.

XLVI.

250. Make not thy mind to be divided for the

sake of thy tongue.

251. Let all thy plans and behaviour have a

sound foundation. |

XLVIL.

252. Be weighty (i.e., dignified) in the presence

of people of lowly condition.

253. (Col. XIV). Put thou thyself for safe

keeping in the hand of the God.

XLVITI.

254. God hates the man who utters frivolous,

lying speech.

255. The greatest abomination to Him is the man

who [nourishes] enmity [in his] belly.

250.

ELEVENTH CHAPTER.

p44 9.¢

257. Hanker not greedily after the things of the

man whose food is dainty and spiced,}

258. Though thou art hungry for his bread.

1 Or, perhaps, Hanker not greedily for the things (?.e., food)

of the man who eats and drinks luxuriously, 1.¢., the gourmand

or glutton (not epicure).

THE TEACHING OF AMEN-EM-APT

Now the food that is dainty and spiced is as

a storm in the gullet (or, turns the

stomach),

[And] it makes the bowels to eject it.

It turns the man who is a counsellor into a

man of iniquity,

_ And his sense turns itself away from his body.

Inasmuch as the evil nature (or, base appe-

tite) corrupts [his] disposition for well-

doing,

The evil [in him] destroys what is good.

L.

Be thou a creature of nought in the presence

of thy chief (i.e., superior officer).

Thou shalt acclaim him humbly in thy

speech (i.e., conversation).

Thy adulatory remarks, they shall meet and

turn aside his cursings.

Thy homage when smelling the earth [shall

disarm his] violence.

Li

When thou hast swallowed the mouthful of

bread of a great man thou shalt vomit it,

[And] thou shalt be empty of thy good thing

(or, dainty ?).

LU.

Make thyself to understand (or, see) the

foresight (?) of the glutton.

(Col. XV). He himself gathers together

staves [for the hunting nets ?].

Every one of his servants is a beater for the

hunting traps,

[And] a strong man smites (i.e., kills) in the

slaughter-house.

TAL:

275. [If] thou art undone (or, vanquished) in the

presence of thy chief

276. It will be a disgrace for thy subordinates

(or, servants).

277. Steer thou thy course away from the glutton

; forthwith ;

278. Observe him, at the same time avoiding the

things [which he offers thee].

279. TWELFTH CHAPTER.

LIV.

280. Behave not greedily in respect of the things

(i.e., food) of the nobleman,

281. Since the filling of the mouth with the bread

of a great man is unstinted (i.¢., is free to

every comer).

282. If he gives to thee for the growth (2.e.,

increase) of his possessions

283. Hate (i.e., reject) what is his [and] keep safe

what is thine.

VG

284. Make no undertaking (?) in company with

the noisy, hot-headed man,

285. [Or] thou wilt be making thyself a friend of

a man of moral obliquity.

LVI.

286. Ifthou art sent onamission to transport straw

287. Hate (t.¢c., cast away, or reject) the weeds (?)

that are [in] it.

LVII.

288. If thine eye lights upon a person who is

engaged on a mission of danger (?)

289. Report it not, but dispatch him on his errand

[and] let him return for another occasion,

290.

20l.

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295-

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300,

THE TEACHING OF AMEN-EM-APT

THIRTEENTH CHAPTER.

LVIII.

Make not men to affix [additions ?] to the

roll (register ?).

This is an abominable thing to the God.

1).

(Col. XVI). Make not the word of one

man of iniquity [to appear] to be the truth

by any act of thine,

Whilst at the same time thou art supporting

another man of iniquity with thy tongue.

1D.e

Reckon not as nothing things [that have

value],

[By so doing] thou wilt falsify thy rolls (or, :

registers).

LXI.

If thou findest a great mass of hidden treasure

in the possession of a poor man,

Make (z.¢., divide) it into three portions.

Release two portions [and] let one remain

[with thee],

Thou shalt find it like the ways of life.

Thou shalt lie down and sleep and pass thy

whole night [as safely] as if it were to-day ;

Thou shalt find it like the report (or, news)

of a good thing.

LXII.

