>XIX. If thou wouldst have thy lot as a leader a happy one, guard thyself against every evil deed, and above all fight against the vice of avarice, which is a disease fraught with pain that cannot be conquered. Confidence cannot exist side by side with it. It turns fathers and mothers into evil folk, and also the brothers of the mother. It turns the kindly friend into a bitter enemy, it drives away the trusted servant from his master, and it makes a wife hateful to her husband. It is a strong treasure-house of every kind of evil, and a purse containing abominable vices of every kind.The man who has truth (maat) for his tow-line walks whither her steps lead him, and acquires house and estate; but the avaricious possesses not even a tomb.

>XX. Be not avaricious when a division of property is made, and be not greedy, and what is thy due shall come to thee. Be not avaricious in thy dealings with thy kinstolk. The prayer of the long-suffering man is greater than force, even though he be of no account among the people of his own time, and is destitute of the gifts of speech. A very little avarice about a matter of the kind will make hostility to arise even in the man who is usually cool-hearted (i.e., unexcitable).

>Avoid avarice at all costs, for it produces hatred and strife.

--The Teaching Of Ptah-Hetep, translated by Sir E. A. Wallis Budge