The instructions of Ptahhotep

Ptahhotep was a vizier of King Isesi of the Fifth Dynasty (2388–2356 BC), he was
on the verge of retirement and desirous of handing his position on to his son who
also bore the name Ptahhotep.

The original text has not survived, the earliest manuscripts survived are from the
Middle Kingdom, 12th Dynasty. There are four copies of the text in existence,1 they
are a reproduction of the original. The only complete, best known, and frequently
quoted one exists on the so-called Papyrus Prisse (Bibliothéque Nationale, Paris).

The other copies show considerable variations from Papyrus Prisse, this being due
perhaps to the fact that they were emended to make them more Understandable to
the Ancient Egyptians of the New Kingdom.

The Teachings of Ptahhotep are regarded as the oldest completely preserved doctrine
of wisdom. Ptahhotep addresses the instructions to his son being prepared as his
successor. However, the virtues Ptahhotep calls for are not only necessary for an
official.

The core of the Teachings is concerned with morality, social propriety duties
towards superiors, duties towards equals, inferiors and respect for Ma’at as the unity
of cosmos and society, order and justice.

1
William Kelly ed. all, The literature of Ancient Egypt an Anthology of Stories III, (Yale: Yale university, 2003), 129.

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The text:
The instruction of Ptahhotep consists of thirty-seven chapter headings which called
as maxims. The lines that follow these headings explicate and expand the beginning
of each chapter.

This instruction is bracketed by an introduction of approximately 40 lines and a

lengthy epilogue approximately 145 lines.

The opening few lines of the introduction identify Ptahhotep as the instructor of the
instruction. It includes speech from ptahhotep to the king consists of two stanzas In
the first stanza, Ptahhotep reminds the king that he (ptahhotep), is now an old man,
and describing the hardships of old age

0 king, my lord!

Age is here, old age arrived,

Feebleness came, weakness grows,

Childlike one sleeps all day.

Eyes are dim, ears deaf

The bones ache throughout

Good has become evil, all taste is gone.

Painful are standing and sitting.

The second stanza begins with Ptahhotep requesting from the king permission to
instruct his son or successor.2

May this servant be ordered to make a staff of old age,

2
Matt Wiebe, “The Wisdom in Proverbs: An Integrated Reading of the Book” (Ph.D diss, The Sheffield university,
1992), 11

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So as to tell him the words of those who heard,

The ways of the ancestors,

Who have listened to the gods

May such be done for you

And the two shores may serve you!

Said the majesty of this god:

Instruct him then in the sayings of the past,

May he become a model for the children of the great,

May [hearing] enter him,

And the devotion of him who speaks to him,

No one is born wise.

Then a paragraph that follows this second stanza describes Ptahhotep, his office, and
his family. This description does not attribute any special wisdom or political
acumen to Ptahhotep and it ends with the phrase, "He spoke to his son," which
directly precedes the instruction.

Then it includes an epilogue offers a good summary, repetitive for the instructions
and presents a few reflections:

If you listen to my sayings,

All your affairs will go forward;

In their truth resides their value,

Their memory goes on in the speech of men,

Because of the worth of their precepts;

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If every word is carried on,

They will not perish in this land

They are wise and correct because they have been passed down.

The final stanza of the epilogue returns to the setting of the final prose paragraph of
the introduction: Ptahhotep gives his successor his charge as dictated by the king.3

The good son, the gift of god

Exceeds what is told him by his lord,

He will do right when his heart is straight,

As u succeed me, sound in your body,

The king content with all that was done.

The importance and an analytic study for these instructions:

1- Religious:

The fate: It shows the ancient Egyptians believe in Fate which stated “His time does
not fail o come, one does not escape what is fated”. Therefore, the fate during the
old kingdom was inescapable and related to death.4

Divine intervention: The instruction reflecting the free will in ancient Egypt, as the
human nature consists of five elements which act as “human agents” namely: “the
moral character, heart, belly, Ka and Ba”, these “elements play a major role in free
will.

But, the main obstacle to free will in the Instructions of Ptahhotep are the gods. The
concept of “divine intervention”; “is divided into “determinism” and “fate”. He

3
Matt Wiebe, “The Wisdom in Proverbs: An Integrated Reading of the Book,”14
4
May Ahmed, “Fate in ancient Egypt,” JAAUTH, Vol. 19, No. 3, (2020), 61

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argues that there is a universal intervention such as the Nile flood, but there is also
intervention in an individual’s life. The person himself asks sometimes for that
intervention through prayers.5

God gave wealth and positions.

If you plough and there’s growth in the field and god let it prosper in your hand.

Do not put trust in your wealth which came to you as a gift of god. So, the ancient
Egyptians believed that whatever they planned for their lives, it would not happen
unless god commanded it.6 One plans the morrow but knows not what will be.7

Run as hard as a wild beast

If you will, but you won't get any reward greater than that destined for you.

