For Friday: Tao te Ching, Poems 20-37 (pp.24-42) or to the end of Book One

Answer the following question--only ONE!

Q1: Though these poems can be considered philosophical meditations, or even the basis for a kind of religion, what if they were meant for far more practical purposes? Some suggest these poems were meant as a guide for a ruler to keep control of his kingdom--as a kind of political manual. Choosing one of the poems in this section, discuss how it might help a ruler consolidate his power, keep the people happy, win foreign wars, and/or quell any potential rebellions.

A few ideas to consider:

* "Between good and evil, how great the difference?"

*"Bowed down then preserved"

* To use words but rarely is to be natural"

* He who boasts will not endure"

* "That which goes against the way will come to an early end"

* "If you would have a thing shrink, you must first stretch it"

For Wednesday: Lao Tzu, Tao te Ching, Poems I-XX (1-20)

For Wednesday's class, read through the first twenty poems in the Tao te Ching slowly...don't read them the way you would a novel or short story. In fact, I care less that you read them all then you read a few of them carefully and more than once. Remember our discussion on Friday about metaphors and how a metaphor can transform a common experience into something unique and complex--and help you experience it from the poet's point of view.

Answer TWO of the following:

Q1: Discuss an important metaphor in one of the poems: what do you think this metaphor is trying to compare--what experience/idea to what experience/idea? Why is this useful? For example, Poem XII (12) says, "the sage is/For the belly/Not for the eye." What does it mean that the sage/teacher is meant to be "eaten" and not "seen"? 

Q2: Many of these poems play with the idea of paradox--two ideas that would normally cancel each other out. Discuss one such paradox and why this paradox is not only possible, but enlightening to consider. For example, "use will never drain it." How is this possible?

Q3: Many of these poems can seem repetitive, using the same ideas and even the same language from one to another. Why do you think this is? Does one poem build on the other? Or do they represent different voices, each one offering slight variations on the same theme or idea?

Q4: Discuss a poem or passage that seems hopelessly confusing or impossible to 'translate.' Why is this? What language, metaphor, or paradox seems too dense to penetrate? Do you have any guesses or ideas? 

For Wednesday: Last Egyptian Readings--see below

For Wednesday: “Be a Writer” and “The Teaching of Khety” (pp.284-298)

NOTE: These are our last readings from the book Writings from Ancient Egypt, so be sure to buy the next book, Tao te Ching which we will start discussion after Labor Day. Be sure to keep this book, though, since your first paper assignment will ask you to use it!

Answer TWO of the following:

Q1: How does the piece “Be a Writer,” resemble the soul’s argument in “The Dialogue of a Man and his Soul”? How could we argue that this is another subversive work that defies the powers that be and makes writers more important than kings or gods?

Q2: Both of these texts were used in scribal schools to train future scribes: so the students would copy these works over and over again until they mastered the difficulties of hieroglyphic writing. How might these works have also functioned as propaganda for the future scribes at the academy?

Q3: According to “The Teaching of Khety,” what are some of the social taboos that lower-class Egyptians try to avoid? Why is it necessary for some of the lowest, most labor-intensive jobs to break these taboos and force the workers to abase themselves?

Q4: These are some of the earliest writings about school and the purpose of getting an education. How do some of these sentiments relate to modern-day reasons for going to college and getting a degree? Do we still argue these same points today? And if so, is there an element of propaganda in how we encourage people to follow one profession (requiring advanced training) over another?

For Monday: “The Teaching of Ptahhotep” (pp.255-274)

NOTE: I will ask the “China” group to initiate our discussion on Monday—refer to your handout for the group breakdowns.

Answer TWO of the following:

Q1: Much of this work is devoted to “instructing the ignorant in knowledge and in the correct method of perfect speech, which will be beneficial to the listener but of no use to the neglectful” (257). According to these maxims, what is “perfect speech,” and how can one master the art of speaking? Does “perfect speech” change depending on who is speaking (high class, low class)? Or is it a universal law/art?

Q2: Though these maxims teach us a lot about how Egyptians viewed morality and conduct, they also reveal much about women in the ancient world. What role did women play and how were they viewed by the “wise men” of the kingdom? What ‘dangers’ did women pose to ‘virtuous’ men?

Q2: Though Ptahhotep claims that speech is important, even more important is the art of listening. According to the Epilogue, “As for the fool who does not listen,/He can do nothing./He sees wisdom in ignorance,/usefulness in harmfulness” (273). Why do you think Egyptians placed such importance on listening, and what else might listening consist of besides simply hearing others speak?

