TLIT-2

Las instrucciones de Ptahhotep a su hijo(pap. Prisse - B.Nat. nos. 183-194)

Texto jeroglífico: Zbyněk Žába, Les maximes (revisado)Traducción: LAE, 159 - 176 (R.O.F.)

1/4. (IV, 1) The teaching of the City Governor and Vizier Ptahhotpe

5.under His Majesty the King of Upper and Lower Egypt Izezi—may he live forever and ever!

6. (IV, 2) The City Governor and Vizier Ptahhotpe said:

7.O Sovereign my lord!

8.Decrepitude has come into being, old age has befallen,

9. (IV, 3) woe has come, weakness is renewed,

10.and he [Ptahhotpe] has gone to rest in discomfort every day.

11. (IV, 4) The eyes are dim, the ears are deaf,

12.strength is perishing because of my lassitude,

13.the mouth is silent and cannot speak,

16. (V, 1) the mind has come to an end and cannot remember yesterday,

17.the bone(s) suffer all over,

18.good is become evil,

19.all taste has gone,

20. (V, 2) (and) what old age does to men

21.is evil in every respect. [cláusula desplazada]

22.the nose is stopped up and cannot breathe,

23.standing and sitting are irksome.

28. (V, 3) May it be permitted to your humble servant to appoint a staff of old age; [a a pupil or disciple]

30.then will I tell him the words of the judges,

31.the counsels of those who were aforetime,

32.who in the past obeyed the gods.

33. (V, 4) Then shall the like be done for you,

34.troubles shall be driven away from the people,

35.and the Two Banks shall serve you.

36.Then said the Majesty of this god:

37. (V, 5) Teach him what has been said in the past;

39.then he will set a good example to the children of the magistrates,

40. (V, 6) and judgement and all exactitude shall enter into him. Speak to him,

41.for there is none born wise.

42.Here begin the maxims of good speech

43a.spoken by the hereditary noble and Count,

43b.God’s father, beloved of the god,

44. (V, 7) eldest bodily son of the king,

46.the City Governor and Vizier Ptahhotpe,

47.when instructing the ignorant to know

48.according to the standard of good speech,

49. (V, 8) being weal to him who will hear

50.and woe to him who will disobey it.

51.Thus he said to his son:

52.Do not be arrogant because of your knowledge,

54. (V, 9) but confer with the ignorant man as with the learned,

55.for the limit of skill has not been attained,

56.and there is no craftsman who has (fully) acquired his mastery.

58. (V, 10) Good speech is more hidden than malachite,

59.yet it is found in the possession of women slaves at the millstones.

60.If you find a disputant arguing,

61. (V, 11) one having authority and superior to you,

62.bend down your arms and bow your back;

63.if you disagree with him, he will not side with you.

64. (V, 12) You should make little of the evil speaking

65.by not opposing him in his argument;

66.it means that he will be dubbed an ignoramus

67. (V, 13) when your self-control has marched his prolixity.

68.If you find a disputant arguing,

69.your equal who is on your own level,

70. (V, 14) let your virtue be manifest against him in silence

71.when he is speaking ill;

72.great will be the talk on the part of the hearers,

73.and your name will be fair in the opinion of the magistrates.

74. (VI, 1) If you find a disputant arguing,

75.a humble man who is not your equal,

76.do not be aggressive against him in proportion as he is humble;

77. (VI, 2)

let him alone, that he may confute himself.

78.Do not question him in order to relieve your feelings,

79.do not vent yourself against your opponent,

81. (VI, 3) for wretched is he who would destroy him who is poor of understanding;

82.men will do what you wish,

83.and you will defeat him by the disapproval of the magistrates.

84. (VI, 4) If you are a leader,

85.controlling the destiny of the masses,

86.seek out every good thing,

87. (VI, 5) until there is no fault in your governance.

88.Truth is great and (its) effectiveness endures;

89.it has not been confounded since the time of Osiris.

