The Pharaoh and the Priest: An Historical Novel of Ancient Egypt

by Bolesław Prus

  CHAPTER XXI

  Prince Rameses began his journey in the most beautiful season of theyear, during the month Phamenoth (end of December and beginning ofJanuary). The river had fallen to half its height, laying bare newstrips of land day by day. From Thebes many barges with wheat weresailing down toward the sea; in Lower Egypt clover and beans had beenharvested. Orange and pomegranate trees were covered with blossoms; inthe fields earth-tillers had sown lupines, flax, barley, and hadplanted various beans, cucumbers, and other garden products.

  Escorted to the landing of Memphis by priests, the highest dignitariesof the state, the guards of his holiness the pharaoh, the heir entereda gilded barge about ten in the morning. Under the bridge, on whichwere costly tents, twenty soldiers worked the oars, at the mast and atboth ends of the boat the best naval engineers had taken their places.Some looked after the sails, others commanded the rowers, while stillothers steered the vessel.

  Rameses had invited to his boat the most worthy high priest Mefres andthe holy father Mentezufis, who were to be with him on the journey andin governing. The prince had invited also the worthy nomarch ofMemphis, who conducted him to the boundary of his province.

  Some hundreds of yards in front of the viceroy sailed the beautifulboat of the worthy Otoes, nomarch of Aa, a province adjoining thecapital. Behind the prince came countless barges occupied by thecourt, by priests, by officials and officers.

  Provisions and servants had been despatched earlier.

  The Nile flows to Memphis between two lines of mountains. Farther themountains turn eastward and westward, and the river divides into anumber of arms in which the water flows through a broad plain to theMediterranean.

  When the barge had pushed away from the landing, the prince wished toconverse with Mefres, the high priest. But at that moment such a shoutbroke forth that he was forced to leave his tent and show himself tothe people.

  The uproar grew greater, however, instead of subsiding. On both shoresstood and increased every moment throngs of half-naked laborers, orpeople of the city dressed in holiday garments. Very many had garlandson their heads, almost all held green branches in their hands. Somegroups sang; among others were heard the beating of drums and thesound of flutes.

  Well-sweeps planted thickly along the river with buckets stood idle,but on the Nile circled a swarm of small boats, the occupants of whichcast flowers at the barge of the viceroy. Some of them sprang into thewater and swam after the vessel.

  "They greet me as they would his holiness," thought the viceroy.

  And great pride possessed his heart at sight of so many stately bargeswhich he could detain at one sweep of the hand, and those thousandswho had left their occupations and ran the risk even of death just tosee his divine countenance.

  Rameses was delighted, especially by that immense shout which rosefrom the people without ceasing for an instant. That shout filled hisbreast, rose to his head, exalted him. It seemed to the prince that ifhe should spring from the barge he would not touch water, for theenthusiasm of the multitude would seize him and bear him aloft abovethe earth, as a bird is borne in flying.

  The barge approached the left bank somewhat; the forms of people wereoutlined more clearly, and the prince saw something which he had notexpected. While persons in the first ranks were clapping their handsand singing, in farther ones clubs were visible falling thickly andswiftly on backs that were hidden.

  The astonished heir turned to the nomarch of Memphis.

  "But look, worthiness, sticks are at work there."

  The nomarch shaded his eyes with his hand, his neck became red."Pardon, most worthy prince, but I see badly."

  "They are beating--surely they are beating!"

  "That is possible," answered the nomarch. "Undoubtedly the priestshave caught a band of thieves there."

  Not over-pleased with this conversation, the heir went toward thestern to the engineers, who turned the barge suddenly toward themiddle of the river, and from that point he looked back at Memphis.

  Both banks higher up the Nile were almost deserted, the boats haddisappeared, the well-sweeps were moving as if nothing had happened.

  "Is the solemnity over?" inquired the prince of an engineer, pointingto a higher place on the river.

  "It is. The people have returned to their work," said the engineer.

  "Very quickly."

  "They must recover lost time," said the engineer, incautiously.

  The heir quivered, and looked at the man sharply. But he calmedhimself soon and returned to the tent. For him shouts were of nofurther interest. He was gloomy and silent. After an outburst ofpride, he felt contempt for that throng which passed so promptly fromenthusiasm to well-sweeps and baling up muddy water.

