Ptah Hotep Wrote About Being Polite

One of the earliest texts ever written—the maxims of the Egyptian sage Ptah Hotep (2200 B.C.E.)—was essentially a guidebook for enhancing interpersonal skills (Horne, 1917). Ptah Hotep encouraged people to be truthful, kind, and tolerant in their communication. He urged active listening and emphasized mindfulness in word choice, noting that “good words are more difficult to find than emeralds.”