Wider Ancient Witness Archive · 4.1 Ancient Near Eastern Wisdom Background Archive
Layer 4 — Wider Archive
The Dialogue of Pessimism
This text is included as a comparative, historical, philosophical, ritual, textual, or fragmentary witness. It is not presented as part of the Restored Bible.
The Dialogue of Pessimism
[An Akkadian dialogue between a master and his servant; whatever the master proposes, the servant first commends, then, when the master changes his mind, commends the opposite.]
“Servant, listen to me.” “Here I am, master, here I am.” “Quickly, fetch the chariot and hitch it; I will drive to the palace.” “Drive, master, drive. It will be to your good. When the king sees you, he will show you honor.” “No, servant, I will not drive to the palace.” “Do not drive, master, do not drive. When the king sees you, he may send you off to some hardship, on a road you do not know, and give you no rest day or night.”
“Servant, listen to me.” “Here I am, master.” “I will love a woman.” “Yes, love, master, love. The man who loves a woman forgets sorrow and care.” “No, servant, I will not love a woman.” “Do not love, master. A woman is a pit, a trap, a sharp iron dagger that cuts a man’s throat.”
“Servant, listen to me.” “Here I am, master.” “I will do a good deed for my country.” “Do so, master. The man who does good for his country, his good deeds are set in the basket of the god.” “No, servant, I will not do a good deed for my country.” “Do not, master. Climb the mounds of the ancient ruins and walk about; look at the skulls of the high and the low. Which is the one who did evil, and which the one who did good?”
“Servant, then what is good?” “To break my neck and your neck, and throw us into the river — that is good. Who is so tall as to reach to heaven? Who is so broad as to encompass the earth?” “No, servant, I will kill you and send you on ahead of me.” “Then would my master wish to live even three days after me?”
[So the dialogue runs, exposing the emptiness of every counsel.]