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The Literature of the Ancient Egyptians by E. A. Wallis Budge

E >> E. A. Wallis Budge >> The Literature of the Ancient Egyptians




"If thou art a man whose duty it is to enter into the presence of a
nobleman with a message from another nobleman, take care to say
correctly and in the correct way what thou art sent to say; give the
message exactly as he said it. Take great care not to spoil it in
delivery and so to set one nobleman against another. He who wresteth the
truth in transmitting the message, and only repeateth it in words that
give pleasure to all men, gentleman or common man, is an abominable
person.

"If thou art a farmer, till the field which the great God hath given
thee. Eat not too much when thou art near thy neighbours.... The
children of the man who, being a man of substance, seizeth [prey] like
the crocodile in the presence of the field labourers, are cursed because
of his behaviour, his father suffereth poignant grief, and as for the
mother who bore him, every other woman is happier than she. A man who is
the leader of a clan (or tribe) that trusteth him and followeth him
becometh a god.

"If thou dost humble thyself and dost obey a wise man, thy behaviour
will be held to be good before God. Since thou knowest who are to serve,
and who are to command, let not thy heart magnify itself against the
latter. Since thou knowest who hath the power, hold in fear him that
hath it....

"Be diligent at all times. Do more than is commanded. Waste not the time
wherein thou canst labour; he is an abominable man who maketh a bad use
of his time. Lose no chance day by day in adding to the riches of thy
house. Work produceth wealth, and wealth endureth not when work is
abandoned.

"If thou art a wise man, beget a son who shall be pleasing unto God.

"If thou art a wise man, be master of thy house. Love thy wife
absolutely, give her food in abundance, and raiment for her back; these
are the medicines for her body. Anoint her with unguents, and make her
happy as long as thou livest. She is thy field, and she reflecteth
credit on her possessor. Be not harsh in thy house, for she will be more
easily moved by persuasion than by violence. Satisfy her wish, observe
what she expecteth, and take note of that whereon she hath fixed her
gaze. This is the treatment that will keep her in her house; if thou
repel her advances, it is ruin for thee. Embrace her, call her by fond
names, and treat her lovingly.

"Treat thy dependants as well as thou art able, for this is the duty of
those whom God hath blessed.

"If thou art a wise man, and if thou hast a seat in the council chamber
of thy lord, concentrate thy mind on the business [so as to arrive at] a
wise decision. Keep silence, for this is better than to talk overmuch.
When thou speakest thou must know what can be urged against thy words.
To speak in the council chamber [needeth] skill and experience.

"If thou hast become a great man having once been a poor man, and hast
attained to the headship of the city, study not to take the fullest
advantage of thy situation. Be not harsh in respect of the grain, for
thou art only an overseer of the food of God.

"Think much, but keep thy mouth closed; if thou dost not how canst thou
consult with the nobles? Let thy opinion coincide with that of thy lord.
Do what he saith, and then he shall say of thee to those who are
listening, 'This is my son.'"

The above and all the other Precepts of Ptah-hetep were drawn up for the
guidance of highly-placed young men, and have little to do with
practical, every-day morality. But whilst the Egyptian scribes who lived
under the Middle and New Empires were ready to pay all honour to the
writings of an earlier age, they were not slow to perceive that the
older Precepts did not supply advice on every important subject, and
they therefore proceeded to write supplementary Precepts. A very
interesting collection of such Precepts is found in a papyrus preserved
in the Egyptian Museum, Cairo. They are generally known as the "Maxims
of Ani," and the following examples will illustrate their scope and
character:

"Celebrate thou the festival of thy God, and repeat the celebration
thereof in its appointed season. God is wroth with the transgressor of
this law. Bear testimony [to Him] after thy offering....

"The opportunity having passed, one seeketh [in vain] to seize another.

"God will magnify the name of the man who exalteth His Souls, who
singeth His praises, and boweth before Him, who offereth incense, and
doeth homage [to Him] in his work.

