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Three of the most famous writings from ancient civilizations are the writings of Confucius,

Hammurabi's code of laws, and Egypt's Book of the Dead. At first, they seem very different, they're from

different times, regions, and religions, but they all offer a peek into what values ancient people considered

important.



One of the values that all three civilizations is justice and fairness. I feel that this is best viewed

in Hammurabi's laws. All of the penalties for the crimes are very stiff, but fair. I feel that it is fair that "If

he has broken the limb of a patrician, his limb shall be broken" It's like in the Bible "An eye for an eye,

and a tooth for a tooth." In Egypt, in the Book of the Dead, a man couldn't proceed into the after life

unless he was found innocent of any wrong doing on Earth. In Confucius' writings, he never actually says

the word "justice", but he does say "Great Man cherishes excellence; Petty Man, his own comfort. Great

Man cherishes the rules and regulations; Petty Man special favors." To me, that mean "Great Man is fair,

Petty man is unfair."



The second of these three values is responsibility and respect to one's family and elders, and

responsibility and respect to others families and elders. This is most evident in Confucius' writings. He is

constantly stressing family values and responsibility. One quote that shows this is "Let the sole sorry of

your parents be that you might become ill."

This stresses personal responsibility and respect to your parents. Hammurabi showed responsibility by

saying "If a builder has built a house for a man, and has not made his work sound, and the house he built

has fallen, and caused the...