Written nearly four and a half thousand years ago, The Instructions of Ptahhotep is the world's oldest surviving book of wisdom — the teaching an aging Egyptian vizier gave to his son on how to live a good, useful, and contented life. In short, vivid maxims, Ptahhotep counsels humility before the vastness of knowledge, restraint in speech, loyalty in friendship, justice in leadership, and the steady practice of ma'at, the ancient Egyptian ideal of right order and good character. This edition renders his words in clear, present-day English that keeps the dignity and warmth of the original, while an introduction and glossary help place the work in its world. Far more than a historical curiosity, these teachings remain startlingly fresh: patient, humane, and quietly radical in their insistence that true greatness lies in listening, generosity, and self-control. Open it slowly; read one maxim a day, and let an old friend speak. Part of The World Scriptures Library.