Better is the praise (i.e., approval) with the

love of men

Than the riches (or, wealth) laid up in a

treasure house. :

Better are the cakes of flour and water

[eaten] with a loving mind (or, disposition)

Than strong meats [eaten] with strife and

enmity.

|

:

a) 2 -

_I-—_— =

307. FOURTEENTH CHAPTER.

LXIII.

308. Remember not [too exactly] the antecedents

of a man

309. When thou art striving (?) to seek for his

hand (help ?),

310. If he says to thee, ‘‘ Accept the things [which

I have] brought.”

yi... die%1s not one’who has no... .. .

312. Cast not malign looks at him whilst bending

down thy face,

313. Whilst turning away thy glance elsewhere.

314. Greet him with kind words in thy mouth,

speak and salute (?) him cordially.

315. (Col. XVII). [If] he approaches thee (?)

thy end comes.

316. Make him not to go down to his former

[state],

317. On another occasion he can be brought (?).

318. FIFTEENTH CHAPTER.

LXIV.

319. Do the thing that is right [and] thou wilt

attain to a [true] state of being.

LXV.

320. Make no erasure (?) in the registers on behalf

of an encroacher.

LXVI.

321. Since the beak of the Ibis-god (i.e., Thoth)

is the finger of the scribe,

322. Take good heed not to thrust it aside.

323. The Ape [of Thoth] sits directing Per-

Khemenu (Hermopolis),

164 THE TEACHING OF AMEN-EM-APT

324. His eye travels round about through the

Two Lands (i.e., Upper and Lower Egypt).

325. Since he observes the man who makes a

slip (or, mistake) with his finger,

326. He will withdraw his benefactions (or,

endowments) according to what is right (?).

327. If the scribe continues to make slips (or,

mistakes) with his finger.

328. Hisson willnot be decreed [for employment. ]

[The idea that the beak of the Ibis-god (Thoth)

is the finger of the scribe is new to me. It has

long been known that the deceased was identified

with the palette of Thoth, and the scribe’s palette

with Osiris. In Chap. XCIV of the Theban

Recension of the Book of the Dead, which is

entitled ‘‘ Chapter of praying for an ink-pot and

palette,” the deceased says, “Hail, Aged God,

who sees his father, guardian of the Book of Thoth.

I bring [them], I hasten, Aker, dweller in Set.

I bring the ink-pot and the palette, which are the

necessary things for the hand of Thoth ; hidden

(or, secret) is what is in them. Behold me, a

scribe. I bring the corruptible body of Osiris,

I write on it. I make (i.e., write) the words of the

great and beautiful god every day, happily. Thou

didst order me, Her-Aakhuti. I do what is right

(i.e., I perform truth), I bear it to thee every day.”

On the palette as Osiris see Pietschmann, Der

Verstorbene als Schriebpalette in Festschrift fiir Georg

Ebers, Leipzig, 1897, p. 82.]

LXVII.

329. If thou wilt pass the days of thy life these

things being in thy heart,

330. Thy children—behold them !

ito fea eae

: :

The transcription \} | em doubtful,

Boks

332.

333-

334.

335-

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THE TEACHING OF AMEN-EM-APT 16s

SIXTEENTH CHAPTER.

Make not the balance to swerve [either]

through thy falsification of the get weights,

[Or] through thy obliteration of the mouths

of the measures (i.e., the characters or

stamps on the weights and measures).

Make not a practice of preferring the

measures of the fields,

Thou abandoning those in use in the house

of silver (or, White House).

The Ape [of Thoth] sits by the side of the

Scales,

(Col. XVIII). [And] his heart facts] as the

tongue (or, pointer) thereof.

God removes, even as does the Great One

Thoth,

Him that is in the habit of finding these

devices to do them.

Accustom not thyself to cheat by means of

the get weights.

It is they (i.e., the cheaters) who multiply the

tears of the Divine Souls (7.¢., Will) of God.

UXIX,

If thou seest another man stumbling from

time to time,

Go with him and enable him to continue on

his way.

LXX.

Covet not (or, be not greedy for) the precious

metals.

