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According to
Simpson, the Vizier Ptahhotep was an elderly man of 96 years, ready to retire and was ready to pass down his position. The king approved of Ptahhotep's son succeeding him as vizier, but noted that the young cannot be born with wisdom and that they need the experience given by advanced
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The purpose of
Instruction texts was to teach the youth how to live well and were usually written by elders. The main themes Ptahhotep focuses on are silence, timing, truthfulness, relationships, and manners. The text helps to reconstruct the social context of that time by describing the cultural
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versions and New
Kingdom versions that omit some phrases, add phrases, and sometimes change the sequence of the words. Papyrus Prisse contained three literary texts which were titled as "Instruction" or "Teaching", and the only complete text within this papyrus was the Instruction of Ptahhotep.
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Parkinson argued that ancient texts should be broken apart to properly understand the meaning of the text and to discern if any of it is accurate. Since most of the wisdom literature was written like poetry, some parts may be true and others fictional to attract the reader. Most of the wisdom
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There are four known copies of The
Instructions of Ptahhotep, the first copy was written in the Old Kingdom and other copies were considered part of the Middle Kingdom. The Instructions from the original text were considered to originate from the Old Kingdom because it matched the social and
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This demonstrated the significance of growing old in ancient
Egyptian society and the importance of having the wisdom to make the right decisions. The Instructions of Ptahhotep were texts that were constantly read and copied by students, scribes, and men that held a higher position.
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370:"As for you, teach your disciple the words of tradition. May he act as a model for the children of the great, that they may find in him the understanding and justice of every heart that speaks to him, since man is not born wise." (p. 85)
361:"As for the ignorant man who does not listen, he accomplishes nothing. He equates knowledge with ignorance, the useless with the harmful. He does everything which is detestable, so people get angry with him each day." (p. 77)
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Simpson, William Kelly. The
Literature of Ancient Egypt: An Anthology of Stories, Instructions, Stelae, Autobiographies, and Poetry. New Haven, US: Yale University Press, 2003. Accessed January 28, 2017. ProQuest
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age. Typically viziers were replaced by someone older that had experience, so the Vizier
Ptahhotep wrote the instructions to his son to give him wisdom and advice that can only be attained through experience.
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If you are a man of authority, / Be patient when you are listening to the words of a petitioner; / Do not dismiss him until he has completely unburdened himself / Of what he had planned / to say to you.
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Hagen, Fredrik 2012 An ancient
Egyptian literary text in context: the instruction of Ptahhotep. Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta 218. Leuven; Paris; Walpole, MA: Peeters; Department of Oriental Studies.
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intellectual thinking of that time period. The copy on
Papyrus Prisse, which is dated in the twelfth dynasty is considered as the original source. However, there are other
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Fontaine, Carole R. "A Modern Look at
Ancient Wisdom: The Instruction of Ptahhotep Revisited." The Biblical Archaeologist 44, no. 3 (1981): 155-60. doi:10.2307/3209606.
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One knows a wise one because of his wisdom, / An official is at his good deed (?): his heart is in balance (?) with his tongue, his lips are accurate when he speaks...
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writings were accepted by the readers for their choice of words, for the author's elite position held in society, and also based on the author's personal experiences.
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Parkinson, R. B. 1991. Teachings, discourses and tales from the Middle Kingdom. In Quirke, Stephen (ed.), Middle Kingdom studies, 91-122. New Malden: SIA
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space in which the writings were influential. In this way, this text can help a historian analyze the history of the period in which it was written.
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Lichtheim, Miriam 1996. Didactic literature. In Loprieno, Antonio (ed.), Ancient Egyptian Literature, 243-262. Leiden; New York; Köln: E. J. Brill.
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The Instruction of Ptahhotep was recognized by most Egyptologists as one of the most difficult Egyptian literary texts to translate. For example:
394:"So do not place any confidence in your heart in the accumulation of riches, since everything that you have is a gift from God." (p. 126)
388:"Do not blame those who are childless, do not criticise them for not having any, and do not boast about having them yourself." (p. 113)
340:"If you work hard, and if growth takes place as it should in the fields, it is because God has placed abundance in your hands." (p. 74)
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364:"A perfect word is hidden more deeply than precious stones. It is to be found near the servants working at the mill-stone." (p. 78)
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397:"Think of living in peace with what you possess, and whatever the Gods choose to give will come of its own accord." (p. 127)
406:"Those who the Gods guide cannot get lost. Those they forbid passage will not be able to cross the river of life." (p. 143)
391:"May your heart never be vain because of what you know. Take counsel from the ignorant as well as the wise..." (p. 119)
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If you are a leader, / Take responsibility in / the matters entrusted to you, / And you will accomplish things of note...
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The lines followed here by question marks are of uncertain meaning and subject to interpretation by each translator.
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Quirke, Stephen 2004. Egyptian literature 1800 BC: questions and readings. Egyptology 2. London: Golden House.
337:"Follow your heart all your life, do not commit excess with respect to what has been ordained." (p. 66)
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The Instructions consisted of various themes, one of which was leadership. For example, prose numbered 9,1:
324:"Punish with principle, teach meaningfully. The act of stopping evil leads to the lasting establishment of
162:. The earliest extant copies of the text were altered to make them understandable for the Egyptians of the
379:"As for those who end up continually lusting after women, none of their plans will succeed." (p. 108)
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385:"How happy he is of whom it is said: 'A son is kind-natured when he knows how to listen.'" (p. 112)
403:"He who has a great heart has a gift from God. He who obeys his stomach obeys the enemy." (p. 140)
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334:"Those whom God guides do not go wrong. Those whose boat He takes away cannot cross." (p. 43)
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331:"The human race never accomplishes anything. It's what God commands that gets done." (p. 41)
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addresses various virtues that are necessary to live a good life and how to live accordingly to
349:"If he who listens listens fully, then he who listens becomes he who understands." (p. 76)
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321:"Injustice exists in abundance, but evil can never succeed in the long run." (p. 32)
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343:"Do not gossip in your neighbourhood, because people respect the silent." (p. 74)
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Simpson, W. K., ed. The Maxims of Ptahhotep. Las Vegas, Nevada: Evan Blythin, 1986.
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355:"To listen is better than anything, thus is born perfect love." (p. 76)
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358:"God loves him who listens. He hates those who do not listen." (p. 76)
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400:"Do not repeat a slanderous rumour, do not listen to it." (p. 139)
352:"He who listens becomes the master of what is profitable." (p. 76)
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38:, manuscript "Egyptien 187", lines 75-123 of The Maxims of Ptahhotep.
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314:"All conduct should be so straight that you can measure it with a
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367:"Only speak when you have something worth saying." (p. 79)
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382:"How wonderful is a son who obeys his father!" (p. 112)
373:"A woman with happy heart brings equilibrium." (p. 107)
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Ancient Egyptian literary composition by Vizier Ptahhotep
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346:"Listening benefits the listener." (p. 74)
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548:The Living Wisdom of Ancient Egypt
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178:Summary
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48:Created
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326:virtue
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101:is an
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