90.Men punish him who trangresses the laws,

91. (VI, 6) and it is a transgression (even) in the eyes of the rapacious;

92.it is baseness which takes away wealth,

93.and wrongdoing has never brought its venture safe to port.

95. (VI, 7) He [the wrongdoer] says, “I acquire for myself,”

96.and does not say, “I acquire because of my occupation,”

97.but when the end comes, rightdoing endures.

98.That is what a man learns [lit. “relates”] from his father.

99. (VI, 8) Do not inspire terror in men,

100.for God also is repelled.

101.A man expects to live by it [by inspiring terror]

102.and (consequently) is lacking bread to eat.

103. (VI, 9) A man expects to become wealthy <through it>

107.and says, “I will acquire for myself what I perceive”;

111.a man says, “I will plunder someone else,”

112.and he ends by giving it to someone whom he does not know.

115. (VI, 10) No terror of man has ever been effective;

116.it is (only) the ordinance of God which is effective.

117.Plan to live in peace,

118.and what men give will come on its own accord.

119. (VI, 11) If you are one of the guests

120.at the table of one who is greater than you,

121.accept what he gives when it is set before you.

123.Look at what is before you

124. (VII, 1) and do not pierce him with much staring,

125.for to annoy him is an abomination of the spirit.

126.Do not speak to him until he calls,

127.for no one knows what may be displeasing;

129.speak when he addresses you,

130.and what you say will (then) be pleasing.

135. (VII, 2) As for a magnate when he is at the distribution of food, [lit. “is behind bread”]

136.his conduct is in accordance with the command of his will.

137.He will give to whomsoever he favors,

138.for it is the counsel of the night which comes to pass, [the donor has slept on his decisions]

139.and it is the will which extends his hands;

140.a magnate gives (only) to him who has attained to being a man (of position).

142. (VII, 3) The eating of bread is under the dispensation of God,

144.and it is (only) the ignorant man who will complain about it.

145.If you are a trusted man

146.whom one magnate sends to another,

147.be utterly exact when he sends you.

148.Do business for him exactly as he says;

149. (VII, 4) beware of calumny in speech

150.which might embroil one magnate with another,

151.to the distortion of truth;

152.it should not be repeated, angry speech

159.spoken by anyone,

160. (VII, 5) great or small, for that is an abomination to the spirit.

161.If you cultivate and there is growth in the field,

162.and God puts it into your hand in quantity,

165.do not sate your mouth [perhaps “do not boast about it”] in the presence of your kindred,

166.for great respect is given to the quiet man.

167.If a virtuous man is an owner of property,

168.in the tribunal (even) he seizes like a crocodile.

169. (VII, 6) Do not put a claim on him who has no children,

170.do not speak ill or boast about it;

171.there is many a father in trouble

172.and (many) a mother who has borne, and another is more content than she.

173. (VII, 7) It is the lone man whom God fosters,

174.and the lord of a tribe, it prays that he may follow.

175.If you are lowly and serve a wealthy man,

176.let all your conduct be good before God.

177.When <his> former poverty is known to you,

178. (VII, 8) do not be arrogant against him

179.because of what you know about his former state;

180.respect him in proportion to what has accrued to him,

181.for property does not come of itself:

182.such is its law for whoever desires it.

183.If <it> becomes superabundant, men respect him on his own account,

184.for it is God who made him wealthy,

185. (VII, 9) and he defends him when he is asleep.

186.Follow your desire as long as you live

187.and do not perform more than is ordered; [lit. “said”]

188.do not lessen the time of following desire,

189.for the wasting of time is an abomination to the spirit;

190. (VII, 10) do not use up the daytime

191.more than is (necessary) for the maintenance of your household.

192.When riches are gained, follow desire,

193.for riches will not profit if one is sluggish.

197.If you are a wealthy man,

198. (VII, 11)

beget a son who will make God well-disposed.

199.If he is straightforward and reverts to your character

202.and takes care of your property in good order,

203.do for him everything good,

204.for he is your son who belongs to what your spirit begot.