"Enter not into the presence of the drunkard, even if his acquaintance
be an honour to thee.

"Beware of the woman in the street who is not known in her native town.
Follow her not, nor any woman who is like her. Do not make her
acquaintance. She is like a deep stream the windings of which are
unknown.

"Go not with common men, lest thy name be made to stink."

"When an inquiry is held, and thou art present, multiply not speech;
thou wilt do better if thou holdest thy peace. Act not the part of the
chatterer.

"The sanctuary of God abhorreth noisy demonstrations. Pray thou with a
loving heart, and let thy words be hidden (or secret). Do this, and He
will do thy business for thee. He will hearken unto thy words, and He
will receive thy offering.

"Place water before thy father and thy mother who rest in their
tombs.... Forget not to do this when thou art outside thy house, and as
thou doest for them so shall thy son do for thee."

"Frequent not the house where men drink beer, for the words that fall
from thy mouth will be repeated, and it is a bad thing for thee not to
know what thou didst really say. Thou wilt fall down, thy bones may be
broken, and there will be no one to give thee a hand [to help thee]. Thy
boon companions who are drinking with thee will say, 'Throw this drunken
man out of the door.' When thy friends come to look for thee, they will
find thee lying on the ground as helpless as a babe.

"When the messenger of [death] cometh to carry thee away, let him find
thee prepared. Alas, thou wilt have no opportunity for speech, for
verily his terror will be before thee. Say not, 'Thou art carrying me
off in my youth.' Thou knowest not when thy death will take place. Death
cometh, and he seizeth the babe at the breast of his mother, as well as
the man who hath arrived at a ripe old age. Observe this, for I speak
unto thee good advice which thou shalt meditate upon in thy heart. Do
these things, and thou wilt be a good man, and evils of all kinds shall
remove themselves from thee."

"Remain not seated whilst another is standing, especially if he be an
old man, even though thy social position (or rank) be higher than his.

"The man who uttereth ill-natured words must not expect to receive
good-natured deeds.

"If thou journeyest on a road [made by] thy hands each day, thou wilt
arrive at the place where thou wouldst be.

"What ought people to talk about every day? Administrators of high rank
should discuss the laws, women should talk about their husbands, and
every man should speak about his own affairs.

"Never speak an ill-natured word to any visitor; a word dropped some day
when thou art gossiping may overturn thy house.

"If thou art well-versed in books, and hast gone into them, set them in
thy heart; whatsoever thou then utterest will be good. If the scribe be
appointed to any position, he will converse about his documents. The
director of the treasury hath no son, and the overseer of the seal hath
no heir. High officials esteem the scribe, whose hand is his position of
honour, which they do not give to children....

"The ruin of a man resteth on his tongue; take heed that thou harmest
not thyself.

"The heart of a man is [like] the store-chamber of a granary that is
full of answers of every kind; choose thou those that are good, and
utter them, and keep those that are bad closely confined within thee. To
answer roughly is like the brandishing of weapons, but if thou wilt
speak kindly and quietly thou wilt always [be loved].

"When thou offerest up offerings to thy God, beware lest thou offer the
things that are an abomination [to Him]. Chatter not [during] his
journeyings (or processions), seek not to prolong (?) his appearance,
disturb not those who carry him, chant not his offices too loudly, and
beware lest thou.... Let thine eye observe his dispensations. Devote
thyself to the adoration of his name. It is he who giveth souls to
millions of forms, and he magnifieth the man who magnifieth him....

"I gave thee thy mother who bore thee, and in bearing thee she took upon
herself a great burden, which she bore without help from me. When after
some months thou wast born, she placed herself under a yoke, for three
years she suckled thee.... When thou wast sent to school to be educated,
she brought bread and beer for thee from her house to thy master
regularly each day. Thou art now grown up, and thou hast a wife and a
house of thy own. Keep thine eye on thy child, and bring him up as thy
mother brought thee up. Do nothing whatsoever that will cause her
(_i.e._ thy mother) to suffer, lest she lift up her hands to God, and He
hear her complaint, [and punish thee].

