The Satire of the Trades

The doctrine of Khety is an ancient Egyptian wisdom teachings of the 12th dynasty, which has been handed down to four papyri, two writing boards and countless ostraca, the oldest evidence comes from the 18th Dynasty. It describes the advantages of the scribe profession and is one of the disadvantages of other, mostly artisanal and agricultural occupations on.

Text

The text begins with a frame story: the father " Khety " possibly correct " Dua - Khety " ( Dw3 - Ḫtjj ), accompanied his son Pepi the residence school with the admonition to be diligent in school and to become a civil servant. It represents the Khety described by him as a very pleasant occupation of the writer in relation to other professions that are in contrast to described as stressful and dangerous. In a second part of the father gives the son a few rules of etiquette, as found in similar form in other teachings of the ancient Egyptian literature. Finally, the father again out the advantages of the scribe profession.

Formation

The emergence of the doctrine of Khety in the 12th dynasty is explained by the large demand for officials in the construction of the state at the beginning of the Middle Kingdom. This doctrine was in school environments seem a long time very popular, because even the Mendes stele of Ptolemy II Philadelphus quotes a passage from it. Maybe even the Book of Sirach was influenced by the teachings of Khety.