205.Do not separate your heart from him,

206. (VII, 12) for ill-will makes quarreling.

207.If he errs and disobeys your counsel

210.and defies all that is said

211.and babbles evil words,

215.punish him for all his speeches,

216.show displeasure at them;

217. (VIII, 1) it will mean that an impediment is implanted in the body for him. [i.e. he will come to grief]

218.Their [the gods] guidance cannot err,

219. (VIII, 2) and those whom they make boatless cannot cross (the river).

220.If you are in the portal, [the gate of judgement, where pleas are heard]

221. (VIII, 3) carry on [lit. “stand and sit”] according to your procedure

222.which was commanded to you on the first day.

223.Do not pass by, [i.e. play truant] or you will be detained.

224. (VIII, 4) Be alert for him who enters and reports,

225.with freedom of movement for him who is summoned.

227. (VIII, 5) The portal is (to be conducted) according to the normal standard,

228.and all conduct is according to rule;

229.it is God who advances position,

231. (VIII, 6) and those who elbow in do not succeed.

232.If you are with people,

233.make for yourself a partisan of a trustworthy man,

234. (VIII, 7) for a trustworthy man

235.is one who does not distort speech in his mind; [lit. “in his body”]

237.he himself will become a leader,

239. (VIII, 8) an owner of property by reason of his own conduct.

240.Then your name will be fair without your having to speak;

241. (VIII, 9) your body will be provided, your face will be toward your kindred, [i.e. you will look kindly on them]

242.and men will make presentation to you of what is unknown to you.

243.As for him whose heart obeys his belly,

244. (VIII, 10)

he puts dislike of himself in the place of love;

245.his heart is sad and his body unanointed.

247. (VIII, 11)

Joyous are the hearts of those whom God has given,

248.but he who obeys his belly has an enemy.

249.Report your business without dissembling;

250. (VIII, 12) display your conduct in your master’s council.

251.If one overflows [i.e. reports fully] to him when he speaks, it will not

252.be bad for the messenger who reports

253. (VIII, 13)

without expression, but who is he who realizes it?

254.Is the magnate against his [the messenger’s] affair in error?

255. (VIII, 14) If he [the magnate] plans to oppose him because of it,

256.he [the messenger] will keep silence, saying: “I have (already) spoken.”

257.If you are a leader,

258. (IX, 1)

be far-reaching of governance in what is entrusted to you,

259.and you shall do distinguished things.

260. (IX, 2) Remember [ emending n.f into n.k after imp.] the days which are to come,

261.that no (awkward) matter may come up in the midst of favors;

262. (IX, 3)

(else) a crocodile will get in and hatred supervene.

264.If you are a leader,

265. (IX, 4) be pleased when you hear the speech of a petitioner;

266.do not rebuff him until his belly is emptied

267. (IX, 5) of what he has planned to tell you;

268.the victim of wrong prefers the venting of his feelings

269.to the performance of that for which he has come.

273. (IX, 6)

As for him who rebuffs petitions,

274.men say: “Why does he reject them?”

275. (IX, 7) Not everything about which he [the plaintiff] has petitioned is what shall come to pass,

276.but a kindly hearing is a soothing of the heart.

277. (IX, 8) If you desire to preserve friendship

278.in a home into which you enter,

279. (IX, 9) whether as lord or as brother or as friend,

280.at any place into which you enter,

281.beware of approaching the women,

282. (IX, 10) for no good comes to a place where this is done,

283.nor is it clever to reveal them; [show them in their true colors?]

284. (IX, 11) a thousand men are turned aside from what is good for them.

287.A little moment, the semblance of a dream,

288. (IX, 12) and death reaches you because of knowing them.

292.To shoot an enemy is a crime;

293. (IX, 13) men go out [leave home?] because of doing it, and the heart should thrust it away.

296.As for him who fails by reason of lusting after them

297.no plan at all will succeed in his hand.

298. (X, 1) If you desire your conduct to be good,

299.refrain yourself from all kinds of evil.

