>>40984917
>... the most extraordinary revelation has been the fact that the Wisdom of Amenemope, preserved in an Egyptian papyrus in the British Museum, was translated into Hebrew in ancient times and, circulating in Palestine, was the source for a whole section of the Old Testament Book of Proverbs.

>How many modern clergymen, requested to preach before some convention of business men, have taken as text the quotation from the Book of Proverbs “Seest thou a man diligent in business, he shall stand before kings”? It is not likely that any such clergyman ever prefaced his sermon with the observation that this text was taken by the Hebrew editor of Proverbs from a much older Egyptian book of moral wisdom. This discovery has added profound significance to the fact that civilised development in the countries surrounding Palestine was several thousand years earlier than that of the Hebrews.

>It is now quite evident that the ripe social and moral development of mankind in the Nile Valley, which is three thousand years older than that of the Hebrews, contributed essentially to the formation of the Hebrew literature which we call the Old Testament. Our moral heritage therefore derives from a wider human past enormously older than the Hebrews, and it has come to us rather through the Hebrews than from them. The rise of man to social idealism took place long before the traditional theologians’ “age of revelation” began. It was a result of the social experience of man himself and was not projected into the world from the outside.

>--James H. Breasted, The Dawn of Conscience, 1933

>>40953399
>Avoid over-eating, wine-bibbing, and gluttony; which waste time, destroy the mind, and bring sickness to the body. About these vices Amen-em-apt says: Spend not the hours of the day in cookshops and taverns, and sit not down in them and drink pot after pot of beer, for those who spend their days in this wise become merely masses of food. Even if thou art hungry and wishest to eat, lust not like a greedy beast for the dainty, spiced meats of the rich man who loves such meats. For the rich meats of the glutton produce a storm of wind in the stomach, and the bowels eject them. They turn the upright man to a wrongdoer, and his sense (or, understanding) departs from his body. Thus, inasmuch as the evil nature of man corrupts inclination for well-doing, the evil destroys the good in him.

>When thou hast swallowed a mouthful of the nobleman's food, thou shalt vomit it, and thus thy body will be emptied of the dainty which thou hast coveted. Because a great man offers thee food without stint, eat not of it greedily. If he gives it to thee so that thou mayest help him to get richer, reject it and eat thine own food. Eat not bread with the magistrate, and thrust not forward thy mouth. If thou fillest thyself with the rich meats of the wicked man they will depart with thy vomit. Keep thine eyes on the platter that is before thee, and make it to satisfy all thy cravings. Do not accustom thyself to sit in the beer-house. Hasten not to follow the worship of the wine-cup, for it will double the courage of thine adversaries.

>And now observe the foresight of the glutton. He himself collects the staves of the hunting nets. He makes all his servants to help in the hunt, and he keeps a strong man to kill the beasts in his slaughter-house. Keep away from him, and watch him and refuse his gifts.

All that monotheism pretends is its own was copied from pagan sources, and was deeply corrupted in the process. The politically-dominant monotheist religions are all false.

The Book of Amenomope
The Books Of Wise Instruction

I

Beware of robbing the poor and of oppressing the weak and helpless. Raise not your hand against the aged nor address an elder with improper speech. Let not yourself be sent on an evil mission nor stand in the company of those who have performed it. Rage not against those who injure you, nor on your account answer them. The wharf falls from under the wicked and a flood of water washes them away. The north wind comes down to end their hour on earth and turns into a tempest; the thunder roars and the crocodiles come without mercy.

II

Let us steer a righteous course so that we may carry the wicked across without becoming like them. Raise them up, give them your hand and then, leave them in the hands of God. Fill them with the food of your kindness that they might be satisifed and repent. Another thing good in the heart of God is that you pause and think before speaking.

III

Do not argue with the contentious, nor provoke them with words. Pause before those who interrupt and give way to those who verbally attack you. Sleep a night before speaking. For the unrestrained person is like a storm which bursts forth like a flame in a pile of straw.


IV

Now, the unrestrained man or woman in the temple is like a tree grown in unfertile ground. Its leaves wither quickIy and its unripe fruit falls to the earth. It reaches its end in the lumber yard or it is floated far from its place. And its burial cloth becomes a flame of fire. But the self-mastered man or woman sets him or herself apart. He or she is like a tree grown in fertile ground. It grows green and doubles its yield of fruit. It has its place in the eyes of its owner. Its fruit is sweet, its shade is pleasant and its end is reached in the garden.