A library of wisdom
Maat — Quotes
In ancient Egyptian cosmology, Maat was both a goddess and a principle — the order that holds back chaos (Isfet), the truth that lights the world, the balance that the Pharaoh's jo A curated set of 30 quotes from the Maat tradition.
“I have not lied. I have not stolen. I have not caused another to weep. I have not pried into matters. I have not slandered. I have not been angry without cause. I have not eaten my heart with grudges.”
“Your heart is weighed on the scale against the feather of Maat. May it be found as light.”
“I am one whose heart is light. I have done what is loved by gods and men.”
“Maat is great and its effectiveness lasting. It has not been disturbed since the day of its creation.”
“If you find yourself in a position of authority, be courteous. The mouth of a wise man counsels and ennobles.”
“Do not be proud of your knowledge. Take counsel with the ignorant as well as the wise. The limits of skill cannot be reached. No one is fully equipped with the skill at his fingertips.”
“Hearken to your wife. Make her happy as long as you live. She is a fertile field for her lord. Do not contend with her in court.”
“Conceal your heart, control your mouth. Then your counsels will be among the magistrates. The truly silent man stands in the truth of his own measure.”
“Greed is a grievous sickness, of which there is no remedy. There is no relief for it. It is the destroyer of friends.”
“Speak truth, do truth, for it is great. It is mighty. It endures. Maat is its name.”
“A good listener is half a good speaker.”
“Pleasant is the speech of him who hears.”
“Set Maat in your heart and your tongue will speak it. The two are not different.”
“I have given bread to the hungry and water to the thirsty. I have given clothes to the naked and a ferryboat to the boatless.”
“When you have authority, be aware: Maat does not look down on the small ones. The widow and the orphan have an equal claim on you.”
“Do not move the boundary stones on the fields, nor shift the position of the measuring cord. Do not desire a single cubit of land, nor throw down the boundary of the widow.”
“Speak the truth in the gateway, even if it earns you the king's displeasure.”
“The ka of a man (his vital essence) lasts only as long as Maat has shaped him.”
“Isfet is the opposite of Maat. It is the chaos that must be held back daily. The Pharaoh's work — the work of every person in their domain — is the holding back.”
“I have offered Maat to Ra. I have spoken Maat in the place of judgment. Maat ascends through me to the gods.”
“She is the daughter of Ra. She rides in the solar boat. The world is held together because she is at the heart of it.”
“Tell the truth. Live in such a way that you can tell the truth.”
“Be careful of the words of one whose face is hidden. The mask is the lie.”
“The akh — the spirit that survives — is built by Maat in this life. Nothing else builds it.”
“You enter the next life carrying only what you weighed. Your titles are left at the door of the underworld. Your heart is the only thing on the scale.”
“Hekau — the words of power — work only when spoken from a heart aligned with Maat. From a crooked heart they are noise.”
“A judge who shows favor to the rich is hated by Maat. The widow and the orphan stand at her right hand.”
“Do not let your tongue run ahead of your heart. Maat is in the small moment of waiting.”
“Reciprocity is the law of Maat made small. The hand that gives is the hand that receives. There is no other way.”
“Anubis weighs the heart. Thoth records the result. Ammit waits. The deceased recites the 42 Confessions. The room is silent. The feather does not move. It is the heart that must change.”