The Admonitions of an Egyptian Sage - From a Hieratic Papyrus in Leiden (Pap; Leiden 344 Recto) #227174

Half of the book was already in type wheni became acquainted with the London writing board no. 5645. The texts upon this board proved to be of such interest in connection with the Leiden Papyrus that I at once decided, subject to the courteous consent of my publishers, to print them in an Appendix to my work. The indications afforded by this new document have led me to take up a much more definite position with regard to the date of the composition of the Leiden Admonitions, and I must beg my readers not to overlook the concluding remarks on this subject at the end of the Appendix. The Leiden papyrus is too dark in colour to make a complete photographic reproduction desirable. It is my firm conviction that, in the case of defective and worn documents such as this, no mechanical reproduction can render a study of the original superfluous; and I considered it better to induce the student who wishes to check the transcription to have recourse to the actual document than to offer him an inadequate means of control that would greatly have increased the price of the work. I have therefore contented myself with giving, as frontispiece, a photo graph of the most legible page. The hieratic signs drawn in the footnotes to the autographic plates do not claim to be more than approximately accurate. The appearance of Dr. Lange's name beside my own on the frontispiece and on the autographic plates is due to circumstances above explained, and will doubtless meet with the indulgence of my readers.