The "Pessimistic Literature" in Ancient Egypt

Book of Mormon Central has a useful article on Korihor and “ancient atheism” (see their Was Korihor Really an Atheist?). The following discussion on the topic of “Pessimistic Literature” in Egypt (several centuries before the time of Lehi) shows that a bleak understanding of the afterlife, meaning of life, and even a form of non-existence after death was known in antiquity and are not modern concepts as  result of rationalism from Europe:

It is possible that the troubled conditions of the First Intermediate Period [2181-2040 BC] and the Egyptians’ response to the ensuing social, political and religious upheaval may form the background to a group of texts which scholars currently term the ‘Pessimistic Literature’. In some of these, the author questions the existing social and religious order against a historical background of troubled events, but in other texts, an individual crisis precipitated by social upheaval is explored, or the validity of a belief in the afterlife is questioned. The texts, which are preserved in later copies, may well have been composed at this time of historical upheaval; they certainly provide evidence of an attitude towards death and resurrection which is far less confident than that which we infer from the archaeological evidence provided by the tombs and funerary goods.

The first text—the ‘Prophet of Neferti’—describes how safe Nefereti is summoned to entertain King Sneferu (the first king of Dynasty 4) with his ability to prophesy. However, he presents a terrifying vision of future events that will be fall Egypt, including internal strife and foreign infiltration:

I will show you the land in lamentation and distress,
That which has never happened before has happened.
Men will take up weapons of warfare,
The and will live in uproar.
Men will fashion arrows of copper,
And beg for bread with blood,
And laugh aloud at distress.
Men will not weep because of death,
Men will not sleep hungry because of death.
Each man’s heart is for himself.

He then claims that the situation will be rectified by a great king, Ameny (Amenemhet 1):

Then a king will come from the South,
Ameny, the justified by name,
The son of a woman of Ta-seti, born in Upper Egypt.
he will receive the White Crown,
He will wear the Red Crown;
He will unite the Two Powerful Ones,
He will please the Two Lords with what they wish . . .

In the second text, the ‘Admonitions of a Prophet’, another sage named Ipuwer (who was possibly Pepy II. The old king has been protected from the truth by his sycophantic courtiers, and remains unaware of the dangers that threaten Egypt, but Ipuwer describes the terrible situation:

There is no remedy for it,
Ladies will suffer like maidservants,
Singers are at the looms in the weaving-shops,
They sing dirges to the goddess . . .
Lo, all maidservants are rude in their speech,
when their mistresses speak, it irks the servants.

The world that Ipuwer describes represents a society collapsing from within: central government is overturned, the roles of rich and poor are reversed, and there is violence, robbery, murder, famine and disaster. Foreigners harass Egypt’s borders, and the populace threaten the disintegrating administration. The irrigation and agricultural systems are collapsing, which results in famine and hunger and, because of this social collapse, thieves and murderers enjoy the freedom to terrorize their neighbours. Instead of hoping to perpetuate the joys of life, people now regard death as a welcome event and wish that they had never been born. However, even death cannot offer any release, because there are no longer the resources to build and equip the tombs that would have ensured a secure afterlife. Even when bodies and tombs are properly prepared, however, this does not provide a solution because they are frequently plundered and the contents destroyed:

Lo, great and shall say ‘I wish I were dead’,
Little children say ‘He should never have caused me to live!’
Lo, children of princes are dashed against walls,
Infants are put on the high ground.

Ipuwer predicts future disasters and begs the court to take action and fight the king’s enemies, and restore the gods’ traditions. However, his pleas are ignored, and the conditions continue to deteriorate so that eventually the vestiges of order are swept away. This probably resulted in the overthrow and removal of the king . . . Another text (‘The Dispute between a Man and his Soul’ or ‘The dispute with the Soul of One-Who-is-Tired-of-Life’) is one of the most interesting examples of Egyptian religious writing, and is also regarded as a literary masterpiece of the ancient world. It addresses the predicament of a man whose life has been devastated by the collapse of his society, and probably tries to demonstrate the catastrophic effects of the First Intermediate Period on one individual, by exploring his self-doubts and fears. The man discusses his personal problems with his ba (soul), which is described as an independent entity; he longs for death and perhaps even contemplates suicide, but the Soul opposes his plan. Their argument is presented in the form of a dialogue, arranges in four poems. A selection is given here from three of the poems; in the first and second, the man describes the horrors of his current life, while in the third, as a contrast, he explains the joys that death would offer.

(From the First Poem)

Lo, my name reeks,
Lo, more than the stench of carrion
On summer days when the day is hot.

Lo, my name reeks,
Lo, more than catching fish,
On the day of the catch, when the sky is hot . . .

