I love wisdom literature. The author gives the Instructions of Shurappak as the oldest literature on his list. Many maxims are metaphorical, like Pythagorean sa

I love wisdom literature. The author gives the Instructions of Shurappak as the oldest literature on his list. Many maxims are metaphorical, like Pythagorean sayings. https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Instructions_of_Shuruppak https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Instructions_of_Shuruppak But, I’d like to share my favorite, the Egyptian “The Instructions of Hardjedef”, supposedly written in the 25th century BC: * Clean yourself in your own eyes before someone can clean you. * When you grow, build a house. * Take a wife who has mastered her heart and multiply. * You build for your children when you house yourself. * Build a strong house in the grave and a noble place where the sun sets. * Death lowers us, life lifts us. * The house of death is for life. That last line, that the house of death is for life, suggests that the tombs were for the living, to support memories, traditions and cultural continuity. It makes tomb building less of a selfish affair.