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“To listen is to hearken. To hearken well is to speak well.”
Instructions of Ptahhotep, ancient Egypt
What it means
Drawn from the Instructions of Ptahhotep, a wisdom text over 4,000 years old and one of the earliest pieces of surviving Egyptian literature, this teaches that true listening — not just hearing — is the foundation of speaking wisely. It's one of the oldest recorded pieces of advice literature anywhere in the world.
This proverb is rooted in Egypt, part of North Africa.
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