Papyrus section 18

(18.1) Make justice firm, so that your children may live and the nobles may speak of your uprightness.

(18.2) Your children will live because of you. As for the first man who comes bearing

(18.3) wrongdoing, people will say to those who hear, “That is exactly like him,” and they will say to those who see,

(18.4) “That is indeed like him.” So it will be said to those who hear; so it will be said

(18.5) to those who see. All will behold it, and the multitude will be content.

(18.6) Without them, wealth cannot be complete. Do not remove a word, nor add one in its place.

(18.7) Do not alter the order of the words. Beware of loosening the bonds within you; keep each thing in its proper place.

(18.8) Do not put one thing in the place of another. Beware of opening what is knotted within you, lest a knowledgeable man say:

(18.9) “Listen, if you wish to endure in the mouths of those who hear. Speak only after you have mastered the craft.”

(18.10) You are one who loves excellence among those who come after; your words will enter into you,

(18.11) on the discerning lips of those who speak; your speech will be more discerning than theirs.

(18.12) Every counsel of yours will stand in its place, while your heart ranges in company with you.

(18.13) Then your counsel will endure among the officials, and you will be chosen

(18.14) as a keeper of secrets before your lord. If he says, “That son of his,”

(18.1) Let the officials speak in accordance with what you have said, and let the rightness of the teaching be established.

(18.2) Life, prosperity, and health belong to your children. As for the first person who comes bearing wrongdoing—

(18.3) then people will tell your descendants what they themselves have seen.

(18.4) “This is exactly what was said to their ancestors”; the same words will be said again to their descendants.

(18.5) “This is indeed what their forefathers saw.” Thus the whole community will be calmed.

(18.6) The entire multitude will recognize it; without these things, no wealth can be complete.

(18.7) Do not alter the words that have been spoken, do not substitute one thing for another, and do not put what is in your heart in place of them.

(18.8) Another person may expose what is hidden within you; therefore, be on your guard.

(18.9) Guard against being called a man who speaks what he does not know; let your heart instruct you, and master yourself.

(18.10) What you are will remain in the mouths of those who listen; what you say will prosper for you.

(18.11) When your words are repeated, they will be repeated exactly, without anything being taken away from—

(18.12) —any plan of yours, each in its proper place. Let your heart reach agreement with you.

(18.13) Then your counsel will have standing among the officials, firmly joined to what is established—

(18.14) —in accordance with what your lord commands. If he says, “He is my son,” then he is truly one who is fit—