"Eat not bread, whilst another standeth by, without pointing out to him
the bread with thy hand....

"Devote thyself to God, take heed to thyself daily for the sake of God,
and let to-morrow be as to-day. Work thou [for him]. God seeth him that
worketh for Him, and He esteemeth lightly the man who esteemeth Him
lightly.

"Follow not after a woman, and let her not take possession of thy heart.

"Answer not a man when he is wroth, but remove thyself from him. Speak
gently to him that hath spoken in anger, for soft words are the medicine
for his heart.

"Seek silence for thyself."


For the study of the moral character of the ancient Egyptian, a
document, of which a mutilated copy is found on a papyrus preserved in
the Royal Library in Berlin, is of peculiar importance. As the opening
lines are wanting it is impossible to know what the title of the work
was, but because the text records a conversation that took place between
a man who had suffered grievous misfortunes, and was weary of the world
and of all in it, and wished to kill himself, it is generally called the
"TALK OF A MAN WHO WAS TIRED OF LIFE WITH HIS SOUL." The general meaning
of the document is clear. The man weary of life discusses with his soul,
as if it were a being wholly distinct from himself, whether he shall
kill himself or not. He is willing to do so, but is only kept from his
purpose by his soul's observation that if he does there will be no one
to bury him properly, and to see that the funerary ceremonies are duly
performed. This shows that the man who was tired of life was alone in
the world, and that all his relations and friends had either forsaken
him, or had been driven away by him. His soul then advised him to
destroy himself by means of fire, probably, as has been suggested,
because the ashes of a burnt body would need no further care. The man
accepted the advice of his soul, and was about to follow it literally,
when the soul itself drew back, being afraid to undergo the sufferings
inherent in such a death for the body. The man then asked his soul to
perform for him the last rites, but it absolutely refused to do so, and
told him that it objected to death in any form, and that it had no
desire at all to depart to the kingdom of the dead. The soul supports
its objection to suffer by telling the man who is tired of life that the
mere remembrance of burial is fraught with mourning, and tears, and
sorrow. It means that a man is torn away from his house and thrown out
upon a hill, and that he will never go up again to see the sun. And
after all, what is the good of burial? Take the case of those who have
had granite tombs, and funerary monuments in the form of pyramids made
for them, and who lie in them in great state and dignity. If we look at
the slabs in their tombs, which have been placed there on purpose to
receive offerings from the kinsfolk and friends of the deceased, we
shall find that they are just as bare as are the tablets for offerings
of the wretched people who belong to the Corvee, of whom some die on the
banks of the canals, leaving one part of their bodies on the land and
the other in the water, and some fall into the water altogether and are
eaten by the fish, and others under the burning heat of the sun become
bloated and loathsome objects. Because men receive fine burials it does
not follow that offerings of food, which will enable them to continue
their existence, will be made by their kinsfolk. Finally the soul ends
its speech with the advice that represented the view of the average
Egyptian in all ages, "Follow after the day of happiness, and banish
care," that is to say, spare no pains in making thyself happy at all
times, and let nothing that concerns the present or the future trouble
thee.