Do not put trust in your wealth which came to you as a gift of god 8

Following the command of gods: The individual is guided by the gods and follows
them, and who do so, they earn the divine blessings, in their life and afterlife. “There
is no wrong for he whom they guide. He whom they guide cannot go wrong. 9 Whom
they make boat less cannot cross”.10

The children were granted by Gods: “If you are a man of worth and produce a son
by the grace of god”.11

5
Aisha, El-Ghazzawy, The Will of God and its intervention, 4
6
Aisha, El-Ghazzawy, The Will of God and its, 12
7
Aisha, El-Ghazzawy, The Will of God and its intervention, 74
8
Aisha, El-Ghazzawy, The Will of God and its intervention, 88
9
Aisha, El-Ghazzawy, The Will of God and its intervention, 78.
10
Aisha, El-Ghazzawy, The Will of God and its intervention, 17
11
Aisha, El-Ghazzawy, The Will of God and its intervention, 49

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 2- Social or Moral matters:
- It shows the importance of "Listening" and "hearing" at the end of the text
one hundred verses praise ‘hearing’ Listening was considered one of the moral
behavioral attitudes and important aspects of human relations and concepts of
virtue. These included self-control, moderation, kindness, generosity, justice,
and truthfulness.

As something useful for him who will hear.12

Hearing is excellent for the son who hears.

Hearing enters the hearer,

So that the hearer becomes one who is heard.

Good is hearing; good then is speaking;

The hearer is a lord of excellence.

Someone who hears is loved by God, someone hated

By God does not hear.

It is the heart which makes its lord.13

A hearer or a non-hearer

A man’s heart is his life, prosperity, and health!

It is a hearer who hears speech.

- Respect other people: Do not scheme against people, God punishes

accordingly: If a man says: "I shall

12
Rania Merzeban, “The virtue of listening in ancient Egypt,” BFALEX V. 60, Issue 63, (2010): 3
13
Anke Graness, “Writing the history of philosophy in Africa: where to begin?,” Journal of African Cultural Studies
V.28, Issue (2015),135

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live by it”. He will lack bread for his mouth.14

- Social duties towards superiors, equals, and inferior:

If you meet a disputant in action,

A powerful man, superior to you
Fold your arms, bend your back,
To flout him will not make him agree with you.
Make little of the evil speech
By not opposing him while he's in action;
He will be called an ignoramus,
Your self-control will match his pile (of words).
If you meet a disputant in action
Who is your equal, on your level,
You will make your worth exceed his by silence,
While he is speaking evilly,
There will be much talk by the hearers,
Your name will be good in the mind8 of the magistrates.
If you meet a disputant in action,
A poor man, not your equal,
Do not attack him because he is weak,
Let him alone, he will confute himself.
Do not answer him to relieve your heart,
Do not vent yourself' against your opponent,
Wretched is he who injures a poor man,
One will wish to do what you desire,
You will beat him through the magistrates' reproof.

14
Aisha, El-Ghazzawy, The Will of God and its intervention, 79

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 - Social duties to be a good leader:
If you are a man who leads,
Who controls the affairs of the many,
Seek out every beneficent deed,
That your conduct may be blameless.
Great is justice, lasting in effect,
Unchallenged since the time of Osiris.
One punishes the transgressor of laws,
Though the greedy overlooks this;
Baseness may seize riches,
Yet crime never lands its wares;
In the end it is justice that lasts,
Man says: "It is my father's ground."

- Social duties for a man of trust:

If you are a man of trust,
Sent by one great man to another,
Adhere to the nature of him who sent you,
Give his message as he said it.
Guard against reviling speech,
Keep to the truth, don't exceed it.

- How to endure a Friendship:

If you want friendship to endure
In the house you enter
As master, brother, or friend,
In whatever place you enter,
Beware of approaching the women!

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Unhappy is the place where it is done,
Unwelcome3Z is he who intrudes on them.
A thousand men are turned away from their good:
A short moment like a dream,
Then death comes for having known them.
Poor advice is "shoot the opponent,"
When one goes to do it the heart rejects it.
He who fails through lust of them,
No affair of his can prosper.

- Instructions for dealing with your wife:

When you prosper and found your house,
And love your wife with ardor,
Fill her belly, clothe her back,
Ointment soothes her body.
Gladden her heart as long as you live,
She is a fertile field for her lord.
Do not contend with her in court,
Keep her from power, restrain her-
Her eye is her storm when she gazes
Thus will you make her stay in your house.
- Knowledge is generally considered as a precondition for a good life according
to the principles of Ma’at while ignorance is seen as a severe deficiency.
3- New expression: Lines 457-462 include an expression known as Hmt-Xrd,
which appeared only in this text. There are a few translations of this
compound:

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The term describe a person (Hmt), who must be illustrated by another noun (Xrd) in
order to clarify the age, not the gender. A good example of a similar term is Xrd-TA
‘child – chick; little child, kiddy”8. Then the term would mean woman – child, little
girl.15

Conclusion:
The Teachings of Ptahhotep were effective for a very long time, even during the
Greco roman period there were many phrases mentioned from these instructions, it
is also useful nowadays for our current society. The researcher made a survey to
emphasize the importance of these instructions to be educated for students in
different stages especially for guidance department.

15
Buzov, Emil, “ Ptahhotep Maxim 32 (P. Prisse 14, 4–14, 6)”. The Journal of Egyptological Studies, V.3 ISSN
1312-4307, (2010): 2

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