Hate (i.e., avoid or reject) the beautiful

singing woman (?).

What is it like ? A fetter, a tie.

1 Or, If thou seest a man going astray, guide him to the

road which he ought to follow.

[OCR lacuna — lines 361.-362. unreadable in scan]

THE TEACHING OF AMEN-EM-APT

It makes [a man] to stumble (or, go astray)

in the presence of the God.

If a paddle (?) of gold be scraped off from

an object of the finest gold

At daybreak to-morrow morning it will be

lead.

SEVENTEENTH CHAPTER.

1.0.4 &

Take heed neither to defraud the divine

Utchat (i.e., the Eye of Ra)

Nor to falsify the mouths (or, commands ?)

thereof.

Make no robbery of [the things of] Uben, the

mighty god,

For he (i.e., Uben) is never wanting in (or,

absent from) its (the Utchat’s) body.*

Thou shalt give its measure, as to a great

man [when] he is coming in.

Thy hand shall set it down (?) justly (or,

correctly).

LXXII.

Make not a measuring rod, At, for thy use,

whereby thou canst measure with two

(different results}.

Do always the thing that is right (d.e.,

measure correctly)

Since the Ap? measure is the Eye of Ra.

(Col. XIX). It (1.e., the Utchat, or Eye of

Ra) holds in abomination the man who

robs and steals

And who when measuring makes many

mistakes, :

Since the seal of his eyé is upon the Apt

measure.

1 This seems to mean that the god Uben, who is Ra, is

always in the body of his Eye.

[OCR lacuna — lines 363.-373. unreadable in scan]

374-

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EXAT:

Receive not the summer grain of the peasant

farmer,

Thou binding [him] by what is registered

against him to ruin him.

Make not thyself one (?) with the measurer(?)

Thou meanwhile playing (?) the master of

the house.

The Divine Souls (or, Will of God) increase

the store-house grain

More than the Director of the Great Place.

EIGHTEENTH CHAPTER.

LXXIV.

Accustom not thyself to lie in bed (or, sleep)

whilst the dawn is rising in an awesome

manner in the sky.

The break of the day and the dawn [are] like

what ? (i.e., to what can they be compared

for beauty ?)

The man who has no knowledge of the dawn

[is] like what ? (1.e., to what can he be

compared for ignorance ?)

Whilst the God is [occupied] with His works

of beneficence

The man is [indulging in] his slothfulness.

On the one side are the words (or, gossip)

that men utter,

On the other are the works that the God is

doing.

LXXV.

Say not, ‘‘ By no manner of means is what is

abominable (or, evil) to be permitted [to

exist],”

Whilst thou thyself art doing thy utmost to

seek after strife.

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THE TEACHING OF AMEN-EM-APT

If the thing that is abominable (i.¢., evil)

belongs to the God, "

He Himself will stamp it with the seal of

His finger.

There is no goodness in the hand of the God

Because there is no badness before Him.

(Col. XX). If He could bring Himself to

seek after goodness

The occasion ended (i.¢., the opportunity

served) He would destroy it.

LXXVI,.

Be weighty in thy mind, consolidate thy

heart,

Accustom not thyself to shape thy course

by thy tongue [only].

Even if the tongue of a man be the steersman

of the boat,

It is Nebertcher who is its watcher in the

bows (i.e., captain).

NINETEENTH CHAPTER.

LXXVII.

Go not among the mombers of the Town

Council in the presence of the President,

Or thou mayest be obliged to contradict (or,

show to be inaccurate) thine own words.

Be not continually rising up and sitting down

whilst thou art making thy answer ;

Thy testimonies must support themselves.

Make no altercation with (or, make no

attempt to coerce) the supporters of a lord

(i.e., any owner of property),

A word [spoken] in the- Gouncil Chamber

may lead to a vexatious inquiry.

Speak the truth in the presence of the

President,

397. Lest he seize and take possession of thy

person.

398. If thou wilt appear before him in the early

hours of the day

399. He will consider graciously every word of

thine.

