The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-07-15

should. do him all the good that thou art abb
for he Is thy son. a being attached TO thee whom
thine own self hast begotten. Separate no'
thy heart from him. II, however. he conducts
himself evilly and transsresses thy WILL u nc
rejects all counsel. and II his mouth moves Va
wicked speech, strike him on the mouth" And
again: Give orders without reserve TO nm
who docs wrong and TO him who is OF a restless
disposition: then he will not deviaie from
the straight path, and there will not be met any
obstacle which will interrupt the course.
Another ancient document. the Maxims OF AMI
proves that the rod was used frequently on
children In ancient Egypt.
Among other injunctions in the book OF Ptah-
hotep may be noted one that outlines the duty
Of an umpire or judge: If thou hast the posi-
ton OF umpire, listen to the discourse OF the
petitioner: do not IN treat him; that would ois-
! courage him. Do not say to him. Thou hast
already told that Indulgence will encourage
| him to do that for which he came. As for Ill
! using the complainant for telling what Happened
at the time when the wrong was done. in place
Of complaining Of the injury itself; that Should
not be- practised. Tho means Of obtaining q
true explanation Is TO listen with kindness.
| Elsewhere Ptah-hotep warns his son against
lntIl&ue8 VIII WOsneus espoS'hhy hA ao
| of a friend: IF thou desirest TO inspire respect
in the dwelling wherein thou cnterest. as TOT
| example, the dwelling Of . friend. a superior. or q
| person Of consideration; In Short wheresoever
f, thou dost enter, keep thyself from advances TO
the woman. for there is naught good In 30 DO
ing. There 10 no prudence In taking parf there-
In. and thousands OF men are lost for the enjoy
| ment OF . moment brief a. a dream. whilst they
gain death from its becoming known. II Is q
| villainous disposition. that Of a man who thus
sxcites himself. II he carries his desire into
| execution. his mind abandons him. As ior
| him who lacks repugnance for such action. there
| IL no good sense In him." The proper treatment
| OF a wife by q husband Is thus indicated: III
| thou art wise. watch thy house. and love tny
| wife with purity. that Ii to say. be faihrui 70
her. FIJI her stomach with food. clothe her
back: these are the cares to be bestowed upon
her body. Caress her and fulfl her wishes dur
ing the time Of her existence. 1t ID q form OF Well
doing which does thee honor. Be not brutal;
good manners will influences her better than
force. Give her whats she longs for. It's these
things which make steadiness In the house.; II
thou repellest her. 1t Is an abyss. There were
strange vicissitudes In the lives OF men under
the early Pharaohs. This 10 evident from the
following injunction; Treat thy dependents
well. as far as It Is thy duty to do so; this apper-
talns to those whom God has favored. As We
do not know the events which may happen to US
on the morrow. he Is a wise person IN whose
house one Is well treated. When the necessity
comes to show devotion. tho dep ndents say.
Let us 60! let us gol' II good treatment hath
not left the place; II good treatment hath quit
ted it. the people falter."
or a similar tenor is the following precept:
1T thou art great after having been low. II
thou art rich after having been poor. thou
shouldst lnow how not to take advantage OF
the fact OF having reached TO the first rank
harden not thy heart because OF thy elevation:
thou art become only the overseer OF the bless
ings Of God. Put not behind thee the neigh
Dor who is thy fellow creature. be TO him as n
companion" Before leaving the PRISE papyrus
we would note how the rules Of good breeding
in conversation were laid down by the Egypt
ians more than five thousand years ago: II
thou aimest at having polished manners do
not question him whom thou dost nccost. Ton
verse with him In private In such a way rs
not to embarrass him. Do not argue Win
him, except after letting him have time 70
| impregnate his mind with the subject OF your
discourse. II he show his ignorance, and
giveth thee an opportunity OF making hin
| ashamed, rather than do that, treat him with
respect: do not push him on: do NOT reply
In a crushing manner; do not stop him snort:
| do not worry him: for fear that he will not come
back. and men will shun 10 converse with thee.
The ma1ims Of the scribe Ami. also known
a. the Papyrus OF Bulak No. 4. were first puo'
lished by M~ariette In 1872. The manuscript
IL referred by competent critics OF the hand
writing to various dates within the six CEN
turtles which ran between the time OF Rameses
ii. (about 1850 B. c. and the end Of the Twenty
third Dynasty tabout 7ee B. CO.. II is eener-
| ally acknowledged. however. that many Of the
! maxims enunciated come from very old orig
inal.. II 4. evident from the maxlms OF Ami
that vices Ind increased In Egypt since the
| time OF Ptah-hotep, while manners. on the other
hand, had become more elaborate and refined
Moreover, the conception Of human society
| has become less local and more cosmopoli tan.
One Of the maxims Of Ami recalls the warn
| ing against strange women, found in the
| Hebrew sacred writings: Keep thyself from
an outside woman not known In her city; do
not visit her. she Is similar to all her fellows:
do not have anything to do with her; she Ia a
deep water and the turnings are unknown.
A woman Whose husband Is afar RENTS to thee
writtngs she calls thee each day; II she hasnot witt
nesses, she stands UP. throwing her arms around
thy neck. and that may become q crime worthy
| Of death when II has been noised abroad, even
when she has not really accomplished her de-
signs. Men commit all sorts Of crimes for
| this alone" Az Diodorus Siculus testified
in much later times. the laws OF ancient Egypt
concerning women were very severe. He who
was convicted Of violating a free woman WAS
mutilated. This crime was held to comprehend
| three evil things. to wit: The personal in
| suit. corruption OF morals and confusion Of
| children. For adultery committed without
| violence a man wa condemned to receive
a thousand strokes Of the rod. and q woman
to have her nose cut of.
Another OF Ants Maxims Is an admonitlon
against frequenting taverns: frequent not
| the taverns In which they drink beer. for fear
| that ono repeat words which may have gone
| out Of thy mouth without thy having perception
| of having pronounced them. Thou fallest,
| thy limbs arc broken and no ono extends q
| hand to thee; but thy drinking companions
are there TO say. Put out that drunkardr Ono
| Gomez TO speak OF thy Affairs and finds thee
yaIlowing on the earth like q little child" The
beer known In ancient Egypt as haa was a
fermented drink usually made from a grain
| called the red barley Of the Nile. and was at
least a. old az the fourth dynasty. This red
! barley" seems to have been a species OF grain
| indigenous to the Nile valley. There was q
xar;otx, NJ heer NJ n finer grade jmported from