Ancient Egyptian Vizier to His Son
Around the year 2350 BC, a man named Ptahhotep was vizier to the pharaoh of ancient Egypt. The vizier was the highest ranking official in ancient Egyptian “government”, and usually the right-hand man of the pharaoh. Ptahhotep was therefore a successful man, entrusted by his king to bear a big part of the burden of running the country.
Even almost 4500 years ago, Egyptian society was already sophisticated enough to have built the great pyramids of Giza. The government was busy. They were implementing large-scale architectural projects, they were administering the country’s judicial system, they were ensuring adequate supply of food and water to its cities, and they were collecting taxes from Egypt’s citizens to keep the whole thing funded. It was a complex operation, and if the pharaoh appointed Ptahhotep to be the head of the organisation, it meant that he was probably an individual who knew what to do and how to get it done.
The vizier had a son, and no doubt being aware that he had accrued a lot of practical wisdom throughout his life, he decided to write a short text listing 43 rules for his son to live by.
What did this man ancient man believe were the basic principles to teach to his son which made him a good person, fit to run the country alongside the king?
They’re an interesting set of rules. One of them (rule 20) is exactly the same as one of the Old Testament’s ten commandments. Another (rule 1) bears a striking resemblance to one of the rules from the 2018 best-selling self-help book, 12 Rules for Life. Yet another (rule 35) is a copy of one of Robert Greene’s 48 Laws of Power. It seems that, over 4500 years later, these ancient maxims would still resonate with a modern audience. Ptahhotep might have been a New York Times best-selling author if he had lived today.
I’ve paraphrased the rules below so that they’re written in my own everyday language as clearly as I can manage, while being careful not to distort the meaning of the text, as far as I understand it. You can find the full English translation of the original ancient Egyptian text on Project Gutenberg, for free.
- Don’t let your education make you arrogant. Be humble when you talk to someone and assume they might have something to teach you, regardless of whether they’re more or less educated than you.
- If you get into an argument with someone older and wiser, don’t get angry. Keep your hands by your side and don’t speak aggressively or disagree. If they talk to you as if you were ignorant, your humility will change their mind.
- If you get into an argument with one of your peers, don’t stay silent if he says something you disagree with.
- If you get into an argument with someone less well-off or less wise, leave it alone. It would be a shame to confuse someone just because you wanted to vent the anger you feel in your heart.
- If you’re a leader, lead by example. You should trust in Truth, the law, and the wisdom passed on from father to son. By doing so, your own conduct will be good, and you’ll set a good example for others.
- Don’t rule by fear. If you cause others to be afraid, you yourself will become fearful.
- If you’re the guest of a good person, take whatever food they offer you, don’t stare at them, don’t start discussing a topic unless they initiate it, answer them when they ask you a question, and move as your soul guides you.
- If you’re asked to relay a message between two people, convey the message exactly, without distorting the truth or mixing in your own feelings.
- If you’ve ploughed a field, gather your harvest and be content with it. Don’t look to your neighbour’s table. Whether you had a bad harvest or whether you haven’t been able to have kids, you shouldn’t assume others have better lives than you, and you shouldn’t be envious of them.
- If you’re not doing well, find someone who is and work for them. Good things come to those who seek them out, but those who passively wait for good things to happen to them will not be rewarded.
- Follow your heart, and don’t work more than you need to. It’s important to give time to following your heart every day, after you’ve finished working. It keeps your soul at ease and allows you to enjoy the fruits of your labour.
- You should have children if you can. Reward them if they behave, and discipline them if they don’t. Protect them from bad influences so that they don’t lose their bearings in life.
- If you work in an organisation, finish your tasks and don’t be late or absent. Organisations function according to rules, plans, and methods.
- If you’re with other people, make sure that love is the only desire of your heart which you act on. People will love you for it. If instead, when you’re with others, your heart obeys what your belly desires, you’ll become hated by other people.
- If you’re talking to your boss, report your actions without hiding anything.
- If you’re a leader, make sure your rules are followed, keep a long-term view, and don’t accept too many favours or people will become excessively servile with you.
- If you’re a leader, listen carefully to those who come to you with humble and earnest pleas for help. Set your intention to help them, and make sure they feel free to speak their mind.
