KHETY

A unique Wisdom Text, often referred to as the 'Satire of the Trades', is couched in terms of instructions or advice which a humble man, Duauf son of Khety (or Dua-Khety in some texts), gives to his son Pepy. The text is preserved in sources which date to the New Kingdom (mainly schoolboy exercises of the Nineteenth Dynasty), but it appears to have originated in the First Intermediate Period. The most complete versions, written by the same scribe, are to be found in Papyrus Sallier II and Papyrus Anastasi VII in the British Museum.

Duauf counsels his son and, unlike other authors of early Wisdom Texts, he is not a powerful and mighty individual (a king or a vizier), who is well-placed to advise his young charge; this is simply the wisdom of an ordinary man placed before his son.The teaching is set between a prologue and an epilogue; it is explained in the preliminaries that Duauf, although he is of humble origin, is taking his child to the Residence (the royal palace) to place him amongst the children of the magistrates. On the river voyage Duauf has the opportunity to emphasise to Pepy the considerable advantages of the scribal profession (which he will be able to enter if he makes good progress in his studies), and the father contrasts it vividly with the tribulations and hardships endured by other trades and professions, of which eighteen are described in some detail. He urges Pepy to make the most of his chance to learn and encourages him to apply himself to his work. Emphasis is placed on the excellence of schools which undoubtedly made this text a most popular choice to be copied by generations of schoolboys.

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1.The name of several kings of Dynasty 9 and Dynasty 10 based in Herakleopolis. Their reigns are obscure, and little documentation survives from the period.

2.(fl. 1960 BC)

Author and sage who lived during Dynasty 12. He was the author of The Satire on Trades, a popular composition extolling the profession of the scribeand denigrating others. He may also have composed The Instructions of King Amenemhat I, which was assigned to the king.