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{{short description|Ancient Egyptian literary composition by Vizier Ptahhotep}}
{{italic title}}
{{Infobox artifact|image=Papyrus Prisse 187.jpg|created={{circa}} 2363 BC|caption=[[Papyrus Prisse]], manuscript "Egyptien 187", lines 75-123 of The Maxims of Ptahhotep. [[Bibliothèque nationale de France]].|discovered_place=[[Luxor]], [[Luxor Governorate]], [[Egypt]]|discovered_date=1847|discovered_by=[[Émile Prisse d'Avennes|Emile d'Avennes]]}}
'''''The Maxims of Ptahhotep''''' or '''''Instruction of Ptahhotep''''' is an [[Ancient Egyptian literature|ancient Egyptian literary composition]]
</ref> The text was discovered in [[Thebes, Egypt|Thebes]] in 1847 by Egyptologist M. [[Émile Prisse d'Avennes|Prisse d'Avennes]].<ref name="Simpson1986">Simpson, W. K., ed. The Maxims of Ptahhotep. Las Vegas, Nevada: Evan Blythin, 1986.
</ref> The Instructions of Ptahhotep are
</ref> According to [[William Kelly Simpson]],
▲</ref> According to [[William Kelly Simpson]], some scholars debate that the Instructions of Ptahhotep were written during the twelfth dynasty, [[Middle Kingdom of Egypt|Middle Kingdom]]. The earlier copies of the text were altered to make them understandable for the Egyptians of the [[New Kingdom of Egypt|New Kingdom]].<ref name=Simpson/> The text presents a very good picture of the general attitudes of that period.<ref name=Simpson/> The Instructions of Ptahhotep addresses various virtues that are necessary to live a good life and how to live accordingly to [[Maat]], which was an important part of the Egyptian culture.
== Summary ==
According to Simpson, the Vizier Ptahhotep was an elderly man of
The Instructions consisted of various themes, one of which was leadership. For example, prose numbered 9,1: <blockquote>
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.<ref name="Simpson1986"/> The text helps to reconstruct the social context of that time by describing the cultural space in which the writings were influential.<ref name="Hagen2012">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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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 intellectual thinking of that time period.<ref name="Parkinson1991"/> The copy on Papyrus Prisse, which is dated in the twelfth dynasty is considered as the original source. However, there are other [[Twelfth Dynasty of Egypt|Twelfth Dynasty]] versions and New Kingdom versions that omit some phrases, add phrases, and sometimes change the sequence of the words.<ref name="Quirke2004"/> 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.<ref name="Hagen2012"/>
The Instruction of Ptahhotep was recognized by most Egyptologists as one of the most difficult Egyptian literary texts to translate.<ref name="Hagen2012"/> For example:<blockquote>
==Selected passages==
{{listen
| filename = The Instruction of Ptah-Hotep - read by Arthur Krolman for LibriVox's Short Nonfiction Collection Vol. 048 (2017).ogg
| title =
| description =
| pos = right
| type = speech
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==See also==
*[[African philosophy|African Philosophy]]
*[[Gerontocracy]]
*''[[Instructions of Kagemni]]''
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==External links==
* {{wikiquote-inline|Ptahhotep}}
* [https://www.ucl.ac.uk/museums-static/digitalegypt/literature/ptahhotep.html Translated text (english)]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maxims of Ptahhotep}}
[[Category:24th-century BC works]]
▲[[Category:Ancient Egyptian literature]]
[[Category:Djedkare Isesi]]
[[Category:Ancient Egyptian
[[Category:1847 archaeological discoveries]]
[[Category:Archaeological discoveries in Egypt]]
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