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

by Bolesław Prus

  CHAPTER XXVII

  The temple received Pentuer with great honor, and the inferior priestswent out half an hour's journey to greet him. From all the wonderfulplaces of Lower Egypt many prophets had assembled with the intent tohear words of wisdom. A couple of days later came the high priestMefres and the prophet Mentezufis. These two rendered honor toPentuer, not only because he was a counsellor of Herhor andnotwithstanding his youth a member of the supreme college, but becausethis priest enjoyed favor throughout Egypt. The gods had given him amemory which seemed more than human; they had given him eloquence, andabove all a marvellous gift of clear vision. In every affair he sawpoints hidden from others, and was able to explain them in a wayunderstood by all listeners.

  More than one nomarch, or high official of the pharaoh, on learningthat Pentuer was to celebrate a religious solemnity in the temple ofHator, envied the humblest priest, since he would hear a man inspiredby divinities.

  The priests who went forth to greet Pentuer felt sure that thatdignitary would show himself in a court chariot, or in a litter borneby eight slaves. What was their amazement at beholding a lean ascetic,bareheaded, wearing a coarse garment, riding on a she ass, andunattended! He greeted them with great humility, and when theyconducted him to the temple he made an offering to the divinity andwent straightway to examine the place of the coming festival.

  Thenceforth no one saw Pentuer, but in the temple and the adjoiningcourts there was an uncommon activity. Men brought costly furniture,grain, garments. A number of hundreds of pupils and workmen were freedfrom their employments; with these Pentuer shut himself up in thecourt and worked at preparations.

  After eight days of hard labor he informed the high priest of Hatorthat all things were ready.

  During this time Prince Rameses, who was hidden in his cell, gavehimself up to prayer and fasting. At last on a certain date aboutthree hours after midday a number of priests, arrayed in two ranks,came and invited him to the solemnity.

  In the vestibule of the temple the high priest greeted the prince, andwith him burned incense before the great statue of Hator. Then theyturned to a low, narrow corridor, at the end of which a fire wasburning. The air of the corridor was filled with the odor of pitchwhich was boiling in a kettle. Near the kettle, through an opening inthe pavement, rose dreadful groans and curses.

  "What does that mean?" inquired Rameses of a priest among thoseattending him.

  The priest gave no answer; on the faces as far as could be seenemotion and terror were evident.

  At this moment the high priest Mefres seized a great ladle, tookboiling pitch from the kettle, and said in loud accents,--

  "May all perish thus who divulge temple secrets!"

  Next he poured pitch into the opening in the pavement, and from belowcame a roar,--

  "Ye are killing me. Oh, if ye have in your hearts even a trace ofcompassion," groaned a voice.

  "May the worms gnaw thy body," said Mentezufis, as he poured meltedpitch into the opening.

  "Dogs--jackals!" groaned the voice.

  "May thy heart be consumed by fire and its ashes be hurled into thedesert," said the next priest, repeating the ceremony.

  "O gods! is it possible to suffer as I do?" was the answer frombeneath the pavement.

  "May thy soul, with the image of its shame and its crime, wanderonward through places where live happy people," said a second priest;and he poured another ladle of burning pitch into the aperture.

  "Oh, may the earth devour you!--mercy!--let me breathe!"

  Before the turn came to Rameses the voice underground was silent.

  "So do the gods punish traitors," said the high priest of the templeto the viceroy.

  The prince halted, and fixed on him eyes full of anger. It seemed toRameses that he would burst out with indignation, and leave thatassembly of executioners; but he felt a fear of the gods and advancedbehind others in silence.

  The haughty heir understood now that there was a power before whichthe pharaohs incline. He was seized by despair almost; he wished toflee, to renounce the throne. Meanwhile he held silence and walked on,surrounded by priests chanting prayers.

  "Now I know," thought he, "where people go who are unpleasant to theservants of divinity." But this thought did not decrease his horror.

  Leaving the narrow corridor full of smoke, the procession found itselfon an elevation beneath the open sky. Below was an immense courtsurrounded on three sides by low buildings instead of a wall. From theplace where the priests halted was a kind of amphitheatre with fivebroad platforms by which it was possible to pass along the whole courtor to descend to the bottom.