This advice, which is well expressed by the words which the rich man
spake to his soul, "Take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry" (St. Luke
xii. 19), was not acceptable to the man who was tired of life, and he at
once addressed to his soul a series of remarks, couched in rhythmical
language, in which he made it clear that, so far as he was concerned,
death would be preferable to life. He begins by saying that his name is
more detested than the smell of birds on a summer's day when the heavens
are hot, and the smell of a handler of fish newly caught when the
heavens are hot, and the smell of water-fowl in a bed of willows wherein
geese collect, and the smell of fishermen in the marshes where fishing
hath been carried on, and the stench of crocodiles, and the place where
crocodiles do congregate. In a second group of rhythmical passages the
man who was tired of life goes on to describe the unsatisfactory and
corrupt condition of society, and his wholesale condemnation of it
includes his own kinsfolk. Each passage begins with the words, "Unto
whom do I speak this day?" and he says, "Brothers are bad, and the
friends of to-day lack love. Hearts are shameless, and every man seizeth
the goods of his neighbour. The meek man goeth to ground (_i.e._ is
destroyed), and the audacious man maketh his way into all places. The
man of gracious countenance is wretched, and the good are everywhere
treated as contemptible. When a man stirreth thee up to wrath by his
wickedness, his evil acts make all people laugh. One robbeth, and
everyone stealeth the possessions of his neighbour. Disease is
continual, and the brother who is with it becometh an enemy. One
remembereth not yesterday, and one doeth nothing ... in this hour.
Brothers are bad.... Faces disappear, and each hath a worse aspect than
that of his brother. Hearts are shameless, and the man upon whom one
leaneth hath no heart. There are no righteous men left, the earth is an
example of those who do evil. There is no true man left, and each is
ignorant of what he hath learnt. No man is content with what he hath; go
with the man [you believe to be contented], and he is not [to be found].
I am heavily laden with misery, and I have no true friend. Evil hath
smitten the land, and there is no end to it."

The state of the world being thus, the man who was tired of life is
driven to think that there is nothing left for him but death; it is
hopeless to expect the whole state of society to change for the better,
therefore death must be his deliverer. To his soul he says, "Death
standeth before me this day, [and is to me as] the restoration to health
of a man who hath been sick, and as the coming out into the fresh air
after sickness. Death standeth before me this day like the smell of
myrrh, and the sitting under the sail of a boat on a day with a fresh
breeze. Death standeth before me this day like the smell of lotus
flowers, and like one who is sitting on the bank of drunkenness.[1]
Death standeth before me this day like a brook filled with rain water,
and like the return of a man to his own house from the ship of war.
Death standeth before me this day like the brightening of the sky after
a storm, and like one.... Death standeth before me this day as a man who
wisheth to see his home once again, having passed many years as a
prisoner." The three rhythmical passages that follow show that the man
who was tired of life looked beyond death to a happier state of
existence, in which wrong would be righted, and he who had suffered on
this earth would be abundantly rewarded. The place where justice reigned
supreme was ruled over by Ra, and the man does not call it "heaven," but
merely "there."[2] He says, "He who is there shall indeed be like unto a
loving god, and he shall punish him that doeth wickedness. He who is
there shall certainly stand in the Boat of the Sun, and shall bestow
upon the temples the best [offerings]. He who is there shall indeed
become a man of understanding who cannot be resisted, and who prayeth to
Ra when he speaketh." The arguments in favour of death of the man who
was tired of life are superior to those of the soul in favour of life,
for he saw beyond death the "there" which the soul apparently had not
sufficiently considered. The value of the discussion between the man and
his soul was great in the opinion of the ancient Egyptian because it
showed, with almost logical emphasis, that the incomprehensible things
of "here" would be made clear "there."

[Footnote 1: _i.e._ sitting on a seat in a tavern built on the river
bank.]

[Footnote 2: Compare,
"There the tears of earth are dried;
There its hidden things are clear;
There the work of life is tried
By a juster judge than here."
--_Hymns Ancient and Modern_, No. 401.]