300.Beware of an act of avarice;

301. (X, 2) it is a bad and incurable disease.

302.Intimacy is made impossible by it;

303.it alienates fathers and mothers

304. (X, 3)

and maternal brothers,

308.it drives wife and husband apart,

309. (X, 4)

it is a gathering of all that is evil

310.and a bag of all that is hateful.

312.he will long endure, the man who is exact in right-doing

313.and who walks according to its procedure;

314. (X, 5) he will achieve a testament thereby, [i.e. will have something to leave his family]

315.but there is no tomb for the rapacious man.

316.Do not be rapacious over the division, [of the estate of a testator]

317. (X, 6)

do not be covetous except as concerns your own property.

318.Do not be rapacious toward your kindred,

319. (X, 7) for greater is the claim of the gentle man than that of the strong.

320.It is scarcity which comes forth from among his [the strong man’s] kindred,

321.and he is devoid of what speech can bring. [i.e. gets only a refusal, when he asks]

322. (X, 8) Even a little of what is coveted

323.turns a quarrelsome man into an amicable one.

325.If you are well-to-do and can maintain your household,

326. (X, 9) love your wife in your home <according to good> custom. [corrupt; read m Xnw.k r tp-Hsb]

327.Fill her belly, clothe her back;

328.oil is the panacea for her body.

329. (X, 10) Make her happy while you are alive,

330.for she is land profitable to her lord.

331.Neither judge her [corrupt; read r rwyt]

332. (X, 11) nor raise her to a position of power... [corrupt and unintelligible]

333.her eye is a stormwind when she sees... [A textual omission here: “Soothe her heart

335. (X, 12) with what has accrued to you;”] it means that she will continue to dwell in your house.

336.If you repulse her, it means tears. [Lit. “water”; the result of not making it up after a quarrel]

337.A vagina is what she gives for her condition;

338.what she asks about is who will make a canal for her. [i.e. will properly feed and clothe her]

339. (XI, 1) Propitiate your friends with what has accrued to you,

340.that being possible to one whom God favors;

341. (XI, 2) as for one who fails to propitiate his friends,

342.men will say that he is a selfish character.

343.No one knows what may happen when he perceives tomorrow,

344. (XI, 3) and the straightforward character who is content with it is a (real) character.

346.If occasions of favor arise,

347. (XI, 4)

it is friends who say “Welcome!”

348.If one cannot bring peace to an abode,

349.one has recourse to friends when there is trouble.

350. (XI, 5)

Do not repeat slander;

351.you should not hear it,

352.for it is the result of hot temper.

353. (XI, 6) Repeat (only) a matter seen, not what is heard.

354.It should be left alone; do not speak at all,

355. (XI, 7) and your vis-à-vis will know <your> virtue. [Apparently a considerable textual omission here]

356.A theft is commanded to be done

357. (XI, 8)

and is brought about in order to take it, being what is hateful according to law.

359.See, it is the destruction of a dream,

360.a covering of it over.

362. (XI, 9) If you are a trusted man

363.who sits in the council of his lord,

364.set your heart on excellence.

365. (XI, 10) If you are quiet, it will be more profitable than tftf-plants;

366.speak (only) when you know you can clarify the issue.

367. (XI, 11) It is the expert who speaks in the council,

368.for speech is more difficult than any craft,

369.and it is he who can interpret it who gives it authority(?). [lit. “who puts it at the rod”]

370.If you are powerful and inspire respect of yourself,

371.whether by knowledge or by pleasantness of speech,

372. (XI, 13) do not give orders except as concerns business.

373.The quarrelsome man falls into wrongdoing;

374. (XII, 1) do not be haughty, lest he is humiliated;

375.do not keep silence, but beware lest you offend

376. (XII, 2) or answer a word with anger.

377.Avert your face, control yourself,

378. (XII, 3) and the flames of hot temper will sweep past [lit. “sweep over”]

379.the pleasant man who is offended and whose path is contested.

380. (XII, 4) One who is serious all day

381.will never have a good time,

382.while one who is frivolous all day

383. (XII, 5) will never establish a household.