(From the Second Poem)

To whom shall I speak today?
Brothers are evil,
The friends of today, they are not lovable.

To whom shall I speak today?
Men are covetous,
Everyone robs his neighbour’s goods.

To whom shall I speak today?
There are none that are righteous,
Toe earth is given over to evildoers . . .

(From the Third Poem)

Death is before me today
As when a sick man recovers,
As when one goes outside after confinement.

Death is before me today
As the fragrance of myrrh,
As when one sits under sail on a breezy day.

Death is before me today,
As the fragrance of lotus flowers,
As when one sits on the shore of drunkenness.

Death is before me today,
As a well-trodden path,
As when a man comes home from warfare.

Death is before me today,
As the clearing of the sky,
As when a man discovers what he ignores.

Death is before me today,
As when a man longs to see his home
When he has spent many years in captivity.

Eventually, the Soul, who had the choice at the man’s side or abandoning him to his fate, manages to persuade him to remain alive so that they can share their future and the afterlife together:

This is what my soul said to me: throw aside lamentation, my comrade, my brother . . . I will stay here if you reject the West. But when you arrive in the West, and your body is united with the earth, then I will alight after you rest, and then we shall dwell together.

Various interpretations of this text have been suggested. According to one, the man contemplates suicide, but the Soul refuses to remain with him because of the hardships it will encounter if no tomb has been prepared. Instead, the Soul tries to persuade the man to stay alive by describing the dangers of death, but the man attempts to justify his decision y enumerating the evils he is encountering in life and emphasizing the comparative joy that death would bring. According to another interpretation, the man is looking forward to a natural death, but the text describes what might happen to him after death if his Soul deserts him: he might ace personal annihilation rather than resurrection and immortality. The Soul tries to demonstrate that life is preferable to death, but the man recounts the horrors of life and the comparative delights of death. In the end, the Soul wins the argument, and persuades the man to continue his life. This text provides a real insight into individual self-doubts during a period of political and social upheaval, and shows that even oblivion in death was not regarded as a solution because people could no longer prepare adequately for the afterlife . . . in the Middle Kingdom [2050-1710 BC], a new concept was introduced: hymns such as the Song of Intef reflects a scepticism found in other pessimistic literature of this period. In this Song (which was apparently originally inscribed in King Intef’s tomb), there is no praise of the joys of the afterlife; instead the listener is encouraged to enjoy life while he can, because the existence of an afterlife is uncertain and even a well-provisioned tomb cannot guarantee a person’s survival. Earthly existence is acknowledged as transient, and there is no certainty about human life. Funerary preparations do not last and are therefore useless, and since the dead do not return to inform the living what they need, then all the provisioning of the tomb is futile. This contrasts markedly with the traditional view that a person could expect to attain a blessed afterlife, provided that he was morally and virtually prepared and had made the necessary arrangements for his funeral and mortuary maintenance . . . Lamentations were a part of the funerary rites intended to save the dead from the absolute death or ‘second death’ that was reserved for the wicked or those who had not made the necessary funerary preparations. Absolute death condemned the person to complete obliteration or to a form of semi-existence that punished the individual. However, this hymn states that lamentations are useless, because the gods do not listen to them. It also reflects the Egyptians ‘dualistic’ concept of death by expressing their deepest fears, and at the same time, promoting those beliefs that were intended to assuage those doubts. It reversed the reassurance given to other hymns, but rather than expressing a gentle pessimism, it demonstrated pain and anger and a sense of betrayal. The hymn does not attempt to present a solution to the problem, although it indicates that earthly pleasures could bring a kind of oblivion and lessen the awareness of ignorance of what lies beyond death:

The gods who were before rest in their tombs,

The blessed nobles too are buried in their tombs.

Those who built tombs,

Their places are no more,

What has become of them?

I have heard the words of Imhotep and Hardedef,

Whose sayings men repeat in their entirety.

What of their places now?

There walls have crumbled,

Their places are no more,

As though they had never been.

None comes from there,

To tell us how they fare,

To tell us what they need,

TO set our hearts at rest,

Until we also go where they have gone.

Therefore, be glad,

It is good to forget,

Follow your heart as long as you live!

Pu myrrh on your head,

Dress in fine linen,

Anoint yourself with the genuine marvels that belong to a god.

(Refrain):

Spend the day happily!

Do not weary of it!

Lo, none is allowed to take his goods with him,

Lo, none who has departed can become back again! (Rosalie David, Ancient Egypt: Religion and Magic in Ancient Egypt [London: Penguin Books, 2002], 140-47; years in square brackets added for clarification)