The text retains the traditional format of an older man giving advice to a younger man – as the scribe Any, who works in the court of Nefertari, advises his son.[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. The father refutes the son's objections by force of argument.[1]