Ancient Egyptians Still Have Things to Teach Us

Socrates and other Greek thinkers admired Egypt for its philosophical tradition, which was far older than their own. With his new translation of The Teachings of Ptahhatp, British Egyptologist and Coptic scholar Bill Manley shows us why. Composed around 2400 BCE, Ptahhatp’s composition is arguably one of the oldest books ever written—and certainly as old as the pyramids. Its author, Ptahhatp (the name means “the god Ptah is pleased”), was a high-ranking official under the Fifth Dynasty King Izezi. Writing in old age, as this genre of Egyptian literature required, Ptahhatp imparts hard-won wisdom about ethical behavior at work, at home and in society. The book proved so popular that it was read, shared and studied for millennia. Manley traces its history from the Old Kingdom to the 19th-century rediscovery of the text. In the 1840s, French traveler Émile Prisse d’Avennes purchased a papyrus scroll at Luxor, which he donated to the National Library in Paris. Although Egyptology emerged as a field of study at the time, scholars quickly recognized the papyrus as a rare example of Egyptian “teachings,” few of which survive. Manley offers a new translation of the Paris papyrus into clear English, giving readers a chance to appreciate this more than 4,000-year-old book for themselves. He also weighs Ptahhatp’s suggestions for leading a virtuous life, including advice for cultivating humility, modesty, integrity and good listening skills. Today’s readers, Manley suggests, have much to learn from this unsung philosopher and his Egyptian worldview.