Note 36 — VII THE KNEELING SCRIBE Vth DYNASTY (Boulaq Museum)

The expression is borrowed from a letter of the Papyrus Anastasis, No. 3. Its position in the Egyptian context leads me to believe that it was an often-quoted proverb. The idea is repeated in different forms in the scribes’ correspondence: “Work, or you will be beaten.” “When the scribe reaches the age of manhood, his back is broken by the blows he has received.”