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The oldest book in the world: Philosophy in the age of the pyramids
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In the 1800s, a papyrus scroll was discovered in Luxor. The text, a complete version of The Teaching of Ptahhatp, was copied out in the late Middle Kingdom, but originates from the Fifth Dynasty reign of king Djedkara Isesi (Izezi). Known as Papyrus Prisse, the text was published in 1858 as the ‘world’s oldest book’. However, even Sir Alan Gardiner believed it to be virtually untranslatable, and so the text fell into obscurity.
Bill Manley now offers a fresh interpretation, presenting the complete Papyrus Prisse version, together with incomplete alternative versions from other sources. According to Manley, The Teaching of Ptahhatp is not simply the ‘world’s oldes
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