Q4: Are there parts of the maxims that seem contradictory or simply confusing? Could someone really follow all of these as a whole? Or do you feel they were meant to be read in part, or simply for the reader to take the parts he most desired? (and if so, what might these say about rules of conduct in general?)

For Friday: "The Dialogue of a Man and His Soul" (pp.115-122)

Remember, no questions for Friday's class, but we will have an in-class writing based on the reading, "The Dialogue of a Man and His Soul" on pages 115-122. As you read, consider some of the following ideas, any one of which might make an appearance on Friday:

* What disagreement is the man having with his soul? Why does he feel his soul "leads him astray"? 

* Do the "soul's" ideas represent what we imagine our soul would tell us today? Why or why not?

* The soul says "Look, it is good to listen to people! Be happy and forget all cares!" This sounds like the servant's words to his master in "The Tale of the Shipwrecked Sailor." Does this suggest that the soul is right? Or is the soul the one not listening?

* Why does the man think his name "stinks"? What crimes/sins has he committed?

* Why does the man see Death as a deliverance rather than an evil? How does he use words/metaphors to explain his own vision of death?

* How does the dialogue end? Who wins? What point of view? Or is it too incomplete to tell?

Also, I will call on members of the "China" group to read some of their responses aloud in class. Check your handout to see if you're in that group so you don't get surprised! (unless you like surprises!) 

For Wednesday: Writings from Ancient Egypt (see below)

For Wednesday: Writings from Ancient Egypt: “The Cannibal Hymn” (pp.89-92) & “The Great Hymn to the Orb” (pp.101-105)

Answer TWO of the following:

Q1: In many ancient societies, the king was seen as the living embodiment of the gods or a specific god, or else their direct intermediary on earth. According to “The Cannibal Hymn” what is the king’s relationship to the gods? How does the hymn/song help the listener ‘see’ Unas’ position in the relationship between gods and men?

Q2: Psalm 104 from the Old Testament seems to echo many of the ideas in “The Great Hymn to the Orb,” which was written much earlier—and as the Hebrews lived among the Egyptians, it makes sense that they would have heard or read it. Why do you think the writers of a monotheistic religion would borrow (or be inspired from) this earlier poem, even though the Egyptians were more or less their enemy (and certainly not believers)?

Q3: Though written almost a thousand years apart (around 2350 BCE and 1350 BCE), what similarities do both works share in terms of language, the identity/power of the king, and conception of the divine? In other words, how do we know that the same culture wrote both poems, even though Egyptian culture had changed/matured by the time “The Great Hymn” was written?

Q4: “The Cannibal Hymn” contains surprisingly lurid imagery, as it imagines the king feasting on the bodies of gods, using “the legs of their elders” in his cauldrons and “their women’s legs” to scrape out his pots. Why would a culture want to celebrate a king who is basically a “cannibal,” even if he didn’t literally eat their corpses? Why might this have been an effective image in ancient times?

For Monday: Writings from Ancient Egypt, "Tales of Wonder" (see below)

For Monday: Tales of Wonder (pp.235-250): “Prince Bauefra’s tale,” “Prince Hordefef’s Tale,” “The Tale of the royal children,” and “The Tale of the Shipwrecked Sailor”

Answer TWO of the following:

Q1: “The Tale of the Shipwrecked Sailor” is probably the most famous work of ancient Egyptian literature, since it is more or less complete, and tells an actual (recognizable) story. Why else do you think it has become so popular, told and re-told over 4,000 years? What makes it memorable, interesting, or mysterious?

Q2: The first three tales are a bit fragmentary (we’re missing pieces of them), and in general, they aren’t as easy to follow as “The Tale of the Shipwrecked Sailor.” What aspects of one or more of these stories seems unexplained or confusing to you? Why do you think this is? Do you think it’s a forgotten part of their culture, or was it meant to be confusing to its readers?

Q3: All of these tales are “frame narratives,” meaning that someone is telling a story to a second party, giving us in essence two levels of narrative. Why do you think it’s important for a story to depict the act of telling a story? Explain how the double narrative helps us understand the story, or provides a useful function to the actual story itself.

Q4: How do these stories depict the morals and values of ancient Egyptian society? According to them, what rules and customs did they follow? What was “good behavior” vs. “bad behavior”? What did they think of their superiors and inferiors? And by extension, what did they want their readers to learn about these relationships (since stories usually teach lessons, especially in the ancient world)?