Avoiding Contentious People
Engaging with those who seek only conflict wastes energy and brings harm. The wise person maintains distance from troublemakers while remaining courteous.
Engaging with those who seek only conflict wastes energy and brings harm. The wise person maintains distance from troublemakers while remaining courteous.
Do not be angry with one who is hostile; leave him to himself and god will know how to answer him.
Instructions of Ptahhotep
Written about in
- What ancient Egypt says about what to say and what to leave unsaid
For the hostile man the instruction is to say nothing and leave him to god. It is the tradition's cleanest rule for leaving things unsaid, and it is also an evasion — the problem is handed to a deity rather than settled.