Such knowledge as we have of the kings of the Fifth Dynasty indicates that they were builders, but it was during this dynasty, in the reign of Tetka-Ra (about 3366 B. C.), that what has been described as the oldest book in the world, the _Precepts of Ptah-Hotep_, was written. In this remarkable document the first care of the author after a stirring picture of old age, for it is evident that Ptah-Hotep wrote in his old age, is to enjoin those who read, that by following in the ways of the fathers, the children will prosper. All through there are, as M. Chabas pointed out, evidences that it furnished the basis for many of the later injunctions of the Hebrews in regard to filial obedience: “Bring up your son in obedience.” “The son who receives the word of his father will live to be old because of it.” “Beloved of God is obedience; disobedience is hated by God.” The later injunction of Ecclesiastes, ix., 9, is found in the 18th rubric: “If you are wise take good care of your house; love your wife and cherish her.”[150] The husband and wife are frequently represented together at this time, and their attitude toward one another is most affectionate. In the group of M’Ayptah we see the Priest of Ptah in what to our modern understanding is a real family group, not unlike those the photographer of the congested districts in large cities is frequently called on to perpetuate. On the left of the Priest is his wife, Ha’tshepest, while on his right is his grown-up daughter. Two smaller figures represent a second daughter and the grandson of M’Ayptah.[151] The prominence of women here in relations so affectionate is unlike anything that we find in other ancient nations, and argues the presence of a spirit different from that of most nations at the same stage of culture. In the time of the Old Kingdom (from the Third to the Sixth Dynasty), a man had but one wife, who was the mother of his heirs, was in every respect his equal, and shared authority with the father over the children. The natural line of inheritance was through the eldest daughter, and the closest ties were through the mother.[152] In the _Adventures of Sanehat_, a story written apparently at the time of Amenemhat I., the founder of the Twelfth Dynasty, Sanehat’s description of his reception in the court of the king, when the royal children were brought forth to join in the general celebration, would also indicate that there was no desire to show any preference to either sex.[153]