Don’t consult with a woman about her rival, or with the cowardly about war; or with a merchant about business, or with a buyer about a sale; or with a slanderer about gratitude, or with the unmerciful about kindness; or with the idle about anything involving work, or with an annual laborer about finishing a job; or with a lazy household slave about a large task. Don’t look to these persons for any advice.

Though the majority were still in the country, some still in their homes, and some even on-site, the job had become impossible for all the generals in Egypt.