Setian Philosophy Applied I ~ Amenemope, Chapter 3

 Setian Philosophy Applied

I feel like looking through the works of various philosophers, from ancient Egypt to today, and interpreting them through a Setian lens, now that I think I have a general idea of what Setian philosophy is. But lacking any ancient Setian philosophical texts, I’ll go with the philosophy put forth by the Temple of Set. I’m going to start with some of the works of Amenamope, an ancient Egyptian scribe and philosopher shose works were standard writing practice in scribe schools. I’ll look at the chapters that resonate with me the most. Here is Chapter 3.

Amenemope

Chapter 3 : Prudence in Speech

Do not start a quarrel with a hot-mouthed man,

nor needle him with words.

Pause before an intruder, bend before an attacker,                                

sleep (on it) before speaking.

A storm that bursts like fire in straw,

such is the heated man in his hour.

Withdraw from him, leave him alone.

The God knows how to answer him.

If You make your life with these (words) in your heart, your children will observe them.

𓋹֍֎𓋹

This reminds me a lot of a quote often attributed to Mark Twain. “Never argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.” There was a time where I would get into arguments online, but I later realized how pointless it was. You probably won’t change someone’s mind in an internet argument, no matter how many facts you have at your disposal. Most people just believe what they want to believe. And these days, you may just be arguing with an AI bot (or at least you might as well be). I also realized that I don’t owe anybody a response. Don’t give them your energy, they don’t deserve it. If someone has something rude to say to me online, I ignore it, maybe block them. If I decide it warrants a response though, I think on it. I’m much more precise in writing than in speaking. This strategy isn’t as easy in-person, but it doesn’t happen very often in-person either. In modern times the hot-mouthed man is emboldened by the anonymity of online spaces, but is typically too cowardly to spew their hatred in-person. 

To put this lesson into action, one must have control and mastery over their emotions. If you tend to bottle your emotions up and deny them, a hot-mouthed man will probably cause your anger to explode. If someone does deeply angers you, wait a while before you respond, if you can. Let logic surpass emotion. If you can’t immediately leave, at least stop and count to ten before you start yelling. Don’t become the hot-mouthed man or woman. Let the Gods handle them. This lesson is still something I need to work on. It can be applied to parenting and relationships as well, not just arguments with strangers. One thing I’ve noticed with a lot of these ancient Egyptian philosophical texts is that they can be applied to many different situations rather than the exact one described in the text, making it still very relevant in modern times. 

I shall do more of these, when the mood strikes me. I’ll work through Amenemope, and eventually I’ll get to Nietzsche, Shopenhauer and the newer philosophers. 

May Set rise and A𓌜p𓌜e𓌜p𓌜 fall.  𓇼𓀢𓏛𓃪

𓋹֍֎𓋹

~ Siamanto the Foreigner

 𓋷𓅁𓈖𓏏𓍯𓀭𓈖𓐎𓏺𓈉𓏏𓅂𓌙𓀀 

Սիամանթօ Օտարը