  At that point the Nile begins to separate into branches. The barge ofthe chief of Aa turned toward the west, sailed an hour, and stopped atthe river bank. The crowds were still greater than at Memphis. Amultitude of pillars had been set up with banners and triumphal archesentwined with green garlands. Among the people foreign faces andgarments were more and more frequent.

  When the prince landed, the priests approached with a baldachin, andthe worthy nomarch Otoes began,--

  "Be greeted, viceroy of the divine pharaoh, within the borders of Aa.As a sign of thy favor, which for us is as heavenly dew, be pleased tomake an offering to the god Ptah, who is our patron, and take underthy protection and control this province, with its temples, officials,people, cattle, grain, and all that is here existent."

  Then he presented a group of young exquisites, fragrant, rouged,arrayed in gold-embroidered garments. Those were the remoter andnearer relatives of the nomarch, the local aristocracy.

  Rameses looked at them with attention.

  "Aha!" said he. "It seemed to me that these gentlemen lackedsomething, and now I see what it is,--they have no wigs."

  "Because thou, most worthy prince, dost not wear wigs, our young menhave vowed not to wear them," replied the nomarch.

  After this explanation one of the young men stood behind the princewith a fan, another with a shield, a third with a dart, and theprocession began. The heir walked under the baldachin, before him apriest with a tube in which incense was burning; there were maidensalso who scattered roses on the path over which the prince was totravel.

  The people in holiday garments, with branches in their hands, formed aline and shouted; they sang songs, or prostrated themselves beforethe lieutenant of the pharaoh. But the prince saw that in spite of theloud sounds of joy their faces were unenlivened and anxious. He sawalso that the crowd was divided into groups which people of some sortwere directing, and that the rejoicing took place by command. Andagain he felt in his heart a chill of contempt for that throng whichknew not how to rejoice even.

  Gradually the retinue approached the walled column which indicated theboundary between Aa and Memphis. On three sides of the column wereinscriptions describing the extent of the province, its population,and the number of its cities; on the fourth side was a statue of Ptah,surrounded from foot to breast with an envelope; he had the usual capon his head and a staff in his hand.

  One of the priests gave the prince a golden spoon with burningincense. The heir uttered prescribed prayers, whirled the censer tothe height of the divinity's head, and bowed low a number of times insuccession.

  The shouts of the people and of the priests rose ever higher, thoughamong youthful exquisites smiles and jests were observable. Since hisreconciliation with Herhor the prince had shown great respect for godsand priests; so he frowned somewhat. In one moment the young menchanged their bearing. All became serious, while some fell on theirfaces before the column.

  "Indeed," thought the prince, "people of noble birth are better thanthat rabble. Whatever nobles do they do it with spirit, not like thosewho make an uproar in my honor but are glad to hurry back to theirworkshops and stables."

  Now he measured better than ever the distance between him and thelowest people, and he understood that the aristocracy was the only
class to which he was bound by a community of feeling. If suddenlythey should vanish, those stately young men and beautiful women whoseflashing glances followed every one of his movements, so as to servehim straightway and carry out his orders,--if they should vanish, theprince would feel more alone among the countless throngs of peoplethan in a desert.

  Eight negroes brought a litter adorned above the baldachin withostrich feathers; the prince took his place in it, and advanced to thecapital of Sochem, where he dwelt in a government palace.

  The prince's stay in that province, which was only a few miles fromMemphis, lasted a month. All this time he passed in receivingpetitions, in accepting homage, in official receptions, and at feasts.

  The feasts were of two kinds,--one in the palace, at which thearistocracy were present; the other in the outer court, where wholeoxen were roasted, loaves of bread were eaten by the hundred, andhundreds of pitchers of beer drunk. At these appeared servants of theprince and the lower officials of the province.

  Rameses admired the munificence of the nomarch, and the affection ofthe great lords around him, alert to every beck of his and ready tocarry out his orders.

  Wearied at last by amusements, Rameses declared to the worthy Otoesthat he wished to become more nearly acquainted with the management ofthe province, for he had received a command from his holiness thepharaoh to study it.

  His desire was satisfied. The nomarch requested the prince to sit in alitter borne by only two men, and with a great retinue escorted him tothe temple of Hator. There the retinue remained in the antechamber,but the nomarch commanded the bearers to carry the prince to thesummit of a pylon, which he himself ascended.