  In the court no one was present, but certain people were looking outof buildings.

  The high priest Mefres, as chief dignitary in the assembly, presentedPentuer to the viceroy. The mild face of the ascetic did notharmonize with the horrors which had taken place in the corridor; sothe prince wondered. To say something, he said to Pentuer,--

  "It seems to me that I have met thee somewhere, pious father?"

  "The past year at the manoeuvres near Pi-Bailos. I was there with hisworthiness Herhor."

  The resonant and calm voice of Pentuer arrested the prince. He hadheard that voice on some uncommon occasion. But where and when had heheard it?

  In every case the priest made an agreeable impression. If he couldonly forget the cries of that man whom they had covered with boilingpitch!

  "We may begin," said Mefres.

  Pentuer went to the middle of the amphitheatre and clapped his hands.From the low buildings a crowd of female dancers issued forth, andpriests came out with music, also with a small statue of the goddessHator. The musicians preceded, the dancers followed, performing asacred dance; finally the statue moved on surrounded by the smoke ofcensers. In this way they went around the court and stopping afterevery few steps, implored the divinity for a blessing, and asked evilspirits to leave the enclosure, where there was to be a solemnity fullof secrets.

  When the procession had returned to the buildings, Pentuer steppedforward. Dignitaries present to the number of two or three hundredgathered round him.

  "By the will of his holiness the pharaoh," began Pentuer, "and withconsent of the supreme priestly power, we are to initiate the heir tothe throne, Rameses, into some details of life in Egypt, details knownonly to the divinities who govern the country and the temples. I know,worthy fathers, that each of you would enlighten the young princebetter in these things than I can; ye are full of wisdom, and thegoddess Mut speaks through you. But since the duty has fallen on me,who in presence of you am but dust and a pupil, permit me toaccomplish it under your worthy inspection and guidance."

  A murmur of satisfaction was heard among the learned priests at thismanner. Pentuer turned to the viceroy.

  "For some months, O servant of the gods, Rameses, as a traveller lostin the desert seeks a road, so thou art seeking an answer to thequestion: Why has the income of the holy pharaoh diminished, and whyis it decreasing? Thou hast asked the nomarchs, and though theyexplained according to their power, thou wert not satisfied, thoughthe highest human wisdom belongs to those dignitaries. Thou didst turnto the chief scribes, but in spite of their efforts these men werelike birds in a net, unable to free themselves without assistance, forthe reason of man, though trained in the school of scribes, is not ina position to take in the immensity of these questions. At last,wearied by barren explanations, thou didst examine the lands of theprovinces, their people, the works of their hands, but didst arrive atnothing. For there are things of which people are silent as stones,but concerning which even stones will give answer if light from thegods only falls on them.

  "When in this manner all these earthly powers and wisdoms disappointedthee, thou didst turn to the gods. Barefoot, thy head sprinkled withashes, thou didst come in the guise of a penitent to this greatsanctuary, where by means of suffering and prayer thou hast purifiedthy body and strengthened thy spirit. The gods--but especially themighty Hator--listened to thy prayers,
and through my unworthy lipsgive an answer, and mayst thou write it down in thy heart profoundly."

  "Whence does he know," thought the prince, meanwhile, "that I askedthe scribes and nomarchs? Aha! Mefres and Mentezufis told him. Forthat matter, they know everything."

  "Listen," continued Pentuer, "and I will discover to thee, withpermission of these dignitaries, what Egypt was four hundred years agoin the reign of the most glorious and pious nineteenth Theban dynasty,and what it is at present.

  "When the first pharaoh of that dynasty, Ramen-Pehuti-Ramessu, assumedpower over the country, the income of the treasury in wheat, cattle,beer, skins, vessels, and various articles rose to a hundred andthirty thousand talents. If a people had existed who could exchangegold for all these goods, the pharaoh would have had yearly onehundred and thirty-three thousand minas of gold.[15] And since onewarrior can carry on his shoulders the weight of twenty-six minas,about five thousand warriors would have been needed to carry thattreasure."

  [15] Mina = one and a half kilograms.

  The priests whispered to one another without hiding their wonder. Eventhe prince forgot the man tortured to death beneath the pavement.

