Chapter 9 discussed the social pyramid of Egypt. You learned about
the work and daily lives of several groups of people. Scribes were
one of these groups. They were well paid and highly respected because
they were Egypt’s official writers and record keepers.
Becoming a scribe was a difficult task. Classes lasted from dawn
until sunset. Teachers were strict and often treated their students
harshly. Still, learning to be a scribe meant that you would be
better off than other social classes in Egypt.
Below is an excerpt from an ancient Egyptian poem,
The Satire
of the Trades. Historians believe that young students in scribe school
were forced to copy this piece over and over again. In this way,
they could practice their writing and learn how much better it
was to be a scribe. As you read the excerpt, think about these
questions: What are some other jobs mentioned in the poem? What
was life like for those professions?
The jeweler drills in bead making using all
of the hardest hard stones. When he has completed the inlays [pieces],
his arms are
destroyed by his exhaustion. He sits at the food of Ra [dinner]
with his knees and back hunched double.
For the carpenter with his chisel, life is utterly vile [completely
disgusting]. Covering the roof in a chamber, measuring ten cubits
by six to cover the roof in a month after laying the boards with
cord of the weaving-house. All the work on it is done, but the
food given for it isn’t enough for his children.
The gardener has to carry a yoke pole [pole over his shoulders]
and all his shoulder bones age, and there is a great blister on
his neck, oozing puss…. He has spent over a day and now his
belly aches. So it happens that he rests dead to his own name.
He is aged by it more than any other profession.
As for the charcoal-worker, his fingers are rotted, the smell of
them is as corpses [dead bodies], and his eyes are stinging from
the smoky fire. He can never be rid of his charcoal, spending his
day cut by the reed; his own clothing is his disgusting.
The washer man does the laundry on the shore next to the crocodiles. “Father
is going to the canal,” he says to his son and his daughter.
Is this not a profession to be glad for, worse than any other profession?
Look, there is no profession free of directors, except the scribe—he
IS the director. If, though, you know how to write that is better
life for you than these professions I show you…. A day in
the school chamber [room] is more useful for you than an eternity
of its toil [lifetime of work] in the mountains…. Look, no
scribe will ever be lacking in food or the things of the House
of the King, may he live, prosper and be well!
Investigating Literature
| Create two job postings for
the “Help Wanted” section of The Daily Sun, a fictitious
ancient Egyptian newspaper. Use information from The Satire
of the Trades and your Chapter 9 Reading Notes. Each job posting
should include |
| • |
the job’s title. |
| • |
three descriptive details about the job’s
duties. |
| • |
two benefits of the job. You may want to
estimate a yearly salary based on the social class of that
job. |
| • |
a helpful illustration. |
| • |
correct grammar and spelling. |
History Alive! The Ancient World, Investigating Literature
