From the author: About reason, a good heart and self-control We are at the Luxor Museum of Ancient Egyptian Art... Here is a statue of the kneeling general and Pharaoh Horemheb. He presents two vases with aromatic oils to the creator god. Here is another statue - Thutmose the Third... Pharaoh - on his knees, wearing a khepresh crown and ceremonial attire. Behind him is the god Amon, blessing his spiritual offspring at the moment of coronation. We exchange glances: - Yes... needless to say, the vertical of power began with the ancients in the right place... The face of the fragile, small Thutmose is concentrated, his shoulders are clearly tense with the load responsibility... And not a hint of euphoria from the newfound position of power... We whisper: - Oh, what to do with such a pharaoh?.. - Well, just serve him!.. The greatness of ancient Egyptian culture and the high bar of humanity, set long before Socrates and Plato are reflected in the texts that have reached us from that time. Thus, four centuries before Thutmose and Hatshepsut, the nomarch Menchu-Hetepu, who lived during the reign of Senusret I, ordered the following record to be left: “I myself am a living teaching for young men: calmness, patience, lack of argument with a small person. For there is no high-ranking, who would be arrogant, who would be loved... Favor towards the one who speaks about his needs, until he expresses the painful... Listening to his voice is already the elimination of his need, for every person is known in his essence by an excess of silence on the part of the student, when impulses are suppressed... The real monument to a person is his good qualities, oblivion awaits the evil one. If this word is fulfilled, then my good name will always remain in my city, for the monument is indestructible: my century. *And even earlier, in 3- Thousands of years ago, the king of Heracleopolis left the following instruction to his son Merikara: Life on earth passes, it is short-lived. He who leaves a memory of himself prospers... The righteous lives forever, the one who walks with Osiris, having achieved liberation, avoids death... Justice. the rulers are the righteousness of the heart. Do the truth and you will live long on earth. Make sure that the crying is silent, Do not oppress the widow, Do not drive away a man because of his father’s property. Do not harm nobles because of their places. Beware of punishing unjustly. Don’t kill, it’s not good for you... There are still things to do after a person’s death. They put them in a pile next to him. Eternity is staying there. The one who neglects this is stupid. But the one who has achieved eternity without committing sin will be like a god walking freely, Like the ruler of eternity... Make no distinction between the son of a noble and a commoner. Bring a man closer to you for his deeds, And let all crafts be done... Strengthen the altars, honor God. Do not say that this is weakness, do not give up, be in joy... Do not damage monuments so that they can be restored by another, Who will come after... Do not build a tomb, destroying what has been done in order to build your own. Look - here is the king, the lord of joy, be meek, And you will be calm in your power... Take care of people, the flock of God... He created the earth and sky for them according to their desire, He destroyed the darkness of the waters, created air for them ... These are his likenesses that came out of his body. He created the light according to their desire, And he rides around the sky in a boat to see them. He built a sanctuary for himself behind them and hears them when they cry. He created a ruler for them as a support, To support the back of the weak... Do not cause suffering... My lips, they give laws for the king. Reveal your face, So that you may rise as a man. -----------------------------------------#####---- -------------------------*ABOUT. Berlev comments on this text as follows: "... a good disposition is capable of creating a better monument for a person than the highest of the pyramids. The origins of Horace's "Monument" are revealed and the image of humanity in the history of mankind is clearly shown. The nobleman boasts of non-traditional ancient oriental (especially Mesopotamian))?... :)