The man who was tired of life did not stand alone in his discontent with
the surroundings in which he lived, and with his fellow-man, for from a
board inscribed in hieratic in the British Museum (No. 5645) we find
that a priest of Heliopolis called Khakhepersenb, who was surnamed
Ankhu, shared his discontent, and was filled with disgust at the
widespread corruption and decadence of all classes of society that were
everywhere in the land. In the introduction to this description of
society as he saw it, he says that he wishes he possessed new language
in which to express himself, and that he could find phrases that were
not trite in which to utter his experience. He says that men of one
generation are very much like those of another, and have all done and
said the same kind of things. He wishes to unburden his mind, and to
remove his moral sickness by stating what he has to say in words that
have not before been used. He then goes on to say, "I ponder on the
things that have taken place, and the events that have occurred
throughout the land. Things have happened, and they are different from
those of last year. Each year is more wearisome than the last. The whole
country is disturbed and is going to destruction. Justice (or right) is
thrust out, injustice (or sin) is in the council hall, the plans of the
gods are upset, and their behests are set aside. The country is in a
miserable state, grief is in every place, and both towns and provinces
lament. Every one is suffering through wrong-doing. All respect of
persons is banished. The lords of quiet are set in commotion. When
daylight cometh each day [every] face turneth away from the sight of
what hath happened [during the night].... I ponder on the things that
have taken place. Troubles flow in to-day, and to-morrow [tribulations]
will not cease. Though all the country is full of unrest, none will
speak about it. There is no innocent man [left], every one worketh
wickedness. Hearts are bowed in grief. He who giveth orders is like unto
the man to whom orders are given, and their hearts are well pleased. Men
wake daily [and find it so], yet they do not abate it. The things of
yesterday are like those of to-day, and in many respects both days are
alike. Men's faces are stupid, and there is none capable of
understanding, and none is driven to speak by his anger.... My pain is
keen and protracted. The poor man hath not the strength to protect
himself against the man who is stronger than he. To hold the tongue
about what one heareth is agony, but to reply to the man who doth not
understand causeth suffering. If one protesteth against what is said,
the result is hatred; for the truth is not understood, and every protest
is resented. The only words which any man will now listen to are his
own. Every one believes in his own.... Truth hath forsaken speech
altogether."