384.He who shoots will be paid in full

385.

like one who works the steering-oar on an occasion for landing,

386.and another is arrested. [A series of sentences of which the meaning is obscure]

387. (XII, 6) He who obeys his heart will be well provided.

388.Do not oppose the action [lit. “at the moment (of action)”] of a magnate,

389. (XII, 7)

do not vex the heart of him who is overburdened,

391.for his ill-will will arise against one who is hostile to him,

392.but goodwill will be released through one who loves him,

393. (XII, 8) for he who dispenses goodwill is with God,

394.and what he desires is what is done for him;

395.make calm [emending into sHtp] after the storm.

397a.Content is due to his goodwill,

397b. (XII, 9) but illwill is due to an enemy;

398.it is goodwill which makes love grow.

399.Instruct a magnate in what is profitable to him;

400. (XII, 10) bring about his reception into the company of men,

401.that you may cause his wisdom to fall upon its owner,

404. (XII, 11) for your sustenance will depend on his goodwill.

406.The body of love is more than contentment,

407.and your back will be clothed by it.

408. (XII, 12) When he is accepted, you can attend to [lit. “your face will be toward to”] the life of your house

409.through your rank which you desire.

410.It is he who will live by means of it,

411.and he will make a good arm [i.e. “a helping hand”] toward you; quiet

412. (XII, 13) will last long, for the love of you is

413.in the bodies of those who love you;

414.see, it is goodwill which desires to hear.

415. (XIII, 1) If you act as a man of rank belonging to the tribunal,

416.an envoy who pleases the masses,

417. (XIII, 2) adopt impartiality of judgement [Corrupt]

418.when you speak; do not be one-sided.

419. (XIII, 3) Beware lest he tell his affair <to>

420.the magistrates in order that he may cause the matter to be (decided) in his favor;

[“put speech on the side thereof”]

421. (XIII, 4) direct your actions to true judgement.

422.If you are lenient concerning a matter that is past

423. (XIII, 5) and favor [lit. “incline to”] a man because of his straight dealing,

424.pass him by, do not remember him,

425. (XIII, 6) since he was silent toward you on the first day.

428.If you have become great after your poverty

429. (XIII, 7)

and you have achieved property after former need

431.in the city which you know,

432. (XIII, 8)

do not boast of what has accrued to you in the past,

433.do not trust in your riches,

434.which have accrued to you by the gift of God;

435. (XIII, 9)

you will not be subordinate to anyone else

436.to whom the like has happened.

441.Bend your back to your superior,

442. (XIII, 10) your steward of the palace;

443.so will your house endure because of its goods,

444. (XIII, 11) and your payment will be at the proper time.

446.Wretched is he who is in opposition against a superior,

447. (XIII, 12) for men live only for the season of his leniency;

448.the arm is never bent [i.e. no one shows him respect any longer] when he is despoiled.

450. (XIV, 1) Do not rob the house of neighbors,

451.do not steal the goods of one who is near you,

453. (XIV, 2) lest he should make a complaint against you until you hear <about it>;

454.it is a fault of a recalcitrant heart.

455. (XIV, 3) If he knows it, he will litigate,

456. (XIV, 4) and wretched is he who is in opposition against his environment.

457.Do not copulate with a woman-boy,

458. (XIV, 5) for you know that what is (generally) opposed will be a necessity to his heart,

459.and that which is in his body will not be calmed.

460. (XIV, 6) Let him not spend the night doing what is opposed

462.in order that he may be calm after he has quenched his desire.

463. (XIV, 7) If you would search out the nature of a friend,

464.do not question one who is near him,

465.but deal with him privately

466. (XIV, 8) until you are no longer troubled about his condition.

467.Argue with him after a while;

470. (XIV, 9)

prove his mind in an occasion of speech.

471.If what he has seen escapes from him

472.and he deals so as to make you angry with him,

473. (XIV, 10) <keep silence> [omitted in Prisse] or be friendly with him;

474.do not avert your face.

