Through the Eras

Literatureauthors wrestle with the problem that reality does notmatch the Egyptian ideal of justice. The list of texts includedwith the pessimistic literature comprises The Admonitionsof Ipuwer, The Complaints of Khakheperre-sonb,The Dialogue of a Man with his Ba, The Eloquent Peasant,The Teachings for Merykare, The Prophecy of Neferty,and The Teachings of Amenemhet. These seven texts, allwritten during the Twelfth Dynasty (1938–1759 B.C.E.),form a group unified by theme, if not a distinct literarygenre. They thus reflect an intellectual position whichwas probably widely held among the literate class duringthis time period. They shared a fear of two things:disrespect for traditional wisdom and the loneliness ofthe individual without an ordered society. At least someof the authors of these texts recommended trust in theking and his government as the only antidote to thesesevere social problems. No authors are known and theexact order and date of composition remains difficult toascertain. Yet they all share important themes: accusationsagainst the gods, the insecure state of the world,and, by contrast, the nature of a secure world.INSECURE WORLD. An insecure world serves as thesetting for the seven works of pessimistic literature. Eachauthor describes the world slightly differently, but theyall touch on similar ills that they find in it. First, theyacknowledge a threat to or loss of important political,economic, and religious institutions that leads to chaos.The threatened institutions include an effective king whocontrols an operating government and administers swiftjustice, a functioning economy, proper religion, and apermanent funerary cult. The Teachings of Amenemhet,for example, begins by narrating the assassination of aking by his trusted advisors. In the Teachings forMerykare, a king either colludes in grave robbing or ispowerless to stop it. False friends threaten both Amenemhetand Merykare. The result of ineffectively functioningkings is a chaotic world defined by abandonedfields, empty granaries, and hungry people and animals.Trade breaks down because robbers stalk the highwayswhile corrupt officials act arbitrarily; local rulers fighteach other, fomenting civil war. According to the GermanEgyptologist Elke Blumenthal, the authors ofIpuwer, Neferty, and Khakheperre-sonb regard all of thesecircumstances as equally important, with none assignedmore weight than another. None of the authors specificallydiagnose the cause to be a weak or ineffective kingbecause no author is willing to state unequivocally thatthe king is responsible for chaos in the world. Yet theimplication can easily be read between the lines of thetext. Thus the author seems to say that a weak king isjust another circumstance on the same level as the prevalenceof hunger, robbers, and corrupt officials. No authorwillingly condemns the king’s weakness.GODS BETRAYED. The king was responsible inEgyptian ideology for guaranteeing the integrity of divinerituals, both for the gods and for the dead. Yet inspite of lengthy descriptions of inadequately suppliedtemples, desecrated altars, the destruction of the sun-godRe’s temple at Heliopolis, the expulsion of priests, theprofanation of holy texts—all apparently everyday occurrencesin this group of texts—none of the authors ofthe pessimistic literature even mention the king’s role asprotector of order. The king also guaranteed that themortuary cult would be effective, according to Egyptianbelief. Even though the king supplied financial help withburial only to high-level officials, funeral prayers all assumethat the king will provide offerings for everyonethroughout all time. Yet the pessimistic literature portrayskings’ cults as defiled. The rabble disturbs the king’smummy in its tomb or during the embalming andthrows it in the river. Yet even the current king is notdirectly blamed in the literature. No author is willing tocharge the king directly with responsibility for chaos anddisorder, even though this clearly is the implication ofthe author’s words.ACCUSATIONS AGAINST THE GODS. The roots ofthe world’s troubles include ungrateful royal advisors,the king’s weakness, and men’s greed. Yet no author canspecifically accuse the king of weakness. The Admonitionsof Ipuwer suggests that there is a being responsible forthis state of affairs: the creator god Atum. Atum neverrecognized people’s capacity for evil and never inhibitedpeople’s attempts to be evil, according to the narrator.From this idea grew the accusations against the godsfound mixed with complaints about chaos among menin the pessimistic literature. The god is both guilty andwithdrawn from the world. Not only has the god allowedinjustice, but also has become unjust himself by betrayingthe very justice he created. Neferty goes even fartherthan Ipuwer, claiming, “Creation is as if it were nevercreated. Re should begin creation anew.” Yet this viewwas not universal among Egyptians. In Coffin Text 1130,a text commonly inscribed on Middle Kingdom coffins,the sun-god Re describes four acts of creation that heperformed in the world. He made the wind so peoplecould breathe. He made the Nile flood to benefit boththe humble and the great. He also claims that he createdall people to be the same. He never told anyone to actin an evil way. Thus acting in an evil way contradictsthe gods’ wishes. Finally, Re claims that people were createdto carry out the mortuary cult. This text thus showsthat there was a debate about mankind’s nature andArts and Humanities Through the Eras: Ancient Egypt (2675 B.C.E.–332 B.C.E.) 129