Autobiography of the Vizier Rekhmire

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The hereditary Prince, the steward of the stewards, the master of secrets, who enters the sanctuary, no barrier separates him from the god. There is nothing of which he is ignorant in heaven, on earth and in any place of the hidden underworld. The sem-priest in the House of Flames, the Ur-mau priest in the Great House… in charge of all the ceremonial loincloths, the Judge of the Six High Courts, the Director of each Office of the King. One that is efficient for the one who promoted him, the conciliator of arbitration. Adoptive child of the King of Upper Egypt, following the King of Lower Egypt, servant of Horus… Horus in his house, under the seal of which the Houses of Gold and Silver are reunited the houses, the steward of… the Mayor of the City, the Vizier Rekhmire.

He said ‘I was a notable, second to the King, and the fourth one who decides between the two, elevated in rank in the (Royal) private cabinet, called upon at any time… first in the opinion of the common man’.

It was the first time I was summoned; all my brothers were in the outer offices… I went in holiday attire, my household being in joy. I reached the door in the palace entrance columns; the courtiers bent their backs. Having found the older officers to clear my way (in)… My ability was not what it was; My previous nature has changed to be the priest of Maat since I advanced in my pomp to be promoted to Vizier. So praises of me were made by the humble and great. The whole world looked at me like a jewel in a wall inlaid with turquoise.

At the dawn of a second day in the morning, I was again summoned before the person of god, King Menkheperre - may he live forever - Horus, the victorious bull, appearing in glory in Thebes. Now His Majesty knows all that happens, there is nothing of which he is ignorant. He is a Thoth in all respects. There is nothing he has failed to discover. Any matter… he has great knowledge like Great Seshat. He transforms his plans into action as a God who decrees and acts.

Then His Majesty opened his mouth and said to me: "See, my eyes return to my court, because My Majesty knows that many decisions are endless, and the judgment of cases never stops. May you act according to how I direct, then Maat will rest in her place. He admonished me greatly: "steel yourself, be strong in action, do not be faint, and indict the bad".

… acted in accordance with what was ordered. He gave me a court of justice under my authority and none of them could act over me. Then I walked with long strides, acting with the stick on the back. The dogs were not left abandoned; my voice went up to heaven. There was no one who… rebelled. The discontented, I calmed the desire of his heart by making that happen by which he would be satisfied. People told me, 'Come, ' they said, ‘to restore the condition of the two Lands ". Any commission… to the body; I got up early to accomplish it daily. I was close to the King, I saw his true form, that of Ra, Lord of Heaven, the ruler of Upper and Lower Egypt like Ra when he rises, the solar disc when it appears. The Black land and the Red land come to where he is, bend their heads before him, all the Egyptians, men of all ranks, the populace… seize one who attacks or confronts him. My name was the striker of those striking, the avenging bull who strikes one who speaks ill of him. He made me a speaking stick to punish the recalcitrant… a balance of the entire country, ensuring that their courses are level, according to the plum bob. The fickle of heart, missing in rectitude were tormented on the (burning) grills of Horus. All those charged with vexation were checked… My mouth was natron. Severity was undiluted upon my lips.

I was the heart of my Lord, the eyes and ears of the Sovereign. I was his personal guide, I did not know sleep day or night. Whether I was standing or sitting, my heart was near the bow rope and stern rope; the probing gaffe was never inactive in my hands. I was attentive to the slightest risk of running aground. The whole King of Upper and Lower Egypt is a guide through which men live. He is the father and mother of all men, himself alone, without equal. I did not allow evil to take possession of me. I have committed no negligent acts by which a misfortune has happened.

I speak with my mouth, I make this to be known. Thus others, wise in speech, will listen to it. I exalted Maat to the height of heaven; I made sure that her beauty encircles the whole breadth of the land, so she would come and rest in the nostrils of men, like the wind of the north when it dispels the malice of the heart and body. I judged in the same way the rich and the poor. I rescued the weak from the strong. I opposed the fury of one who was evilly disposed and I calmed greed in its time. I saw in advance the moments of madness. I have mastered the laments of people replacing them with vengeance. I defended the widow without a husband. I appointed the son and heir to the place of his father. I gave bread to the hungry, water to the thirsty, meat, ointments and clothes to those who had nothing. I relieved the old man, giving him my stick and made enquiries of old women asking "what good deed can be done" I hated iniquity, and have not practiced it by falsely arresting the wrong man with head down. I am innocent before the gods. Informed people have not said about me "what did he do?". I have judged great matters… I have caused that both sides depart in peace. I have not perverted justice for a reward. I have not been deaf to him that had an empty hand; I never accepted a gratuity from anyone…

There follows an appeal to his predecessors, a description of punishments he gave, a description of his accommodating nature, his wisdom and his consideration for all complainants. These parts are too damaged to assemble into an understandable text.

Listen, you who are still alive because God knows what is in the body; in all its members, they are open to him. See, his eyes pierce the nature of men in their livers; every heart is reunited with his; the secrets of… are open to his sight; the silent man… is known by him.

May your career prosper, you that yet exist, dignitaries who live and are in being; every able scribe, skilled in writing, who read the writings and understand them in their hearts, skilled in language, with clear vision that penetrates the words and has informed a Superior of that which he should be informed, cautious and patient, yet courageous in his questioning; It is a shrewd man who will listen to what the ancestors of ancient times have said.

You will be employed by the God of your city and the King of your time; you will pass on your duties to your children after a long life without regrets. You will reach your tomb in the necropolis, those who remain on earth will accompany you in the funeral procession; the Hesat cow will transport you, the roads being flooded by their milk; you will be united with your burial chambers which are for eternity in the Place of Truth, the land of silence; your names will not pass rejected from one mouth to another, and affection that one bears to you will grow as you have said: "An offering which the king gives, Amun-Re, Atum, Shu and Tefnut, Geb and Nut, Osiris, Horus, Merentyirty, Seth, Isis, Nephthys, Thoth the deputy of Re; for invocation offerings without number, all good things without limit. Rise up to heaven.. enter into the underworld into the midst of the tireless stars May they make offerings of food placed on the leaves of He-Who-is-tired-of-heart, for the Ka of the dignitary and Mayor of the city, Rekhmire, justified".