475.Be wary when he has revealed a matter;

476. (XIV, 11) do not answer with an act of hostility,

477.do not remove yourself from him, do not humiliate him.

479. (XIV, 12) Never has his time failed to come,

480.for no one can escape from him who has predestined him.

481.Be cheerful while you are alive;

482. (XIV, 13) as for what goes out from the storehouse, it cannot go in (again).

483. (XV, 1)

It is bread for sharing out over which men are covetous;

484.he whose belly is empty is the one who complains

485.and he who is in opposition becomes a grumbler.

486. (XV, 2)

Do not let him be one who is near you;

487.graciousness is a man’s memorial

488.in the years which follow the scepter. [i.e. fater he has laid down his authority in death]

489. (XV, 3) Know your neighbors while you have property

490.and do not show ill-temper to your friends,

491. (XV, 4)

it will be a riverbank which fills up; it is greater than its riches,

492.for the property of one may belong to another,

493.but the character of a man of rank will be beneficial to him,

494. (XV, 5) and a good reputation will be a memorial.

495.Punish severely, teach thoroughly,

496.for the suppression of wrongdoing leads to the establishing of a good character.

497. (XV, 6) As for a case not concerning wrongdoing,

498.a complaint should be made through an opponent.

499.If you take a wife

500a. (XV, 7) who is ..., who is frivolous

500b.and notorious to her fellow-citizens,

501.and she is ...

502.be kind to her for a space,

503.do not put her away, but let her eat.

506. (XV, 8)

The frivolous woman ...

507.If you hear these things which I have said to you,

508.all your counsels will be to the fore;

509. (XV, 9)

if their truth remains, they mean wealth.

510.The memory of them will move in the mouths of men

511.because their maxims are good,

512.every word will be used,

514. (XV, 10) and <they> will not perish in this land forever.

515.It is done and well-expressed,

516.and magistrates will speak of it;

517. (XV, 11)

it is to teach a man to speak to him who shall come after

518.that he may hear it, having become an expert who is heard,

519.for it is good to speak to him who shall come after, and it is he who will hear it.

520/1. (XV, 12) If a good deed comes to pass by the hand of one who is a chieftain,

522.he will be well-famed forever,

523.and all his wisdom will be everlasting.

524.It is the learned man who helps his soul

525. (XV, 13) when establishing his good fortune on earth by means of it,

526.and the learned man will be satisfied by what he has learned.

527.Is the magistrate at his good deed? [i.e. carrying out his duties properly]

528.His heart and his tongue are in harmony, [corrupt]

529. (XVI, 1)

his lips are accurate when he speaks,

530.his eyes see,

531. (XVI, 2) his ears are pleased at hearing what is good for his son,

532.who does what is right and is devoid of falsehood.

534. (XVI, 3)

Hearing is good for a son who hears,

535.when hearing enters into the hearer,

536. (XVI, 4)

for he who hears will become a judge.

537.Hearing is good and speaking is good,

538.but he who hears is a possessor of benefits.

540. (XVI, 5) Hearing is good for the hearer,

541.and better is hearing than anything,

542.for fair love comes (thus) into being.

543. (XVI, 6) How good it is that a son should accept what his father says!

544.Old age comes about for him by means of it;

545. (XVI, 7)

he who hears is one whom God loves,

546.but one who does not hear is one whom God detests.

550. (XVI, 8) It is the heart which educates its owner

551.in hearing or in not hearing,

552.for the life, prosperity and health of a man depend on [lit. “are”] his heart;

553. (XVI, 9)

it is the hearer who hears what is said,

554.and he who acts according to what is said is one who loves hearing.

556. (XVI, 10) How good it is that a son should obey his father,

557.and how joyful is he to whom this is said!

558. (XVI, 11) A son is pleasing to a lord of hearing, [one who expects to be heard]

560.(even) one who hears whoever says it to him, that he may be efficient in his body,

561. (XVI, 12) one honored by his father,

562.and he will be remembered in the mouths of the living

563. (XVI, 13) who survive on earth or who are yet to be.