- If you want to keep good relationships, whether it’s family or friends, beware of consorting with women. It’s easy to be tempted, and you could very well ruin your life in exchange for a quick pleasure, as short as a dream. It’s evil to disregard all laws and live only by gratifying your desires.
- If you want to be a good person, beware of envy. It’s like a serious mental illness. Envy can pit family members against each other and husbands against wives. Envy attracts all other evils to itself, it’s like a rope that fastens many wicked strands together.
- Don’t covet your neighbour’s property. If you do, you’ll feel empty when you’re around them and you won’t have anything persuasive to say to them. One regrets even a little covetousness when he cools down.
- Provide for your house and love your wife who’s in your arms. Make sure she’s adequately fed and clothed. Make her happy. Be gentle with her, not harsh. If she indicates to you in any way that she wants something, give it to her. That’s how you’ll keep her in your house.
- If you have servants, share what you have with them. Be generous with them. Peace never reigns in a place where the servants are not happy.
- Don’t listen to or repeat things which are said in anger. If someone repeats such a thing to you, it’s better to look at the ground and not talk about it.
- To be silent is better than to say too much.
- If you’re in a position of power, be knowledgeable and gentle. Speak with authority and don’t pretend to be humble or you’ll make mistakes. Don’t raise your own feelings about things to too high a rank, or they’ll be brought down to size. Don’t be silent, but beware of interrupting people and getting into heated discussions. If you work all day, you won’t have a happy moment. If you play all day, you won’t provide for your house. Balance, therefore, your aim.
- Don’t get in the way of a good person who’s busy, and don’t pile on to someone who’s already burdened.
- If you give advice, make sure it benefits the person you’re giving advice to and makes them popular with others.
- If you’re asked to resolve a conflict between two people, don’t favour one side, and be exact in your judgments.
- If someone wrongs you and then is silent about it, forgive them and forget about it. Don’t remind them of it, either.
- If you move up in life, and go from rags to riches, don’t hoard your riches. Remember that you’ve received a gift, and that you won’t be the last person this happens to.
- Keep your boss happy and don’t argue with them, because your livelihood depends on your boss.
- Exercise continence.
- If you want to find out the true nature of someone, don’t ask their friends, but spend time with them alone, so that you don’t mess up their affairs. Debate them, let them tell you their story, and tell them yours.
- Let your face be bright as long as you are alive, by doing good deeds. Food should be shared. He that doesn’t share food will himself go hungry, and he that causes problems for others will also create trouble for himself.
- Maintain a good reputation. One day, when you’re in trouble, your good repute will turn out to be your saving grace.
- If you’re going to correct people and instruct them, make sure you do it right. Someone who opposes others unnecessarily will create unnecessary conflict.
- If you ruin a woman’s reputation, be kind to her, don’t send her away, and give her food if she needs it.
- Obeying your parents is key. If you obey noble rules, you’ll be a good listener and a good speaker, you’ll create good-will with people, and you’ll learn from the experiences of others.
- Pay careful attention to the rules. If you pay attention and understand them, you’ll stick to them, but if you’re careless and foolish about rules, you won’t follow them and you’ll be crushed.
- The person who disobeys all rules, does nothing useful. He considers knowledge to be the same as ignorance, and beneficial things to be the same as harmful ones. He constantly makes mistakes and so he gets told off all the time. He’s eventually shunned by society, because of his sorry state of affairs.
- A son who knows how to listen is good, like a Follower of Horus. He grows old and earns the respect of others, then he passes on the things he learned from his father to his own sons and daughters. Children listen to their parents and learn from them, so make sure that what you say to your children implants true and just things in their lives. Be careful what you say and be exact in your speech.
- Let your heart freely overflow, but control your speech. Apply your heart to saying such things that when people listen to you, they say “what excellent thing is that which just came out of this guy’s mouth!”
- Do as your lord commands. What is asked of you is far less than what is done for you.
Ptahhotep comments about his own rules: that their basic pattern will be applicable for all time, and that whoever listens to them will find success, good fortune, and contentedness. I don’t doubt that much of what this man learned throughout the course of his long life (he apparently composed this work when he was 105 years old!) is still worth knowing about today. After all, he was very much like us in one important way: he was a human being, living amongst others.
