Compare and Contrast the writings of Confucius, Hammurabi, and the boo :: essays research papers

Three of the mostfamous writings from ancient civilizations are the writings ofConfucius, Hammurabis law of laws, and Egypts book of account ofthe Dead. At first, they seem very different, theyre fromdifferent times, regions, and religions, but they all offer apeek into what determine ancient people considered important.One of the values that all lead civilizations is justice andfairness. I feel that this is best viewed in Hammurabis laws.All of the penalties for the crimes are very stiff, but fair. I feelthat it is fair that "If he has broken the limb of a patrician, hislimb shall be broken" Its 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 couldnt proceed into the after life unless he was foundinnocent of any wrong doing on Earth. In Confuciuswritings, he never genuinely says the word "justice", but hedoes say "Great Man cherishes excellence Petty Man, hisown comfort. Great Man cherishes the r ules and regulationsPetty Man special(prenominal) favors." To me, that mean "Great Man isfair, Petty man is unfair." The second of these three values is indebtedness and respect to ones family and elders, andresponsibility and respect to others families and elders. Thisis most evident in Confucius writings. He is constantlystressing family values and responsibility. One quote thatshows this is "Let the sole sorry of your parents be that youmight become ill." This stresses personal responsibility andrespect to your parents. Hammurabi showed responsibilityby saying "If a builder has built a house for a man, and hasnot made his work sound, and the house he built has fallen,and caused the dying of the mans son, the builders son shallbe put to death." That quote shows a mans responsibility forhimself and his family. In Egypt, during the ritual of the dead,it is said that the dead man, in order to pass into the afterlife,must sham that he has not done anythi ng to hurt anyone.This shows responsibility because if the man did not tell thetruth, he was prudent for not entering the afterlife.Knowing that they would be responsible for their actions, theEgyptians tried not to hurt people in their mortal lives. Thefinal value that all three cultures had in common was beingtruthful. All three cultures relied heavily on the truth. InHammurabis laws, it says "If a man has borne false witnessin a trial, or has not established the statement that he hasmade, if that reference be a capital trial, that man shall be put to