  "To-day," said Pentuer, "the yearly income of his holiness for allproducts of his land is worth only ninety-eight thousand talents. Forthese it would be possible to obtain as much gold as four thousandwarriors could carry."

  "That the income of the state has decreased greatly, I know," saidRameses, "but what is the cause of this?"

  "Be patient, O servant of the gods," replied Pentuer. "It is not theincome of his holiness alone that is subject to decrease. During thenineteenth dynasty Egypt had under arms one hundred and eightythousand warriors. If by the action of the gods every soldier of thattime had been turned into a pebble the size of a grape--"

  "That cannot be!" said Rameses.

  "The gods can do anything," answered Mefres, the high priest,severely.

  "But better," continued Pentuer, "if each soldier were to place on theground one pebble, there would be one hundred and eighty thousandpebbles; and, look, worthy fathers, these pebbles would occupy so muchspace." He pointed to a quadrangle of reddish color in the court. "Inthis figure the pebbles deposited by warriors of the time of RamesesI. would find their places. This figure is nine yards long and aboutfive wide. This figure is ruddy; it has the color of Egyptian bodies,for in those days all our warriors were Egyptian exclusively."

  The priests began to whisper a second time. The prince frowned, forthat seemed to him a reprimand, since he loved foreign soldiers.

  "To-day," said Pentuer, "we assemble one hundred and twenty thousandwarriors with great difficulty. If each one of those cast his pebbleon the ground, they would form a figure of this sort. Look this way,worthiness." At the side of the first quadrangle lay a second of thesame width, but considerably shorter; its color was not uniformeither, but was composed of a number of colors. "This figure," saidPentuer, "is about five yards wide, but is only six yards in length.An immense number of men is now lacking,--our army has lost one-thirdof its warriors."

  "Wisdom of men like thee, O prophet, will bring more good to the statethan an army," interrupted the high priest.

  Pentuer bent before him and continued,--

  "In this new figure which represents the present army of the pharaohye see, worthy men, besides the ruddy color which designates Egyptiansby blood, three other stripes,--black, white, and yellow. Theyrepresent mercenary divisions,--Ethiopians, Asiatics, Greeks, andLibyans. There are thirty thousand of them altogether, but they costas much as fifty thousand Egyptians."

  "We must do away with foreign regiments at the earliest," said Mefres."They are costly, unsuitable, and teach our people infidelity andinsolence. At present there are many Egyptians who do not fall ontheir faces before the priests; more, some of them have gone so far asto steal from graves and temples."

  "Therefore away with the mercenaries!" said Mefres, passionately. "Thecountry has received from them nothing save harm, and our neighborssuspect us of hostile ideas."

  "Away with mercenaries! Dismiss these unruly infidels!" cried thepriests.

  "When in years to come, O Rameses, thou wilt ascend the throne," addedMefres, "thou wilt fulfil this sacred duty to the gods and to Egypt."

  "Yes, fulfil it! free thy people from unbelievers!" cried the priests.

  Rameses bent his head, and was silent. The blood flew to his heart. Hefelt that the ground was trembling under him.

  He was to dismiss the best part of the army,--he, who would like tohave twice as great an army and four times as many mercenary warriors.

  "They are pitiless with me," thought Rameses.

  "Speak on, O Pentuer, sent down from heaven to us," said Mefres.

  "So then, holy men," continued Pentuer, "we have learned of twomisfortunes,--the pharaoh's income has decreased, and his army isdiminished."

  "What need of an army?" grumbled the high priest, shaking his headcontemptuously.

  "And now, with the favor of the gods and your permission, I willexplain why it has happened thus, why the treasury will decreasefurther, and troops be still fewer in the future."

  The prince raised his head and looked at the speaker. He thought nolonger now of the man put to death beneath the corridor.

  Pentuer passed a number of steps along the amphitheatre, and after himthe dignitaries.

  "Do ye see at your feet that long, narrow strip of green with a broadtriangular space at the end of it? On both sides of the strip lielimestone, granite, and, behind these, sandy places. In the middle ofthe green flows a stream, which in the triangular space is dividedinto a number of branches."

  "That is the Nile! That is Egypt!" cried the priests.

