Best 114 quotes of Miriam Lichtheim on MyQuotes

A goodly office is kingship, It has no son, no brother to maintain its memorial. But one man provides for the other; A man acts for him who was before him, So that what he has done is preserved by his successor.

All forms of evil which people hate have been suppressed. THE FIRST PART OF THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF ANKHTIFI

A man asked for an early meal. His wife said: “It is for supper.

A man regards his son as his enemy.

A man’s mouth can save him. His speech makes one forgive him.

A man strikes his maternal brother.

A man who saw has turned blind, A hearer deaf, A leader now leads astray!

As a dam is breached and water escapes..

As a man's name is not made small by his actions.

As for any people who would enter this tomb unclean and do something evil to it, there will be judgment against them by the great god. INSCRIPTION OF HETEP-HER-AKHET

As to everyone on whom I placed my hand, no misfortune ever befell him, because my heart was sealed and my counsel excellent. But as to any fool, any wretch, who stands up in opposition. I shall give according as he gives. “O woe,” will be said of one who is accused by me, his will take water like a boat. For I am a champion without peer! THE FIRST PART OF THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF ANKHTIFI

As watercourse is replaced by watercourse, So no river allows itself to be concealed. It breaks the channel in which it was hidden.

Awake in peace, you of back-turned face, in peace, You who looks backward, in peace, Sky's ferryman, in peace, Nut's ferryman, in peace, Ferryman of gods, in peacel! Unas has come to you That you may ferry him in this boat in which you ferry the gods. Unas has come to his side as a god comes to his side, Unas has come to his shore as a god comes to his shore. No one alive accuses Unas, No dead accuses Unas; No goose accuses Unas, No ox accuses Unas If you fail to ferry Unas, He will leap and sit on the wing of Thoth.s Then he will ferry Unas to that side Utterance 270 Antechamber, South Wall The king summons the ferryman

Be merciful on account of it, renew the treaties. No river lets itself be hidden, It is good to work for the future.

Beware of punishing wrongfully, Do not kill, it does not serve you.

Beware of subjects who are nobodies, Of whose plotting one is not aware. Trust not a brother, know not a friend. Make no intimates, it is worthless. When you lie down, guard your heart yourself.

But no one is strong at night; no one can fight alone; no success is achieved without a helper.

But your laziness leads you astray; your greed makes you dumb; your gluttony makes enemies for you.

Choose a man on account of his skills.

Cleanse yourself before your (own) eyes, Lest another cleanse you. When you prosper, found your household, Take a hearty wife, a son will be born you. It is for the son you build a house, When you make a place for yourself. Make good your dwelling in the graveyard, Make worthy your station in the West. Given that death humbles us, Given that life exalts us, The house of death is for life. Seek for yourself well-watered fields, Choose for him, a plot among your fields, Well-watered every year. He profits you more than your own son, Prefer him even to your [heir]. The Instruction of Prince Hardjedef

Copy your fathers, your ancestors, See, their words endure in books, Open, read them, copy their knowledge, He who is taught becomes skilled. Don’t be evil, kindness is good..

Crime is everywhere, there is no man of yesterday. Lo, the robber everywhere, The servant takes what he finds.

Death is before me today Like a sick man’s recovery, Like going outdoors after confinement. Death is before me today Like the fragrance of myrrh, Like sitting under sail on breeze day. Death is before me today Like the fragrance of lotus. Like sitting on the shore of drunkenness. Death is before me today Like a well-trodden way, Like a man’s coming home from warfare. Death is before me today Like the clearing of the sky. As when a man discovers what he ignored. Death is before me today Like a man’s longing to see his home When he has spent many years in captivity

Do justice, then you endure on earth; Calm the weeper, don’t oppress the widow,

Do not build your tomb out of ruins, (Using) what had been made for what is to be made. Behold, the king is lord of joy, You may rest, sleep in your strength, Follow your heart, through what I have done, There is no foe within your borders.

Do not tell lies against your mother, the magistrates abhor it. The descendant who does what is good. His actions all emulate the past. Do not consort with a rowdy. It harms you when one hears of it. If you have eaten three loaves, drunk two jugs of beer, and the belly is not sated, restrain it! When another eats, don't stand there, beware of rushing to the table!

Don’t brood on what has not yet come, nor rejoice at what has not yet happened. The patient man prolongs friendship; he who destroys a case will not be trusted.

Do your things on earth as your heart commands! When there comes to you that day of mourning, The Weary-hearted hears not their mourning, Wailing saves no man from the pit!

Each man’s heart is for himself.

Earth’s rightness lies in justice Speak not falsely, you are great. Act not tightly, you are weighty Speak not falsely, you are the balance.

Endow your monuments according to your wealth. Even one day gives to eternity, An hour contributes to the future, God recognizes him who works for him.

Foreigners have become people everywhere.

Forgetfulness profits you, Follow your heart as long as you live!

For no man has adherents on the day of woe. I gave to the beggar, I raised the orphan, I gave success to the poor as to the wealthy..

God smites the rebels in blood. He who is merciful lifetime; Do not kill a man whose virtues you know.

Good nature is a man’s heaven, The cursing of the [furious] is painful. If you are skilled in speech, you will win, The tongue is [a king’s] sword; Speaking is stronger than all fighting, The skillful is not overcome.

Had I raised my voice at that time, To save me from the pain I am in!

Happy is the heart of the king when gifts come to him. And when every foreign land [comes], that is our success, that is our fortune. What shall we do about it ? All is ruin!

Hearts have quite abandoned it

He who could not find plow-oxen owns cattle.

He who grieved goes out in joy.

He who is silent toward violence diminishes the offerings.

He who poured water on the ground seizes the mighty in misery.

He who puts his brother in the ground is everywhere. The word of the wise has fled without delay. Lo, the son of man is denied recognition, The child of his lady became the son of his maid. Lo, the desert claims the land, The nomes are destroyed.

He who reaches them without having done wrong Will exist there like a god. Free-striding like the lords forever!

How then does every man kill his brother?

I am knowing to him who lacks knowledge, One who teaches a man what is useful to him. I am a straight one in the king’s house, Who knows what to say in every office. I am a listener who listens to the truth, Who ponders it in the heart. I am one pleasant to his lord’s house, Who is remembered for his good qualities. I am kindly in the offices, One who is calm and does not roar. I am kindly, not short-tempered, One who does not attack a man for a remark. I am accurate like the scales. Straight and true like Thoth. I am firm-footed, well-disposed, Loyal to him who advanced him. I am a knower who taught himself knowledge, An advisor whose advice is sought. I am a speaker in the hall of justice, Skilled in speech in anxious situations.

If law is laid waste and order destroyed, no poor man can survive: when he is robbed, justice does not address him.

If one fights in the arena forgetful of the past, Success will elude him who ignores what he should know.

If you avert your face from violence, who then shall punish wrong doing ?