The Satire of the Trades, also called The Instruction of Dua-Kheti, is a work of didactic ancient Egyptian literature.[1] It takes the form of an Instruction, composed by a scribe from Sile named Dua-Kheti for his son Pepi. The author is thought by some to have composed the Instructions of Amenemhat as well.[2] It describes a number of trades in an exaggeratedly negative light, extolling the advantages of the profession of scribe. It is generally considered to be a satire, though Helck thought it reflected the true attitude of the scribal class towards manual labourers.[3]
The text has survived in its entirety, but extremely corrupted, in the Sallier II Papyrus written during the Nineteenth Dynasty, which is kept at the British Museum. A number of fragments are kept at the British Museum, the Louvre, the Pierpont Morgan Library, and other institutions.[4] It was one of the texts most frequently copied by students during the Ramesside Period.