“Man perishes, his corpse becomes dust. All of his family have died. But it is a book that makes him remembered in the mouth of the reciter. More effective is a book than a solid house, than tombs in the West.” Written about 1250 BC, this quotation is part of a passage extolling the immortality of writers. It conveys a surprising ancient Egyptian perspective about the afterlife: a reed pen is mightier than a pyramid. Stone tombs might crumble, but an author whose writings continue to be recited achieves lasting fame
If we knew the name of the man who wrote The Story of Sinuhe, he would be immortal indeed. This fictional tale, composed about 1850 BC, has survived in five papyrus copies from the Middle Kingdom – a remarkable number. Learned scribes were so familiar with the text that it could be quoted in a rock inscription with the assumption that any literate person would recognize the allusion. The tale’s fame lived on—another two dozen versions of the text are extant from the New Kingdom.
While ancient Egyptian school curricula have not survived, is among the likeliest candidates for a composition that every schoolboy would have learned. A student who copied the complete story would not only know the text of a fictional tale but become acquainted with some of the main genres of his time: autobiographical texts, hymns of royal praise, and letters. Most significantly, by the time he reached the end of, cosmic order.
