The Dialogue of Pessimism (c. 1000 BCE) is a Babylonian poem featuring a master and his slave in ten exchanges during which the master proposes an action, and the slave gives reasons for and against its pursuit. The piece has been interpreted as an existential statement, satire, a theodicy, and social commentary.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original article at https://www.worldhistory.org/article/2162/dialogue-of-pessimism/.
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