400. Speak thy mouth (i.e., say thy say) in the

Court before the headmen,

401. Watch carefully, so that thou mayest come

back on a second occasion.

402. TWENTIETH CHAPTER.

LXXVIII.

403. Make not a member of the Courts of Law!

to trip up (i.e., to arrive at a wrong con-

clusion or verdict)

404. Through thy setting aside (or, hiding) the

truth,

405. (Col. XXI). For whilst thy face is cloaked

with a garment (?)

406. And thou art sheltered (or, content) he is

under constraint (?).

LXXIX.

407. Accept not a present (7.¢., bribe) from aman

of power and authority

408. [If] thou art to treat wrongfully for him the

poor man in distress.

LXXX.

409. Now Truth is the great bearer of God,

410. He gives it to the man who loves Him.

411. Since the mighty power is with him who is

like unto Him |

412. He carries off (or, slays) the impotent one in

his violence.

1 Or, perhaps, of the “ Official Classes.”

170 THE TEACHING OF AMEN-EM-APT

LXXXI.

413..¢ .Make not-for thyselt ac... - eee 1 of

iniquity.

414. They are the great auxiliaries of Death, _

415. They are the great incentives to sloth [in

respect of] honourable actions,

416. They are the guides who report for the

herald [of judgement].

LXXXII.

417. Falsify not the things that make thee to

wonder [written] on the roll,

418. For thus thou wilt be injuring (or, dis-

arranging) the plans of God.

LXXXITI.

419. Make no [attempt] to find for thyself the

Divine Souls (i.e., Will) of God,

420. Donot the god Shai (Luck) [and] the goddess

Renenit (Destiny) exist ?

LXXXIV.

421. Study to make to increase (or, flourish) the

possessions of the lords of wealth,

422. Thou at the same time seeking for thyself

the means of subsistence.

423. Never build thy heart in their houses (i.e., set

not thy affections upon the houses they

live in),

424. Thy carcase [being] in the house of slaughter.

425. TWENTY-## The Thirty Chapters of the Teaching

FIRST CHAPTER.

'

LXXXV.

426. (Col. XXII). Say*not,.‘' I have found a

very chief of robbers,”’

1 The determinative +} indicates some article of furniture,

perhaps couch or bed; the word is unknown to me.

—

ee

427. When the offender happens to be a man in

thine own town.

428. Say not, “I have found a sedition-monger ”

(or, rebel)

429. When the offender happens to be a hater

(i.e., enemy of thine).

430. For most assuredly thou knowest not the

plans of Godt

LXXXVI.

431. Bring not to an end (i.e., waste not) in

slumber the early hours of the day (or, the

dawn).

LXXXVII.

432. Seat thou thyself on the two arms of the

God.

433. To thy silence (silent meditation ?) [add]

prostrations on the ground.

LXXXVIII.

434. If the crocodile is going to lash out with his

tail, cry out (i.e., give warning),

435. For even the papyrus plants hold him in

awe.

LXXXIX.

436. Do not empty thy belly when the people are

round about thee,

437. For if thou dost thou wilt destroy their

respect for thy dignity.

ka

438. Make not thy words to circulate among the

common folk (or, peasants),

439. If thou dost thou wilt become a companion

of the man of violence.

1 Lines 430-433 are repeated in lines 455-458.

440.

44t.

[OCR lacuna — lines 442.-454. unreadable in scan]

THE TEACHING OF AMEN-EM-APT

<cn

Better is it for a man to keep his information

(or, news) in his belly on

Than to publish it abroad with the addition

of lies.

XCII.

Never run with swift steps to attain that

which will be advantageous [to thee],

[On the other hand] never create the circum-

stances that will destroy it.

TWENTY-SECOND CHAPTER.

XCITI.

Make no attempt to shut the mouth of (or,

to make dumb) the man who is holding

converse with thee ;

Do thou tell him that he must declare [what

is in his] heart.

Make no flight (¢.e., attempt) to enter [into

the conversation] against him (i.e, to

anticipate his remarks)

(Col. XXIII). [When] thou dost not see

what he is doing (i.e., the point which he is

making).

Make thyself to understand beforehand what

the answer to him must be.

