Papyrus section 5

(5.1) the heart is absent and cannot remember yesterday. The bones ache from long years. Good has become evil; every taste has vanished.

(5.2) What old age does to people is evil in every way. The nose is stopped and cannot breathe, whether one stands or sits. Command this servant here

(5.3) to make a staff for old age. Then I shall tell him the words of those who listened, the counsels of the ancestors who once obeyed the gods. May the like be done for you:

(5.4) then misery will be driven from the people, and the Two Banks will serve you.” The Majesty of this god said: “Teach him, then,

(5.5) the sayings of former times, so that he may become a model for the children of the great. May attentive hearing enter him, together with every integrity of heart. No one

(5.6) is born wise.” Beginning of the instruction in good speech, spoken by the hereditary noble and count, the god’s father, beloved of the god, the king’s eldest son—

(5.7) his intimate companion, the mayor and vizier Ptahhotep—as instruction for the ignorant in knowledge and in the measure of excellent speech:

(5.8) a benefit to one who listens, a loss to one who transgresses it. Then he said to his son: “Do not be arrogant in your heart because of what you know.

(5.9) Take counsel with the ignorant as with the learned. The limits of skill cannot be reached, and no craftsman is fully master of his art.

(5.10) Excellent speech is more hidden than greenstone, yet it may be found among women at the millstones. If you encounter a disputant in his moment,

(5.11) a powerful man, one more accomplished than you, fold your arms and bend your back. Do not set your heart against him: he will not be made to agree with you.

(5.12) Make little of his evil speech by not opposing him in his heat. He will be called an ignoramus,

(5.13) and your self-command will match his force. If you encounter a disputant in his moment, your equal, one who stands on your own level, you will prove yourself more accomplished than he:

(5.14) be silent while he speaks evil. Those who hear will speak greatly of it, and your name will be good in the judgment of the officials.

(5.1) The heart is forgetful and cannot remember yesterday. The bones ache from age; good has become bad; all taste is gone.

(5.2) What old age does to people is bad in every way. The nose is blocked and cannot breathe; standing and sitting are painful for this servant.

(5.3) Let this servant be commanded to make a staff for old age, so that I may tell him the words of those who listened, the counsels of the ancestors who once listened to the gods.

(5.4) Then the same may be done for you: strife will be driven from the people, and the Two Banks will serve you.” Then the Majesty of this god said: “Teach him, then, the speech of former times,

(5.5) so that he may become an example for the children of the great. Let attentive hearing and the exactness of every heart that speaks to him enter him, for no one is born wise. Beginning of the maxims of good speech,

(5.6) spoken by the hereditary noble and count, the god’s father, beloved of the god, the king’s eldest son of his own body,

(5.7) the mayor and vizier Ptahhotep, as instruction for the ignorant in knowledge and in the standard of good speech—beneficial

(5.8) to the one who hears it, but harmful to the one who violates it. He says to his son: “Do not be proud in your heart because of your knowledge. Consult

(5.9) the ignorant as well as the learned, for the limits of skill cannot be reached, and no craftsman is fully equipped with mastery.

(5.10) Good speech is more hidden than greenstone, yet it is found among servant women at the millstones. If you meet a disputant in his moment, one who controls his actions and is more capable than you,

(5.11) fold your arms and bend your back. Do not set your heart against him, for he will not yield to you. Belittle the one who speaks evil by not opposing him in his moment;

(5.12) the evil speaker will be called an ignorant man. Your restraint will master his force, and the one who attacks your heart will not stand.

(5.13) If you meet a disputant in his moment who is your equal, one who stands at your own level, make yourself more capable than he by keeping silent while he speaks badly.

(5.14) Those who hear will discuss him greatly, while your name will be good in the judgment of the officials.