564.If a man of rank accepts what his father says,

565. (XVI, 14) he will not upset any plan of his.

566.Your teaching is in your son, a hearer

567. (XVII, 1) who will be well-pleasing to the magistrates

568.and who will guide his speech according to what is said to him.

569. (XVII, 2) He who sees is one who hears,

570.a son who will be well-pleasing and whose actions will be distinguished.

572. (XVII, 3) Error has entered early into him who does not hear,

573.but a wise man will establish himself,

574. (XVII, 4) while the fool is hard hit.

575.As for the fool who will not hear,

576. (XVII, 5) there is no one who can do anything for him.

577.He regards knowledge as ignorance

578. (XVII, 6) and what is beneficial as something harmful;

579.he does everything hateful,

580. (XVII, 7) so that men are angry with him every day.

581.He lives on that whereby men die,

582.and to distort speech is his food.

584. (XVII, 8)

His character in this respect is in the knowledge of the magistrates,

585.dying alive every day;

586. (XVII, 9) men pass over his deeds

587.because of the multitude of troubles on him every day.

588. (XVII, 10) A son who hears is a follower of Horus,

589.and it goes well with him when he has heard.

590. (XVII, 11)

He grows old and attains honor,

591.and talks of the like to his children

592. (XVII, 12)

when renewing his father’s teaching,

593.for every man is taught like his begetter.

594. (XVII, 13) He talks to <his> children

595.so that they may speak <to> their children.

596. (XVIII, 1)

Achieve a good character, do not give offence;

597. (XVIII, 2) maintain justice, that your children may live.

598/9. (XVIII, 3) If the eldest of them comes suffering wrong,

600.men will say of what they have seen:

601. (XVIII, 4) “Indeed, that is like it!”

602.Say to those who will hear:

603. (XVIII, 5) “Indeed, that is like it also!”

604/6. (XVIII, 6) All men will see them, [i.e. justice and a good character] and the masses will be satisfied,

607. (XVIII, 7) for there is no profit in riches without them.

608.Do not take away a word, do not bring it away,

609. (XVIII, 8)

do not set one thing in the place of another,

611.beware of opening... [an unidentified plant, metaphor of bad thoughts] in yourself.

612. (XVIII, 9)

Wait on the speech of a sage

613. (XVIII, 10)

and listen, for you desire that you may be established

614.in the mouths of the listeners

615. (XVIII, 11)

when you speak. Enter into the condition of an expert

616.and speak to perfection,

617. (XVIII, 12) and every plan of yours will be in order.

618.Suppress your desires, control your mouth;

619. (XVIII, 13) so will your counsel be (heard) among the magistrates.

620. (XVIII, 14) Be utterly exact to your master

621.and act so that he may say: “That is my son,”

622. (XIX, 1) and so that those who shall hear it may say:

623.“Favored is he who begot him for himself.”

624. (XIX, 2) Be patient when you speak,

625.and you will say distinguished things;

626. (XIX, 3) then will the magistrates who shall hear say:

627.“How good is his utterance!”

628.Act until your master says of you:

629. (XIX, 4) “How good was the teaching of his father

630.from whom he issued, from out of whose body,

631.who spoke to him while he was yet entirely in the womb,

632. (XIX, 5) and what was done for him was greater than what was said to him.”

633.Behold, a good son is a gift of God,

634.one who does more than was said to him by his master;

635/6. (XIX, 6) he acts rightly, and his mind has achieved more than his actions;

637.according as you reach me, your body will be hale

638.and the king will be pleased with all that happens.

639. (XIX, 7) You will surpass (my) years of life,

640.and what I have done on earth is not little.

641.I have passed 110 years of life

642. (XIX, 8) through what the king gave to me,

643.favors over and above those who went before,

644.because of acting rightly for the king until the blessed state.

645. (XIX, 9) It is finished from beginning to end,

646.in accordance with what was found in writing.