[If] thou art heated (i.e., losest thy temper)

thy end comes.

Let the matter rest upon him, he wil’empty

his belly. )

Knowing jhis character (or, view) he can be

found out, my

His feet (or, legs) being removed he cannot

work his iniquity,

Being afraid he will not act underhandedly,

455. For, most assuredly, thou knowest not the

plans of God.

456. Bring not to an end (i.e., waste not) in

slumber the early hours of the day (or,

the dawn).t

457. Seat thou thyself on the two arms of the God.

458. To thy silence (silent meditation ?) [add]

prostrations on the ground.

459. TWENTY-THIRD CHAPTER.

XCIV.

460. Eat not thou bread in the presence of the

Governor,

461. Thus setting thy mouth forward into pro-

minence (?).

XCV.

462. If thou fillest thyself full of the rich meats

of iniquity

463. They will pass back again in thy vomit.

XCVI.

464. Keep thy gaze fixed upon the vessel (platter?)

which is before thee,

465. Thou must make it to serve all thy needs.

XCVITI.

466. Though the Governor may resemble a

nobleman in his official position,

467. He may also resemble the sacred crocodiles

in the water [in] rapacity and cruelty.

468. TWENTY-FOURTH CHAPTER.

XCVIII.

469. Listen not to the answers (i.e., conversation)

of the Governor in his own house,

1 Lines 455-458 are a repetition of lines 430-433,

Ww

|

q

470. (CoL. XXIV). Thou then repeating what

he said to thee outside in the town.

471. Even when thou hast brought thy mouth

outside [his house],

472. Do not empty out into the street what is in

thy breast.

473. Since the heart (or, mind) of a man is the

nose of God

474. Take good heed that thou dost not cause it

sorrow.

475. The man [to whom thou speakest] may bea

powerful official,

476. [He may also be] a private person whose

name is quite unknown.

174 THE TEACHING OF AMEN-EM-APT

477. TWENTY-FIFTH CHAPTER.

ACIX,

478. Make not a laughing-stock of the blind man.

Vex! (or, browbeat) not the dwarf,

479. [And] frustrate not the plans of the afflicted

(or, lame) man.

480. Vex" (or, irritate) not a man who is in the

hand of the God (i.e. the man who is

suffering through some dispensation of

God)

481. By singing to him the praises of him who

has wronged him.

C.

482. Even if aman mixes the mud [and] the straw

483. It is the God Who is his builder.

484. It is He Who throws down [a house], it is He

Who builds [it] up daily.

485. It is He Who can turn a thousand [men]

into corruption at His pleasure,

* Or, perhaps, ‘‘ make not a mock of.”

486. It is He Who can make one man to have the

overseership of a thousand.

487. Aman lives his [allotted] hour of life :

488. Rejoice, be glad. It is He Who makes [a

man] to arrive in Amentt ;

489. He is safe in the hand of the God.

490. TWENTY-SIXTH CHAPTER.

WE

491. Accustom not thyself to sit in the beer-

house.

CII.

492. (Col. XXV). Give not commands to one

who is greater than thyself,

493. Whether he be [thy] junior in his official

position,

494. Or whether he be [thy] senior by birth.

CITI.

495. Show thyself friendly to the man for whom

thou hast antipathy.

496. The strength of Ra is to him that is on the

road.

CIV.

497. If thou seest a man who is greater than

thyself outside [his house],

498. Follow after him and greet him with words

of respect.

GY.

499. Stretch out the hand to the aged man when

he is filled full of beer,

500. Treat him reverently when he is in the

company of his sons and daughters.

501. Is not thy arm (or, strength) made weak by

robbery ? ee

502, Is not the back bowed by affliction ?

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597-

[OCR lacuna — lines 508.-516. unreadable in scan]

O17.

THE TEACHING OF AMEN-EM-APT

CVI.

Reduce not to beggary the [poor] man who

has uttered something which is pleasant

Rather than the rich man whose strings of

words are straw.

CVII.

The man who is in the bows of the boat

(i.e., the captain) watches the going thereof,

He does not allow his bark to capsize (or, be

submerged).