  From the summit of a tower, ninety feet high, whence priests observedthe sky and communicated through colored flags with the neighboringtemples in Memphis, Atribis, and Anu, the eye surveyed in the radiusof some miles almost a whole province.

  From that place, too, the worthy Otoes showed Rameses the fields andvineyards of the pharaoh; he showed what canal they were clearing,what sluice they were repairing; he showed furnaces for smeltingcopper; he showed where the royal granaries stood, where the lotus andpapyrus swamps were, what fields were covered with sand, and so ontill he had finished.

  Rameses was charmed with the beautiful view, and thanked Otoes warmlyfor the pleasure which he experienced. But when he returned to thepalace, and, according to the advice of the pharaoh, notedimpressions, he convinced himself that his knowledge of the economicconditions of Aa had not widened.

  After some days he asked explanations again of Otoes touching theadministration of the province. The worthy lord commanded all theofficials to assemble and pass before the prince, who sat in the maincourt on an elevation.

  Before the viceroy moved great and petty treasurers; scribes of grain,wine, cattle, woollen stuffs; chief masons, ditch diggers, naval andland engineers, healers of various diseases, officers over regimentsof laborers, police scribes, judges, inspectors of prisons, evenexecutioners and dissectors. After them the worthy nomarch presentedthe prince's own officials in that province to him. Rameses learnedtherefore, with no small astonishment, that in Aa and in the city ofSochem he had his own personal charioteer, torch-bearer,shield-bearer, dart-bearer, mace-bearer, some tens of litter-bearers,a number of cooks, cup-bearers, barbers, and many other servitorsdistinguished for attachment and faithfulness, though he had not evenheard their names and did not know them.

  Tortured and tired by a barren review of officials, the prince'scourage fell. He was terrified by the thought that he understoodnothing, hence was unfitted to rule; but he feared to confess thiseven to himself.

  If Rameses could not rule Egypt, and others were able to rule it, whatremained to him? Nothing but death. Without the throne he could haveno happiness. He felt that for him life would be impossible unless hehad power.

  But when he had rested a few days, in so far as rest was attainable inthat chaos of court life, he summoned Otoes, and said to him,--

  "Worthiness, I have begged thee to acquaint me with the secret ofgoverning Aa. Thou hast done so, thou hast shown me the country andthe officials, but still I know nothing. On the contrary. I am like aman in the underground divisions of a temple who sees so many passagesabout him that he is unable at last to find his way out intodaylight."

  The nomarch was confused.

  "What am I to do?" asked he. "What dost thou wish of me, O ruler?Only say the word and I will yield to thee office, property, evenlife."

  And, seeing that the prince received this assurance with graciousness,he continued,--

  "During thy journey thou hast seen the people of this province. Thouwilt say that all were not present. Agreed. I will command all toassemble, and they are, men, women, old men, and children, about twohundred thousand. From the summit of the pylon thou wert pleased tosurvey our whole province. But if it be thy wish, we can examine fromnear by every field, every village, and every street of the city ofSochem. Finally I have shown thee the officials; it is true, the verylowest were absent. But command and all will stand before theeto-morrow and fall on their faces. What am I to do more? Tell me, mostworthy lord."

  "I believe that thou art most faithful," answered Rameses. "Thereforeexplain to me two things: first, why has the income of his holinessdiminished? second, what art thou doing thyself in the province?"

  Otoes was confused, and the prince added quickly,--

  "I wish to know what thou art doing here, and by what methods, since Iam young and only commencing to govern."

  "Thou hast the wisdom of a century," whispered the nomarch.

  "Therefore it is proper," continued the prince, "that I should ask menof experience and that thou shouldst give me knowledge."

  "I will show thee all, and give every explanation," said Otoes. "Butwe should go to a place where there is no uproar."

  In fact, in the palace which the prince occupied as many peoplethronged in the inner and outer court as at a fair. They ate, drank,sang, raced or rested, and all this to enhance the glory of theviceroy whom they were serving.

  About three in the afternoon, the nomarch gave command to bring twohorses, and with the prince he rode forth from the city westward. Thecourt remained in the palace and amused itself with still greatergladness.

  The day was beautiful, cool; the earth was covered with plants andflowers. Over the heads of the horsemen were heard the songs of birds,the air was full of fragrance.

