Due to the amount of gaps and corruption it has been considered a difficult, and at times obscure, text to translate.
[2] However the Instruction of Any is distinguished from earlier works, as its intended audience was the ordinary person rather than the aristocracy.
The themes covered by the instructions include respect for religion, motherhood, honesty, restraint and the avoidance of relations with unfaithful women.
[3] Unlike other works of instruction, the endings of which tend towards acquiescence and gratitude for the wisdom imparted, this text contains an epilogue in which a son first responds to his father's maxims critically rather than compliantly.
[1] The most substantial surviving manuscript is contained in the Papyrus Boulaq 4 held in the Cairo Museum, though only small fragments of the first pages remain.