The Eloquent Peasant
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The Eloquent Peasant is an ancient Egyptian story about a peasant, Sekhti, who stumbles upon the property of the noble Maritensa, guarded by its harsh overseer, Hemti. It is set under the rule of Amenemhat II, the third Pharaoh of the twelfth dynasty some time between 1929 and 1895 BC. The Tale of the Eloquent Peasant by Richard Parkinson is an important contemporary source of the story.
[edit] Story
The story begins with a peasant, Sekhti, and his donkey stumbling on to the lands of the noble Meritensa. Hemti, the overseer of Meritensa's lands, was reknown for his misdeeds and tricked Sekhti into destroying his property by spreading a sheet across the road beside the farm forcing Sekhti and his donkey to trample over the crops. The donkey then began to eat the grain and subsequently Hemti took custody of the donkey and persued to beat Sekhti with the secure knowledge that Meritensa would take the word of his overseer than allegations of trickery and theft from Sekhti.
Sekhti searched for Meritensa and found him near the riverside of the city and called for him with laudable praises. Meritensa and his judges heard his case and replied that witnesses to Hemti's so called crime were needed for the case to continue. Sekhti could find none, but the magnificent speech of the eloquent peasant convinced Meritensa to continue to consider his case. Meritensa brought the case to Pharaoh Amenemhat II and told him of Sekhti's exoltations. Amenemhat was impressed, but ordered that he not be given justice just yet and that he foward him the peasant's praises.
For nine days Sekhti complimented Maritensa and begged. After sensing that he was being ignored, Sekhti insulted him and was subsequently beaten. After one last speech, the discouraged peasant left, but Maritensa sent for him to be returned. Rather than be punished, he was given justice. Amenemhat read his last speech and was awed and ordered that the donkey be returned to Sekhti and be compensated with all the property of Hemti, including his job, making Hemti as poor as Sekhti was. Until his death, Sekhti remained wealthy and respected and continued to speak to the flattered Pharaoh.
[edit] Variation in Names
Narrations of the Eloquent Peasant present different names and slightly different roles of the characters. Maritensa has been called Rensi, Hemti as Hamti, and Sekhti as Khunanup.
[edit] External links
http://www.sacred-texts.com/egy/eml/eml12.htm
http://www.jimloy.com/egypt/peasant.htm
http://www.rostau.org.uk/ep/ep1.html in hieroglyphs
