Dialogue of Pessimism
Encyclopedia
The Dialogue of Pessimism is an ancient Mesopotamia
n dialogue between a master and his servant that expresses the futility of human action. It has parallels with biblical wisdom literature
.
, written soon after 1000 BC in Mesopotamia. It was discovered in five different clay tablet manuscripts written in the cuneiform
script. The text is well-preserved, with only 15 of its 86 lines being fragmentary. Two textual versions seem to survive, as a Babylon
ian tablet is substantially different to Assyria
n versions. Its likely Akkadian title was arad mitanguranni, the repeated phrase at the beginning of every stanza.
A sample of the Dialogue is (Master Slave):
Stanza XI is substantially different:
The dialogue is limited to two people (unlike, for instance, Plato
’s dialogues), as is common in ancient Middle-Eastern wisdom literature. In the scribal tradition of Mesopotamian literature, one learns by verbal instruction and reflective reading, not by debate. It has been suggested that it may have been a dramatic text, performed publicly. Rather than a set of abstract or universal principles to be applied to every situation, the slave employs concrete images and instances.
The dialogue stands consciously in the continuum of Mesopotamian literature. Line 76 quotes a line at the beginning and the end of the Epic of Gilgamesh
. Lines 86–87 quote an ancient Sumerian saying. Lines 62–69 may allude to a part of the Great Hymn to Shamash
(lines 118–127).
. Interpretation of the Dialogue is divided. Some see it as a statement of life’s absurdity, because there are no definitive right and wrong choices or reasons for action. The final stanza is therefore a logical outcome of this quandary, the choice of non-existence over existential futility. An opposing interpretation takes its cue from the slave’s final cheeky retort, seeing the Dialogue as social satire, where the servile yet cheeky slave exposes the vacillation and unproductiveness of his aristocratic master through conflicting and clichéd answers. Religious satire is also present in comments about the behaviour of the gods.
Parallels with the second millennium Mesopotamian text Monologue of the Righteous Sufferer
(“I will praise the Lord of wisdom”) and the biblical book of Ecclesiastes suggest a third interpretation. The universe is indeed enigmatic and human actions seemingly meaningless, yet the gods hold the secrets of the universe (revealed in the slave’s comment about heaven and earth in Stanza XI). Rather than suggesting death out of despair, the master wants the slave to enter before him into death so that he can ask the gods. The slave’s final satirical rejoinder parries his master's suggestion. The Dialogue’s purpose is partly satirical and partly serious, and its end is to remind readers that the gods control the destinies, which are unknown to us. The wise man, like the slave, reserves judgement and assesses possibilities in the face of life’s ambiguities, albeit while retaining his sense of humour.
There are also some parallels and contrasts with the Book of Job
. Like the Dialogue, Job also considers death as an option in the face of life’s contradictions (Job 3:2–13), although he never contemplates suicide. Moreover, Job does not conclude on a note of death: rather, that theme was more present at the outset. The use of irony and satire to probe life’s mysteries also feature in both the Dialogue and Job (e.g. Job 9:39–31).
A variant of the opening verse of the proverbs of Agur (Proverbs 30:1) is found in the Dialogue.
Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia is a toponym for the area of the Tigris–Euphrates river system, largely corresponding to modern-day Iraq, northeastern Syria, southeastern Turkey and southwestern Iran.Widely considered to be the cradle of civilization, Bronze Age Mesopotamia included Sumer and the...
n dialogue between a master and his servant that expresses the futility of human action. It has parallels with biblical wisdom literature
Wisdom literature
Wisdom literature is the genre of literature common in the Ancient Near East. This genre is characterized by sayings of wisdom intended to teach about divinity and about virtue...
.
Text and dating
The Dialogue is a loosely poetic composition in AkkadianAkkadian language
Akkadian is an extinct Semitic language that was spoken in ancient Mesopotamia. The earliest attested Semitic language, it used the cuneiform writing system derived ultimately from ancient Sumerian, an unrelated language isolate...
, written soon after 1000 BC in Mesopotamia. It was discovered in five different clay tablet manuscripts written in the cuneiform
Cuneiform
Cuneiform can refer to:*Cuneiform script, an ancient writing system originating in Mesopotamia in the 4th millennium BC*Cuneiform , three bones in the human foot*Cuneiform Records, a music record label...
script. The text is well-preserved, with only 15 of its 86 lines being fragmentary. Two textual versions seem to survive, as a Babylon
Babylon
Babylon was an Akkadian city-state of ancient Mesopotamia, the remains of which are found in present-day Al Hillah, Babil Province, Iraq, about 85 kilometers south of Baghdad...
ian tablet is substantially different to Assyria
Assyria
Assyria was a Semitic Akkadian kingdom, extant as a nation state from the mid–23rd century BC to 608 BC centred on the Upper Tigris river, in northern Mesopotamia , that came to rule regional empires a number of times through history. It was named for its original capital, the ancient city of Assur...
n versions. Its likely Akkadian title was arad mitanguranni, the repeated phrase at the beginning of every stanza.
Content and style
The Dialogue of Pessimism takes the form of a dialogue between a master and his slave valet. In each of the first ten stanzas the master proposes a course of action, for which the slave provides good reasons. Each time, however, the master changes his mind and the slave provides equally good reasons for not pursuing that course of action. The courses of action are:
I. Driving to the palace
II. Dining
III. Hunting
IV. Marriage (“building a house” in Speiser)
V. Litigation (this is the most fragmentary stanza)
VI. Leading a revolution (“commit a crime” in Speiser)
VII. Sexual intercourse
VIII. Sacrifice
IX. Making investments (“plant crops” in Speiser)
X. Public service
A sample of the Dialogue is (Master Slave):
Slave, listen to me! Here I am, master, here I am!
