If thou drink with a drunkard, accept [drink], and his heart shall be satisfied. Refuse not meat when with a greedy man. Take that which he giveth thee; set it not on one side, thinking that it will be a courteous thing. 4. If a man be lacking in good fellowship, no speech hath any influence over him. He is sour of face toward the glad-hearted that are kindly to him; he is a grief unto his mother and his friends; and all men [cry], 'Let thy name be known; thou art silent in thy mouth when thou art addressed!' 5. Be not haughty because of thy might in the midst of thy young soldiers. Beware of making strife, for one knoweth not the things that the God will do when He punisheth. The Vizier caused his sons and daughters to be summoned, when he had finished the rules of the conduct of men. And they marvelled when they came to him. Then he said unto them, 'Hearken unto everything that is in writing in this book, even as I have said it in adding unto profitable sayings.' And they cast themselves on their bellies, and they read it, even as it was in writing. And it was better in their opinion than any thing in this land unto its limits. Now they were living when His Majesty, the King of Upper and Lower Egypt, HEUNI, {64} departed, and His Majesty, the King of Upper and Lower Egypt, SENFORU, was enthroned as a gracious king over the whole of this land. Then was Ke'gemni made Governor of his City and Vizier. IT IS FINISHED. [1] The original is not divided into sections. [2] _i.e._ comfortable [3] This is a rather dark saying, but apparently the author means that although the duly instructed guest will only partake moderately of the abundance before him, what he eats is as good as the rest. His portion will be equal to the whole as regards quality, though inferior as regards quantity. {65} APPENDIX The Instruction of Amenemhe'et I. is here given as a contrast to the foregoing. It is a Testament, however, rather than an Instruction, and contains more historical matter than didactic. It is written in a terse and pointed style, combined with the parallelism and antithesis which was the prevailing vehicle of poetic thought in Egyptian. The rank of its author and the exceeding bitterness of his mood make it a document of great interest. There is no reason to doubt its authenticity. This King was the founder of the glorious Twelfth Dynasty, a period which has been called the Golden Age of Egypt. He ruled from about 2778-2748 B.C., and, although he describes himself as over-lenient, was really one of the most vigorous and powerful of all the Sons of the Sun who for five thousand years wore the double crown of the Two Egypts.