The Satire of the Trades

The Satire of the Trades, also called The Instruction of Kheti, is a didactic work of ancient Egyptian literature.

[7] Written during the Middle Kingdom of Egypt, the text presents a long speech from a man named Kheti to his son, Pepi, on the merits of being a scribe.

Kheti tells his son that he has seen "a man seized for his labor" and has witnessed commoners suffer from "violent beatings".

The following excerpt describing the life of a "builder of walls" is representative of the middle section of The Satire: "His apron is mere rags and the rest-house far behind him.

His arms are dead from wielding the chisel, and every measurement is wrong; He eats his food with his fingers and washes once a day."

Before closing, Kheti once more extolls the duties of the scribe and then celebrates the career path Pepi has begun.

The Satire of the Trades is a "schoolboy text", meaning it was used to teach young scribes the values and tasks required for the profession.

A surviving ostracon of The Satire with writing from two different hands, one skilled and one amateurish, allows for insight into how scribes were taught.

He suggests the writing was not intended to demonstrate actual scribal views, but was meant to be both exaggerative and funny in order to entice and retain young men into the profession.