Archaic tablets were divided into rectangles whereas tablets of later periods are divided into horizontal lines.
By the middle of the 3rd millennium BC Mesopotamian scribes had developed cuneiform into a standardized set of increasingly abstract symbols which could be used to represent syllables, words, or elements of grammar. These advancements in writing gave scribes more freedom of expression. As a result, we begin to encounter texts of a literary nature in addition to accounting and lexical tablets. The uniformity of the writing style suggests that Mesopotamian scribes were taught in the same schools or E-dubba (“tablet houses”) as they were known in Sumerian. Due to the difficulty of the script, only a small fraction of the population would ever have learned to read or write. Those who succeeded were employed as administrators in connection with a royal house or temple.
Children were sent to the E-dubba from an early age to learn to read, write, and do arithmetic. One humorous account of the training a young scribe reads like a “day in the life of” narration.
Son of the tablet house, where have you been going since early childhood?”
I have been going to the tablet house.
What did you do in the tablet house?
I read my tablet, ate my breakfast, prepared my new tablet, wrote and finished the text. Then I was given a recitation and in the afternoon I was given writing exercises. After the tablet house had closed, I went home, came into the house, there my father was sitting…1Nissen 1993, 109
So far, so good, but the student’s second day in the tablet house did not go so smoothly. The boy received a beating from his teacher for being late to class, another for speaking in class, and a third for leaving the school premises without permission. Perhaps realizing that his position at the school was in jeopardy, the boy entreated his father to invite his teacher over for supper and ply him with gifts. Well fed and loaded with lavish gifts, the teacher seems to have forgotten the day’s events and showers praise upon his diligent pupil.
Since you did not show disrespect for my words, did not ignore them, you will climb to the top of the scribal arts… May you be the leader among your brothers, and among your friends. May you be the first of all pupils… Well have you accomplished your duties as a pupil, you are now a cultured man.2Nissen 1993, 109
The story points to the importance of the teacher in the community and perhaps also to the ever-present potential for corruption in the academy!
Shuruppak
The earliest literary texts discovered to date in Sumer, come from Tell Fara (ancient Shuruppak) and Abu Salabikh. An archive of 800 tablets was found at Tell Fara in a large building that must have once served as the administrative wing of a palace. Another 500 tablets were discovered at Abu Salabikh. Both of these archives date to the first half of the Early Dynastic III period (ED IIIa). One of the tablets discovered at Abu Salabikh was a fragment of the Instructions of Shuruppak, of which more complete copies are known from the 2nd millennium BC. This text is a collection of wisdom sayings purported to have been spoken by a king named Shuruppak to his son, Ziusudra, the hero of the Sumerian flood story. Here is how it begins:
In those days, in those far remote days, in those nights, in those far away nights, in those years, in those far remote years, at that time the wise one who knew how to speak in elaborate words lived in the Land; Shuruppag, the wise one, who knew how to speak with elaborate words lived in the Land. Shurppag gave instructions to his son; Shuruppag, the son of Ubara-Tutu, gave instruction to his son Ziud-sura…3Black 2004, 32-34
Shuruppak and Ziusudra belong to a golden age before the Flood, when wise men spoke “with elaborate words.” Many of the proverbs spoken by Shuruppak to his son are indeed wise words, just as applicable today as they were four and a half millennia ago. I’ve selected a few of them from Jeremy Black’s translation, The Literature of Ancient Sumer, and added a few comments.4Black 2004
The Instructions
A thief is a lion, but after he has been caught, he will be a slave. My son, you should not commit robbery, you should not cut yourself with an axe. (32-34)
The king compares an evil deed to intentionally cutting oneself with an axe.
You should not play around with a married young woman: the slander could be serious. My son, you should not sit alone in a chamber with a married woman. (32-34)
Contra to those who think “traditional” ideas about sexual morality are relicts of the Victorian era, the Instruction of Shurrupak preserves clear ideas about sexual morality.
You should not boast; then your words will be trusted. (36)
You should not pick a quarrel; you should not disgrace yourself. (35)
When it is about someone else’s bread, it is easy to say: ‘I will give it to you’, but the time of actual giving can be as far away as the sky. (97-100)
This saying anticipates Margaret Thatcher by a few millennia: “The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people’s money.”
You should not pass judgement when you drink beer. (126)
Prayer is cool water that cools the heart. Only (?) insults and stupid speaking receives the attention of the Land. (141-142)
Tabloid journalism and sensationalist claims sell papers and get clicks (i.e. “receives the attention of the land”).
You should not work using only your eyes; you will not multiply your possessions using only your mouth. (175-76)
This proverb suggests that Sumerians had property rights and were rewarded for their hard work.
By grasping the neck of a huge ox you can cross the river. By moving along (?) at the side of the mighty men of your city, my son, you will certainly ascend (?). (189-92)
Make friends with your betters and learn from them.
A woman with her own property ruins the house. (220)
The underlying premise is that a man should provide for the household.
A loving heart maintains a family; a hateful heart destroys a family. (202-3)
You should not choose a wife during a festival. Her inside is illusory (?); her outside is illusory(?). (208-212)
Don’t fall for the belle of the ball. Get to know the girl when she is not putting on her best.
You should not buy a vicious bull. (213)
Nothing at all is to be valued, but life should be sweet. You should not serve things; things should serve you. My son… (242-4)
You should not speak arrogantly to your mother; that causes hatred for you. You should not question the words of your mother and your personal god. The mother, like Utu, gives birth to the man. The father, like a god, makes him bright (?). The father is like a god: his words are reliable. The instructions of the father should be complied with. (255-260)
Without suburbs a city has no center either. (261)
Don’t abuse the hinterlands. A hub is useless without the wheel.
Overgeneralizing History
It is easy to overgeneralize history, especially for earlier periods where our only sources of information are the chance discoveries of artifacts and an archive or two. If our only literature from ancient Mesopotamia were erotic hymns dedicated to Inanna then we might conclude that the Sumerians had no concept of morality whatsoever. The Instructions of Shuruppak, which warn against being alone in a room with a married woman or finding a wife at a festival, is a reminder that not everyone saw things the same way.
Black, J. A.
The literature of ancient Sumer.
Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press, 2004.
Nissen, H. J.
Archaic Bookkeeping : Early Writing and Techniques of Economic Administration in the Ancient Near East.
Chicago, Ill.: University of Chicago Press, 1993.