I want to make love to a woman! Make love, master, make love!
The man who makes love forgets sorrow and fear!
O well, slave, I do not want to make love to a woman.
Do not make love, master, do not make love.
Woman is a real pitfall, a hole, a ditch,
Woman is a sharp iron dagger that cuts a man’s throat.
(Stanza VII, lines 46–52)
Stanza XI is substantially different:
Slave, listen to me! Here I am, master, here I am!
What then is good?
To have my neck and yours broken,
or to be thrown into the river, is that good?
Who is so tall as to ascend to heaven?
Who is so broad as to encompass the entire world?
O well, slave! I will kill you and send you first!
Yes, but my master would certainly not survive me for three days.
(Lines 79–86)
The dialogue is limited to two people (unlike, for instance, Plato
Plato
Plato , was a Classical Greek philosopher, mathematician, student of Socrates, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. Along with his mentor, Socrates, and his student, Aristotle, Plato helped to lay the...
’s dialogues), as is common in ancient Middle-Eastern wisdom literature. In the scribal tradition of Mesopotamian literature, one learns by verbal instruction and reflective reading, not by debate. It has been suggested that it may have been a dramatic text, performed publicly. Rather than a set of abstract or universal principles to be applied to every situation, the slave employs concrete images and instances.
The dialogue stands consciously in the continuum of Mesopotamian literature. Line 76 quotes a line at the beginning and the end of the Epic of Gilgamesh
Epic of Gilgamesh
Epic of Gilgamesh is an epic poem from Mesopotamia and is among the earliest known works of literature. Scholars believe that it originated as a series of Sumerian legends and poems about the protagonist of the story, Gilgamesh king of Uruk, which were fashioned into a longer Akkadian epic much...
. Lines 86–87 quote an ancient Sumerian saying. Lines 62–69 may allude to a part of the Great Hymn to Shamash
Shamash
Shamash was a native Mesopotamian deity and the sun god in the Akkadian, Assyrian and Babylonian pantheons. Shamash was the god of justice in Babylonia and Assyria, corresponding to Sumerian Utu...
(lines 118–127).
Interpretation
The Dialogue falls into the philosophical area of theodicyTheodicy
Theodicy is a theological and philosophical study which attempts to prove God's intrinsic or foundational nature of omnibenevolence , omniscience , and omnipotence . Theodicy is usually concerned with the God of the Abrahamic religions Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, due to the relevant...
. Interpretation of the Dialogue is divided. Some see it as a statement of life’s absurdity, because there are no definitive right and wrong choices or reasons for action. The final stanza is therefore a logical outcome of this quandary, the choice of non-existence over existential futility. An opposing interpretation takes its cue from the slave’s final cheeky retort, seeing the Dialogue as social satire, where the servile yet cheeky slave exposes the vacillation and unproductiveness of his aristocratic master through conflicting and clichéd answers. Religious satire is also present in comments about the behaviour of the gods.
Parallels with the second millennium Mesopotamian text Monologue of the Righteous Sufferer
Ludlul bel nemeqi
Ludlul bel nemeqi, I Will Praise the Lord of Wisdom, is a Mesopotamian poem written in Akkadian that concerns itself with the problem of the unjust suffering of an afflicted man, named Shubshi-meshre-Shakkan. The author is tormented, but he doesn't know why. He has been faithful in all of his...
(“I will praise the Lord of wisdom”) and the biblical book of Ecclesiastes suggest a third interpretation. The universe is indeed enigmatic and human actions seemingly meaningless, yet the gods hold the secrets of the universe (revealed in the slave’s comment about heaven and earth in Stanza XI). Rather than suggesting death out of despair, the master wants the slave to enter before him into death so that he can ask the gods. The slave’s final satirical rejoinder parries his master's suggestion. The Dialogue’s purpose is partly satirical and partly serious, and its end is to remind readers that the gods control the destinies, which are unknown to us. The wise man, like the slave, reserves judgement and assesses possibilities in the face of life’s ambiguities, albeit while retaining his sense of humour.
Parallels with the Old Testament
There is a thematic parallel between the Dialogue of Pessimism and the Book of Ecclesiastes in the Old Testament. The affirmations and their negations given by the Dialogue’s slave are similar to the list of actions and their opposites given in Ecclesiastes 3:1-9 (“a time to be born and a time to die...”). Ecclesiastes, like the Dialogue, has been the subject of pessimistic and optimistic interpretations, and is also amenable to the interpretation that the incomprehensibility of the universe and human life point to our limitations and the transcendent knowledge of God.There are also some parallels and contrasts with the Book of Job
Book of Job
The Book of Job , commonly referred to simply as Job, is one of the books of the Hebrew Bible. It relates the story of Job, his trials at the hands of Satan, his discussions with friends on the origins and nature of his suffering, his challenge to God, and finally a response from God. The book is a...
. Like the Dialogue, Job also considers death as an option in the face of life’s contradictions (Job 3:2–13), although he never contemplates suicide. Moreover, Job does not conclude on a note of death: rather, that theme was more present at the outset. The use of irony and satire to probe life’s mysteries also feature in both the Dialogue and Job (e.g. Job 9:39–31).
A variant of the opening verse of the proverbs of Agur (Proverbs 30:1) is found in the Dialogue.