The Instruction of Ptahhotep

Almost certainly the oldest surviving conduct book, The Instruction of Ptahhotep was written around 2350BC by an aging, high-ranking government official named Ptahhotep in Ancient Egypt to his son. (There are still relatively original copies of this work (in the Biblioteque Nationale in Paris and in the British Museum, which is famous for its Egyptology). Most of the book is available on the Internet, in both English and Hieroglyphic form.

Perhaps the most fascinating aspect of the book (related to the fact that it’s 4,300 years old) is the timelessness and thus relevance today. Humility, peacefulness, service, truthfulness (avoidance of gossip), justice (even against your offspring), and listening skills are the major themes in the book.

Ancient Egypt, as a civilization, existed longer than the time period from its end until the present day. In other words, for the period of known history, Ancient Egypt constitutes a majority. But it’s hard to imagine where the human species was 4,300 years ago during this time period. We are talking pre-America, pre-Columbus, pre-Europe, pre-Roman, and pre-Greek. Ancient Egypt is a strange civilization because it seems so timeless.

The Instruction of Ptahhotep, for me, casts major and warranted doubt on the moral relativism of today. The clash of cultures that we currently are seeing, due primarily to immigration and incredible advances in transportation technology, does not mean that “anything goes”. Wisdom does collect over time, organically, within a culture, and to discard that wisdom is dangerous. Even after 4,300 years, The Instruction of Ptahhotep is as current as ever.