thatlittleegyptologist:

antiquitiesandlabyrinths:

Since I instinctively attempt to read hieroglyphs when they’re in front of me, this set threw me for a loop because the hieroglyphs don’t match the translation. They’re the right words, but the entire thing is literally ass backwards. The bottom line is the first line, and the top line is the last line. 

This is the Maxims of Ptahhotep, a text I studied as part of my MA, which is why I recognise the lines, which should read as:

n in.tw Dr Hmwt
nn Hmww apr Axw=f
No one has reached the limit of craftsmanship
There is no craftsman who has attained his perfection

but the hieroglyphs in the book page above (I’m like 90% sure it’s Budge here) read as:

apr Axw=f
Hmwt nn Hmww
n in.tw Dr

Attained his perfection
Craftsman. There is no craftsman
No one has reached the limit

Sometimes I really hate past scholars.