Instructions Of Kagemni
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The ''Instructions of Kagemni'' is an
ancient Egypt Ancient Egypt () was a cradle of civilization concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in Northeast Africa. It emerged from prehistoric Egypt around 3150BC (according to conventional Egyptian chronology), when Upper and Lower E ...
ian instructional
text Text may refer to: Written word * Text (literary theory) In literary theory, a text is any object that can be "read", whether this object is a work of literature, a street sign, an arrangement of buildings on a city block, or styles of clothi ...
of wisdom literature which belongs to the ''
sebayt Sebayt (Egyptian '' sbꜣyt'', Coptic ⲥⲃⲱ "instruction, teaching") is the ancient Egyptian term for a genre of pharaonic literature. ''sbꜣyt'' literally means "teachings" or "instructions" and refers to formally written ethical teachings ...
'' ('teaching') genre. Although the earliest evidence of its compilation dates to the
Middle Kingdom of Egypt The Middle Kingdom of Egypt (also known as The Period of Reunification) is the period in the history of ancient Egypt following a period of political division known as the First Intermediate Period of Egypt, First Intermediate Period. The Middl ...
, its authorship has traditionally yet dubiously been attributed to Kagemni,Lichtheim (1996), p. 244. a
vizier A vizier (; ; ) is a high-ranking political advisor or Minister (government), minister in the Near East. The Abbasids, Abbasid caliphs gave the title ''wazir'' to a minister formerly called ''katib'' (secretary), who was at first merely a help ...
who served during the reign of the Pharaoh Sneferu (r. 2613–2589 BC), founder of the Fourth Dynasty (belonging to the
Old Kingdom In ancient Egyptian history, the Old Kingdom is the period spanning –2200 BC. It is also known as the "Age of the Pyramids" or the "Age of the Pyramid Builders", as it encompasses the reigns of the great pyramid-builders of the Fourth Dynast ...
).


Dating

The earliest known source for the ''Instructions of Kagemni'' is the Prisse Papyrus. This text dates to the much later twelfth dynasty of the
Middle Kingdom of Egypt The Middle Kingdom of Egypt (also known as The Period of Reunification) is the period in the history of ancient Egypt following a period of political division known as the First Intermediate Period of Egypt, First Intermediate Period. The Middl ...
(perhaps by the reign of Amenemhat II from 1929 BC to 1895 BC, or a bit later in the twelfth dynasty). It is written in the Middle Egyptian language and in an archaic style of cursive hieratic.Parkinson (2002), pp. 46, 50, 313.


Content

Only the end of this teaching text has survived; on the Prisse Papyrus, it is followed by the complete version of '' The Maxims of Ptahhotep''. It is unknown how much of the text from its beginning is actually lost.Parkinson (2002), p. 313. Kagemni, who the text mentions as the vizier under Sneferu, is perhaps based on another vizier named Kagemni who lived during the
sixth dynasty of Egypt The Sixth Dynasty of ancient Egypt (notated Dynasty VI), along with the Third Dynasty of Egypt, Third, Fourth Dynasty of Egypt, Fourth and Fifth Dynasty of Egypt, Fifth Dynasty, constitutes the Old Kingdom of Egypt, Old Kingdom of Dynastic Egyp ...
. Kagemni is hinted as being the pupil rather than the teacher of virtues and morals in the text, and it has been proposed by scholars that his father was Kaire, a sage mentioned in the Ramesside-era ''Eulogy of Dead Writers'' (Papyrus Chester Beatty IV). Although the authorship of the text is attributed to Kagemni, it was common for ancient Egyptian wisdom texts to be falsely attributed to prestigious historical figures of much earlier times. Written as a pragmatic guidebook of advice for the son of a vizier, the ''Instructions of Kagemni'' is similar to ''The Maxims of Ptahhotep''. It differs from later teaching texts such as the '' Instruction of Amenemope'', which emphasizes piety, and the ''
Instructions of Amenemhat Instructions of Amenemhat (aka "Teaching of King Amenemhat to His Son Senusret") is a short ancient Egyptian poem of the ''sebayt'' genre written during the early Middle Kingdom of Egypt, Middle Kingdom. The poem takes the form of an intensely dr ...
'', which William Simpson (a
professor emeritus ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retirement, retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". ...
of
Egyptology Egyptology (from ''Egypt'' and Ancient Greek, Greek , ''wiktionary:-logia, -logia''; ) is the scientific study of ancient Egypt. The topics studied include ancient Egyptian History of Egypt, history, Egyptian language, language, Ancient Egypt ...
at
Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...
) described as a "political piece cast in instruction form." ''Kagemni'' advises that one should follow a path of modesty and moderation, which is contrasted with things to avoid: pride and gluttony. In ''Kagemni'', the "silent man" who is modest, calm, and practices self-control is seen as the most virtuous; this type of person is later contrasted with his polar opposite, the "heated man", in ''Amenemope''. According to
Miriam Lichtheim Miriam Lichtheim (; 3 May 1914, Istanbul – 27 March 2004, Jerusalem) was a Turkish-born American-Israeli egyptologist, known for her translations of ancient Egyptian texts. Biography Miriam was born in Istanbul on May 3, 1914, to Richard Licht ...
, the virtuous "silent man" first described in ''Kagemni'' "was destined for a major role in Egyptian morality."Lichtheim (1996), p. 245.


Notes


References

*Lichtheim, Miriam. (1996). "Didactic literature" in ''Ancient Egyptian Literature: History & Forms''. Edited by Antonio Loprieno. Leiden: E.J. Brill. . *Parkinson, R.B. (2002). ''Poetry and Culture in Middle Kingdom Egypt: A Dark Side to Perfection''. London: Continuum. . *Simpson, William Kelly. (1972). ''The Literature of Ancient Egypt: An Anthology of Stories, Instructions, and Poetry''. Edited by William Kelly Simpson. Translations by R.O. Faulkner, Edward F. Wente, Jr., and William Kelly Simpson. New Haven and London: Yale University Press. . * Battiscombe Gunn. (1906), "THE WISDOM OF THE EAST, THE INSTRUCTION OF PTAH-HOTEP AND THE INSTRUCTION OF KE'GEMNI: THE OLDEST BOOKS IN THE WORLD", LONDON, JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET, 1906, https://www.gutenberg.org/files/30508/30508-h/30508-h.htm *Peter Dils, ''Lehre für Kagemni'', Journal der Sächsischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Heft 11 (2013

*Alan Gardiner, ''The Instruction Adressed to Kagemni and his Brathren'', The Journal of Egyptian Archeology, Vol.32, 19


Further reading

* Adolf Erman, Erman, Adolf. (2005). ''Ancient Egyptian Literature: A Collection of Poems, Narratives and Manuals of Instructions from the Third and Second Millennia BC''. Translated by Aylward M. Blackman. New York: Cambridge University Press. London: Kegan Paul Limited. {{ISBN, 0-7103-0964-3.


External links


''The Maxims of Good Discourse or the Wisdom of Ptahhotep'' ca.2200 BCE
(contains full fragmentary version—in original hieroglyphs and translated English version by Gardiner (1946)—of ''Kagemni'', which is one of two instructional texts found on the Prisse Papyrus) Ancient Egyptian instruction literature