In Praise of Scribal Art

This bilingual poem extols the chosen profession of scribes.  The Sumerian text was furnished during ancient times with a line-by-line translation into Akkadian. The photo below shows the cuneiform writing of the poem.

Listen to the poem in Sumerian

Sumerian

Listen to the poem in Akkadian

Akkadian

Listen to the poem in English

Sumerian
namdubsarra amagudekene aummeakesh
namdubsarra nam indabtuka lalabi nungigi
namdubsarra mezugal lusubi nundiriga
namdubsarra irpag ubiak atuku harabdahe
namdubsarra bardag ubiak sunigalla arabtuku
namdubsarra nabilen azu nanshubben
namdubsarra ea nituku kiuriammankike
igidu ummaraken kiuri nandablaen
gude nammunnabshubben sagzu didiede
namdubsarra gishshubbazilla nituku namhea
narua absarede ashaga gidede nika sadugede
dubsar aribi hea gidusu
Akkadian
tupsharrutu ummu laitat abi ummani
tupsharrutu tsaahatma lalasha ul ishshebbi
tupsharrutu la lamdat ahissa ul iaddarsha
ana tupsharrutu kipidma nemela litstsibka
ana tupsharrutu tupulma mashra lisharshika
ana tupsharrutu la egata ahka la tanamdi
tupsharrutu bit buni nitsirti ammankima
tadallipshimma nitsirtasha ukallamka
ahka tanamdishimma masiktaka iqqabbi
tupsharrutu isiq damaqi meshrie u nuhshi
nara shatari eqla shadadu nikkassa kashadu
tupshar lu arad ishassi ina tupshikku
English
The scribal art is the mother of orators, the father of masters,
The scribal art is delightful, it never satiates you,
The scribal art is not easily learned, but whoever has learned it need no longer be anxious about it.
Strive to master the scribal art and it will enrich you,
Be industrious in the scribal art and it will provide you with wealth and abundance,
Do no be careless concerning the scribal art, do not neglect it,
The scribal art is a house of richness, the secret of Amanki,
Work ceaselessly with the scribal art and it will reveal its secret to you,
If you neglect it, they will make malicious remarks about you,
The scribal art is a good lot, richness and abundance,
To write a stele, to draw a field, to settle accounts,
The scribe may be servant of the scribal art, he calls for the corvee basket.

Historical Information

In Praise of the Scribal Art

The tablet under consideration here dates to the first millennium BCE.  The text was probably used to examine students who were training to become scribes.  Its linguistic obscurities and unusual phraseology imply the document might be an academic concoction.

Near the middle of the poem, “Amanki” is a dialectial spelling of the name for the water god Enki–also known as Ea.  His appearance in the composition may have been an attempt to expand Enki’s role to include patronage of scribes.

The mention of a corvee basket in the final line may be meant to encourage a pupil to study hard toward mastering the scribal art.

Sources

In Praise of the Scribal Art translation and both transliterations based on Åke W. Sjöberg, “In Praise of the Scribal Art,” Journal of Cuneiform Studies 24.4 (1972): 126-31.  Used by permission.

Curated by Edwin Hostetter, Department of Religion, George Washington University

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