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Summary Of Malice In The Teaching Of Amenemapt The Son Of Kanekht

Decent Essays

The most egregious infraction in “The Teaching of Amenemapt, The Son of Kanekht” is malice because it is the most abominable. Malice is personified throughout the text as a “hot-headed man” and is described as someone or something that should be avoided at all times. Additionally, at several sections in the text, the author notes how even the gods and other natural forces hold maliciousness or the hot-headed man in contempt. Notably, other transgressions in the text are referred to as abominable deeds; however, malice is the only one described as the greatest abomination, making it more egregious than the others. The hot-headed man is referenced several times throughout the text as a person of great rage and anger, and so he can be interpreted as some form of personification of malice. In fact, several teachings are entirely devoted to the analysis of the hot-headed man, signifying his importance and notability as a figure in the text. For example, teaching number ten in the fourth chapter compares the character to “a large, leafy tree planted in the courtyard [of the temple],” one whose “unripe fruit drops off” and when its time comes to an end “it is [cast] into the water, and carried away far from its place” (148). In stating this, the author is affirming the belief that being angry and bitter is an unfruitful means of performing tasks and yields an unsatisfactory end. Moreover, because the entire purpose of “The Teaching of Amenemapt” is to demonstrate to others how to

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