Ptahhotep
The teaching attributed to him says a good life follows Maat – truth, justice and order – through modesty, fair speech and listening well.
Placement
The “Maxims of Ptahhotep”, attributed to a vizier of the Fifth Dynasty (c. 2400 BCE) but probably composed in the Middle Kingdom (c. 1900 BCE), from which the oldest copies come, are among the oldest wisdom books: a life in accordance with Maat – truth, justice and order.
Key ideas
- Maat (truth and order)
- Instruction in wisdom
- Modesty and fair speech
Works
- c. 2000 BCEThe Maxims of Ptahhotep
An aged vizier instructs his son: listen well, speak justly, stay modest – for Maat endures.
Position
An aged vizier asks the king for leave to instruct his son, then sets out some thirty-seven maxims for a successful and upright life. At their centre stands Maat – truth, justice and right order – which endures, while greed and injustice end in ruin. The ideal is the self-controlled listener: do not be proud of your knowledge, but take counsel with the ignorant as well as the wise, for good speech is rarer than precious stone, yet found among servant girls at the grindstone. The maxims cover conduct towards superiors, equals and inferiors, in judging and in marriage. They are among the oldest surviving works of ethical reflection. Placing Egypt at the start of African philosophy, as this map does, follows Cheikh Anta Diop and Théophile Obenga and is debated.
Life & context
The Maxims of Ptahhotep present themselves as the teaching of a vizier under King Djedkare Isesi of the Fifth Dynasty, around the 24th century BCE. Officials of that name are attested in this period, but whether one of them composed the text cannot be shown. The work survives mainly in the Prisse Papyrus and other Middle Kingdom copies, and most scholars date its composition to that later era.
Appears in
- Journey ‘African Philosophy’ · Stop 1 of 10
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