The story of the eloquent farmer.. they stole his donkey, so he went to the palace of the King of Egypt to demand justice:
After the collapse of the ancient Egyptian state in 2268 BC, Egypt entered a new phase, which some considered a transitional period. Centralization was fragmented, and the princes of the provinces became independent.
And between 2134 and 2040 BC, in the ninth and tenth dynasties, Egypt was beginning a new era in which the peasant gained more freedom. Art and creativity in this era reached a new amount. We received wonderful texts from it, including the teachings of “Ebor” and the teachings of “Mary Ka Ra”, and the complaints of the farmer that we received are written in four papyri in the hieratic script, the line of literature, three of which are preserved in the Egyptian Museum in Berlin under the numbers: 3032, 3035, 10499, and the fourth preserved in the British Museum under No. 1027. The repetition of copies helped us obtain an almost complete text; the time of its writing dates back to the Middle Kingdom era, after the country’s reunification. The time of the story goes back to the end of the first transitional era.
The text is known as The Complaints of the Eloquent Peasant, but it is originally without a title, although there is no evidence that the author of the text is a peasant. Some archaeologists say that the complaints are for the peasant, but which was formulated by one of the scribes to flatter the ruler. The hero of the story is the farmer “Khun Inpo”, who noticed that the grain stocks were almost running out in his house, so he carried on his donkey some of the products of his village to exchange for food in the capital, Ihnasia. On the way, he is exposed to a plot by “Nimati Nakht”, who steals his donkey, so the farmer goes to the chief of staff, who is the head of the court of King “Mru bin Ransi” (Mru Sa Ransi), and complains to him about the injustice that he has been subjected to, and organizes his plea in a poetic form, asking him achieving justice. The matter comes up to King Neb Kawre Kheti, who orders that the farmer be ignored until he completes his plea and writes it, and at the same time, he orders that the farmer’s family be provided with food until he returns.
The farmer’s complaints ranged from praise to satire, and he was exposed to all the abuses in society, but of course, without touching the foundations of the system itself. After making the ninth plea, the farmer despaired of regaining his right. The chief of the court was fed up with the silence of the court, so he decided to go to “Anpu” (Anubis), the protector of the dead and the Lord of mummification, to complain to him, so the chief comes out of his silence, investigates his case, and punishes the offender. Some explain that the court’s chief broke his silence by saying that the peasant had intended to commit suicide.
Of course, it is not possible to cite the texts of the nine complaints in full. Still, we quote them in summary and select some wonderful meanings, which in their entirety constitute his prescription for the just ruler, and provide an accurate description of justice and injustice.
And what the farmer said in his complaints:
“O chief of court, my lord, great of the great, and master of all, when you sail into the lake of truth, let your ship sail with a suitable wind, and neither your sail nor your ship shall be torn to pieces, nor harm your mast, nor break the beams of your mast. You who resist greed and establish justice, who comes to my cry that echoes in my mouth, I am speaking, then hear: Establish justice, O praised one who is praised by the praised, remove my suffering! I am overburdened.”
It was stated in the second complaint:
“My master, O chief of the great, O richest of the rich, the greatest among his pride, and richness among his rich, O helm of heaven, O mast of the earth, the O rudder of the earth, O rudder, do not fall, O mast, do not lean, the O thread of the track, do not shake, do you take The great master is something that has no master and steals the defenceless? In your house, all you need is a mug of beer and three loaves, and the crumbs you distribute satisfy those who ask you. Isn’t it shameful that the scales are tilted, and justice is skewed? Look, justice is reeling under your weight and displaced from its place. The stolen items, that is, he who has to put the matter in perspective, distorts it. He who has to give the air (breath) on earth takes the breath away, and he who divides is a thief. He who has to fight poverty increases it. The country without help is drowning in its sea, and who has to fight misery causes disasters, and who He has to fight misery does the opposite, and whoever has to be firm colludes, and whoever has to do justice to others is being unjust, when do you feel the ugliness of pardoning the criminal? Oh, my lord, when you come to your senses, do as you are expected. See, you are strong and strong, but your arm is slack, and your heart is greedy, and the softness has taken hold of you, how can the poor who you destroyed complain?
When you do, do not be soft, but you are full of your bread and drinking your beer, you are richer than these things when the king sits in his palace, and you are in your oar hand, evil will happen in your region. The questioner needs long patience, and the given finds it difficult. What is this resident there? Be a refuge and keep your bank safe. Behold, here is your city, a crocodile nursery, do not speak lies, save the officials from it, a basket of fat people and eavesdroppers, braided with lies. O you who know the concerns of the people, do you not know my case?”
And in the third complaint:
“Stop the thief and protect the poor. Beware the approaching eternity and wish for yourself self-steadfastness, achieving justice. Punish the one who deserves punishment, and no one will equal you in your justice.” The balance of the earth is the realization of justice, so do not speak a lie because you are great, do not be light, you are heavy, do not say lies because you are the balance, do not make mistakes because you are the right one, look, you and the balance are one, lean with your inclination, do not deviate from the straight path, when you lead the rudder, or it will be cut off Rudder. Punish the thief; there is no safety in the country. O Hearer, why don’t you listen, see. Why don’t you hear since the attack on me and the crocodile has won? When will you learn from that?
Do not be arrogant because of your strength so that you do not reach evil. You were appointed to hear the complaint, and to separate the quarrels with truth, and to pursue thieves, but look, what do you do, you are the haven of the thief, one trusts you to be a dam for the poor, to protect him from drowning, but here you are more than the overflowing sea, You should be an example to people, but the whole world around you is corrupt. You had to be upright in front of all the people, so you are a sheikh who is victorious in this country. A wicked gardener who waters his garden with sin will bear fruit with lies and misery in his garden.”
In the seventh complaint:
“Punishment inflicted.”