North Africa
Egypt
Pre-colonial
Old Egyptian
Wisdom Literature
A collection of instructions attributed to the vizier Ptahhotep, advising ethical conduct, humility, listening, speech, justice, and leadership.
Literary Significance
Among the world's earliest surviving works of moral and political instruction.
Wisdom stores a research-oriented entry for the Maxims of Ptahhotep, one of the earliest known wisdom-instruction corpora.
The linked source supplies a public-domain translation. Wisdom stores orientation and retrieval context.
Research note
research-notenot primary textUse Ptahhotep for leadership ethics, listening, restraint, speech, hierarchy, and justice. It should appear in searches about African philosophy, governance, education, and moral instruction.
Wisdom editorial note