TWENTY-SEVENTH CHAPTER.

CVIII.

Curse (i.e., abuse) not the man who is

greater than thyself,

He will look at the god Ra in front of thee.

And moreover, he will report thee to the

god Aten as he rolls up into the sky.

Say: For a man of no importance to heap

curses upon a great man,

[Is] a crime (i.e., a thing worthy of death)

unknown to the Ra.

(Col. XXVI). [If] a man of no importance

wishes to curse a great man,

Come! Let him inflict a beating on thee,

thou [keeping] thy hand in thy bosom.

Come! Let him heap curses upon thee,

thou remaining silent.

CIX.

If like the dawn (at ‘the time of dawn ?)

thou appearest before him,

He will give to thee the means of living in

an open-handed manner.

518. If the means of which he is master [are]

from the finger (or, seal) of his lord,

519. They consume (?) him to whom they are

given (?)

520. TWENTY-EIGHTH CHAPTER.

CX.

521. Do not make find (i.e., search out) the

RO IW ee eS in the fields,

522. Do not permit thyself to return an answer

to her.

CXI,

523. Make no undue haste to sing the praises (or,

to follow the cult) of the wine cup! (?),

524. It will increase (or, double) the heart (i.e.,

courage) of thine adversaries.

CXII.

525. The love of God is more precious [and]

estimable

526. Than the reverence of the nobleman (or,

magistrate). .

527. TWENTY-NINTH CHAPTER.

CXITI.

528. Turn not back the people who wish to cross

over the river

529. Whilst thou art stretched out at thy ease

in the cabin.

530. Ifa paddle (or, oar) be brought to thee when

the ferry-boat is in mid-stream,

1 The word AN | ING Ql ©, m’tchagata, seems to

be of Babylonian origin, for in a syllabary published by

Meissner (Muti. der Vorder Asiat. Gesellschaft, 1913, No. 2,

p. 65, line 21) we have &Y >< YY 4] Y¥ = 8 ~] oes,

mu-zi-ku, a kind of wine.

M

178 THE TEACHING OF AMEN-EM-APT

531. Grasp it with both thy hands, take it [and

use it], .

532. There is nothing which is an abomination

in the hand [to] the God.

533. (Col. XXVII). Is not happy (or, content)

the toiler ?

CXIV.

534. Set not to ply a ferry-boat on the river

535. If thou art strenuous in thy quest of the

fares of those who cross the river on it.

536. Let the fares drop into the hand of the

master of the craft (?)

537. Thou being happy (or, content) with no

part of them.

538. THIRTIETH CHAPTER.

539. Behold the Thirty Chapters !

540. They will give [thee] pleasure, they will

teach [thee],

541. They will [serve as] a leader (or, guide) to

every book}

542. They will give knowledge to (1.e., make to

be wise) the ignorant man.

543. If they be read out in the presence of an

ignorant man

544. Assuredly he will steer his course [through

life] according to their mouth (i.e., direc-

tion).

545. Fill thyself full (or, steep thyself) in [the

counsel of] what is in them, set them, I

beseech thee, in thy heart ;

546. Make thyself to be the man who has un-

ravelled their contents, .

‘ Or, perhaps, “They are the first (or, principal things)

ut iy book ”—in fact, the cream of every work of this

ind.

547. Thinking out and understanding [their]

teaching.

548. If [the bearer be] a scribe who would make

himself to be pre-eminent in his profession,

549. He will find himself to be of equal impor-

tance with the SMERU (i.e., the “ friends ”

of the King).

550. Here ends the Book (Explicit liber).

COLOPHON.

551. (Col. XXVIII). [Done] into writing by

Shennu, the son of the Divine Father

Pamai (?).

THE TEACHING OF AMEN-EM-APT,

THE SON OF KANEKHT.

HIEROGLYPHIC ‘TRANSCRIPT OF THE MHIsRATIC TEXT IN

Brit. Mus. Papyrus, No. 10474.

THE TEACHING OF AMEN-EM-APT,

THE SON OF KANEKHT,