  "How pleasant it is here!" exclaimed Rameses. "Now I am able tocollect my thoughts for the first time in a month. I had begun tothink that a whole regiment of chariots had assembled in my head, andthat from morning till evening reviews were held there."

  "Such is the fate of a ruler in this world," said the nomarch.

  They halted on an eminence. At their feet lay an immense meadow, cutthrough by a blue stream. On the north and on the south were whitewalls of towns; beyond the meadow on the rim of the horizon extendedthe reddish sands of the western desert, from which came an occasionalbreath of heated air, as if from a furnace.

  On the meadow were countless herds of animals,--horned and hornlessoxen, sheep, goats, asses, antelopes, even rhinoceroses.

  Here and there were visible swampy places covered with water plantsand reeds in which were teeming wild geese, ducks, doves, storks,pelicans, and ibises.

  "Behold, lord," said Otoes, "a picture of our country, Queneh, Egypt.Osiris fell in love with this strip of land in the midst of deserts;he covered it with plants and living creatures, so as to have fromthem profit. Then the kindly god took a human form and became thefirst pharaoh. When he felt that his body was withering, he left itand entered into his son, and later on into his son's son.

  "Thus Osiris lives among us, since the beginning of ages, as pharaoh,and he gains profit from Egypt and its wealth which he himselfcreated. The lord has extended like a mighty tree. All the pharaohsare his roots, the nomarchs and priests his larger branches, thenobles the smaller branches. The visible god sits on the throne of theearth a
nd receives the income which belongs to him from Egypt; theinvisible god receives offerings in the temples, and declares his willthrough the lips of the priesthood."

  "Thou utterest truth," said the viceroy. "Thus is it written."

  "Since Osiris the pharaoh," continued the nomarch, "cannot himself beoccupied in the management of the country, he has appointed usnomarchs, who come of his blood, to watch over his property."

  "That is true," said Rameses. "Sometimes even the sun god becomesincarnate in a nomarch and begins a new dynasty. Thus rose thedynasties of Memphis, Elephantina, Thebes, and Ksoi."

  "Thou hast said it," continued Otoes. "But now I will answer thatwhich thou hast asked of me.

  "Thou hast asked what I do in this province? I guard the property ofOsiris, the pharaoh, and my own part in it. Look at those flocks; thouseest various animals. Some give milk, others flesh, others wool andskins. The people of Egypt give wheat, wine, woollen stuffs, vessels,houses. My affair is to take from each what he should give, and lay itdown at the feet of the pharaoh.

  "In watching over the numerous herds I could not succeed alone; so Ihave chosen watchful dogs and wise shepherds. Some of my servants milkanimals, shear them, remove their skins; others watch them so thatthieves may not steal or the plunderer injure. So with the province. Icould not collect all the taxes and guard men from evil; hence I haveofficials who do what is proper, and render account of their action--"

  "All this is true," interrupted the prince. "I know and understandwhat thou sayest. But I cannot comprehend why the income of hisholiness decreases, though guarded well, as thou hast told me."

  "Be pleased to remember," continued the nomarch, "that Set, though afull brother of the radiant Osiris, hates that god, wars with him, anddeforms all his labors. He sends deadly diseases on beasts and on men;he causes the overflow of the Nile to be scant or over-violent, and hehurls clouds of sand in time of heat upon Egypt.

  "When a year is good, the Nile reaches the desert; when it is bad, thedesert comes down to the Nile, and then the royal income decreases.

  "Look!" continued he, pointing at the meadow. "The flocks there arenumerous, but in my youth they were greater in number. But who is thecause of this? No other than Set, whom human power cannot vanquish.This meadow, great to-day, was once greater, and from this spot theycould not see the desert, which now is a terror.

  "When the gods are battling, men can do nothing; where Set conquersOsiris, who can bar the way to him?"

  The worthy Otoes finished; the prince hung his head. In school he hadheard not a little about the love of Osiris and the malice of Set, andwhile still a child he was angry that no one had forced Set to a finalreckoning.

  "When I grow up," thought he at that time, "and carry a javelin, Iwill seek out Set and we will make a trial."

  And he was looking now at that measureless sand space, that kingdom ofthe ominous godhead which was decreasing the income of Egypt; but hehad no thought to do battle with Set. For how can man fight with thedesert? Man can only avoid it or perish.