Whether the copy of the work from which the above extracts is taken be
complete or not cannot be said, but in any case there is no suggestion
on the board in the British Museum that the author of the work had any
remedy in his mind for the lamentable state of things which he
describes. Another Egyptian writer, called Apuur, who probably
flourished a little before the rule of the kings of the twelfth dynasty,
depicts the terrible state of misery and corruption into which Egypt had
fallen in his time, but his despair is not so deep as that of the man
who was tired of his life or that of the priest Khakhepersenb. On the
contrary, he has sufficient hope of his country to believe that the day
will come when society shall be reformed, and when wickedness and
corruption shall be done away, and when the land shall be ruled by a
just ruler. It is difficult to say, but it seems as if he thought this
ruler would be a king who would govern Egypt with righteousness, as did
Ra in the remote ages, and that his advent was not far off. The Papyrus
in which the text on which these observations are based is preserved in
Leyden, No. 1344. It has been discussed carefully by several scholars,
some of whom believe that its contents prove that the expectation of the
coming of a Messiah was current in Egypt some forty-five centuries ago.
The following extracts will give an idea of the character of the
indictment which Apuur drew up against the Government and society of his
day, and which he had the temerity to proclaim in the presence of the
reigning king and his court. He says: "The guardians of houses say, 'Let
us go and steal.' The snarers of birds have formed themselves into armed
bands. The peasants of the Delta have provided themselves with bucklers.
A man regardeth his son as his enemy. The righteous man grieveth because
of what hath taken place in the country. A man goeth out with his shield
to plough. The man with a bow is ready [to shoot], the wrongdoer is in
every place. The inundation of the Nile cometh, yet no one goeth out to
plough. Poor men have gotten costly goods, and the man who was unable to
make his own sandals is a possessor of wealth. The hearts of slaves are
sad, and the nobles no longer participate in the rejoicings of their
people. Men's hearts are violent, there is plague everywhere, blood is
in every place, death is common, and the mummy wrappings call to people
before they are used. Multitudes are buried in the river, the stream is
a tomb, and the place of mummification is a canal. The gentle folk weep,
the simple folk are glad, and the people of every town say, 'Come, let
us blot out these who have power and possessions among us.' Men resemble
the mud-birds, filth is everywhere, and every one is clad in dirty
garments. The land spinneth round like the wheel of the potter. The
robber is a rich man, and [the rich man] is a robber. The poor man
groaneth and saith, 'This is calamity indeed, but what can I do?' The
river is blood, and men drink it; they cease to be men who thirst for
water. Gates and their buildings are consumed with fire, yet the palace
is stable and nourishing. The boats of the peoples of the South have
failed to arrive, the towns are destroyed, and Upper Egypt is desert.
The crocodiles are sated with their prey, for men willingly go to them.
The desert hath covered the land, the Nomes are destroyed, and there
are foreign troops in Egypt. People come hither [from everywhere], there
are no Egyptians left in the land. On the necks of the women slaves
[hang ornaments of] gold, lapis-lazuli, silver, turquoise, carnelian,
bronze, and _abhet_ stone. There is good food everywhere, and yet
mistresses of houses say, 'Would that we had something to eat.' The
skilled masons who build pyramids have become hinds on farms, and those
who tended the Boat of the god are yoked together [in ploughing]. Men do
not go on voyages to Kepuna (Byblos in Syria) to-day. What shall we do
for cedar wood for our mummies, in coffins of which priests are buried,
and with the oil of which men are embalmed? They come no longer. There
is no gold, the handicrafts languish. What is the good of a treasury if
we have nothing to put in it? Everything is in ruins. Laughter is dead,
no one can laugh. Groaning and lamentation are everywhere in the land.
Egyptians have turned into foreigners. The hair hath fallen out of the
head of every man. A gentleman cannot be distinguished from a nobody.
Every man saith, 'I would that I were dead,' and children say, '[My
father] ought not to have begotten me.' Children of princes are dashed
against the walls, the children of desire are cast out into the desert,
and Khnemu[1] groaneth in sheer exhaustion. The Asiatics have become
workmen in the Delta. Noble ladies and slave girls suffer alike. The
women who used to sing songs now sing dirges. Female slaves speak as
they like, and when their mistress commandeth they are aggrieved.
Princes go hungry and weep. The hasty man saith, 'If I only knew where
God was I would make offerings to Him.' The hearts of the flocks weep,
and the cattle groan because of the condition of the land. A man
striketh his own brother. What is to be done? The roads are watched by
robbers, who hide in the bushes until a benighted traveller cometh, when
they rob him. They seize his goods, and beat him to death with cudgels.
Would that the human race might perish, and there be no more conceiving
or bringing to the birth! If only the earth could be quiet, and revolts
cease! Men eat herbs and drink water, and there is no food for the
birds, and even the swill is taken from the mouths of the swine. There
is no grain anywhere, and people lack clothes, unguents, and oil. Every
man saith, 'There is none.' The storehouse is destroyed, and its keeper
lieth prone on the ground. The documents have been filched from their
august chambers, and the shrine is desecrated. Words of power are
unravelled, and spells made powerless. The public offices are broken
open and their documents stolen, and serfs have become their own
masters. The laws of the court-house are rejected, men trample on them
in public, and the poor break them in the street. Things are now done
that have never been done before, for a party of miserable men have
removed the king. The secrets of the Kings of the South and of the North
have been revealed. The man who could not make a coffin for himself hath
a large tomb. The occupants of tombs have been cast out into the desert,
and the man who could not make a coffin for himself hath now a treasury.
He who could not build a hut for himself is now master of a habitation
with walls. The rich man spendeth his night athirst, and he who begged
for the leavings in the pots hath now brimming bowls. Men who had fine
raiment are now in rags, and he who never wore a garment at all now
dresseth in fine linen. The poor have become rich, and the rich poor.
Noble ladies sell their children for beds. Those who once had beds now
sleep on the ground. Noble ladies go hungry, whilst butchers are sated
with what was once prepared for them. A man is slain by his brother's
side, and that brother fleeth to save his own life."

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