  "But look," interrupted Mefres, with emotion. "I will discover theriver. Do ye see those two blue veins running from the elbow to thehand? Is not that the Nile and its canals, which begins opposite theAlabaster mountains and flows to Fayum? And look at the back of myhand: there are as many veins there as the sacred river has branchesbelow Memphis. And do not my fingers remind you of the number ofbranches through which the Nile sends its waters to the sea?"

  "A great truth!" exclaimed the priests, looking at their hands.

  "Here, I tell you," continued the excited high priest, "that Egypt isthe trace of the arm of Osiris. Here on this land the great god restedhis arm: in Thebes lay his divine elbow, his fingers reached the sea,and the Nile is his veins. What wonder that we call this countryblessed!"

  "Evidently," said the priest, "Egypt is the express imprint of the armof Osiris."

  "Has Osiris seven fingers on his hand," interrupted the prince, "forthe Nile has seven branches falling into the sea?"

  Deep silence followed.

  "Young man," retorted Mefres, with kindly irony, "dost suppose thatOsiris could not have seven fingers if it pleased him?"

  "Of course he could!" said the other priests.

  "Speak on, renowned Pentuer," said Mentezufis.

  "Ye are right, worthy fathers," began Pentuer: "this stream with itsbranches is a picture of the Nile; the narrow strip of green boundedby stones and sand is Upper Egypt, and that triangular space, cut withveins, is a picture of Lower Egypt, the most extensive and richestpart of the country.

  "Well, in the beginning of the nineteenth dynasty, all Egypt, from thecataract to the sea, included five hundred thousand measures of land.On every measure lived sixteen persons: men, women, and children. Butduring four hundred succeeding years almost with each generation apiece of fertile soil was lost to Egypt."

  The speaker made a sign. A number of young priests ran out of thebuilding and sprinkled sand on various parts of the green area.

  "During each generation," continued the priest, "fertile landdiminished, and the narrow strip of it became much narrower. Atpresent our country instead of five hundred thousand measures has onlyfour hundred thousand--or during two dynasties Egypt has lost landwhich supported two millions of people."

  In the assembly agai
n rose a murmur of horror.

  "And dost thou know, O Rameses, servant of the gods, whither thosespaces have vanished where on a time were fields of wheat and barley,or where flocks and herds pastured? Thou knowest that sands of thedesert have covered them. But has any one told thee why this came topass? It came to pass because there was a lack of men who with bucketsand ploughs fight the desert from morning till evening. Finally, dostthou know why these toilers of the gods disappeared? Whither did theygo? What swept them out of the country? Foreign wars did it. Ournobles conquered enemies, our pharaohs immortalized their worthy namesas far away as the Euphrates River, but like beasts of burden ourcommon men carried food for them, they carried water, they carriedother weights, and died along the road by thousands.

  "To avenge those bones scattered now throughout eastern deserts, thewestern sands have swallowed our fields, and it would require immensetoil and many generations to win back that dark Egyptian earth fromthe sand grave which covers it."

  "Listen! listen!" cried Mefres, "some god is speaking through the lipsof Pentuer. It is true that our victorious wars are the grave ofEgypt."

  Rameses could not collect his thoughts. It seemed to him thatmountains of sand were falling on his head at that moment.

  "I have said," continued Pentuer, "that great labor would be needed todig out Egypt and restore the old-time wealth devoured by warfare. Buthave we the power to carry out that project?"

  Again he advanced some steps, and after him the excited listeners.Since Egypt became Egypt, no one had displayed so searchingly thedisasters of the country, though all men knew that they had happened.

  "During the nineteenth dynasty Egypt had eight millions ofinhabitants. If every man, woman, old man, and child had put down inthis place one bean, the grains would make a figure of this kind."

  He indicated with his hand a court where one by the side of anotherlay eight great quadrangles covered with red beans.

  "That figure is sixty yards long, thirty yards wide, and as ye see,pious fathers, the grains composing it are of the same kind, for thepeople of that time were from Egyptian grandfathers andgreat-grandfathers. But look now."

  He went farther, and indicated another group of quadrangles of variouscolors.

  "Ye see this figure which is thirty yards wide, but only forty-fiveyards in length. Why is this? Because there are in it only sixquadrangles, for at present Egypt has not eight, but only six millionsof inhabitants. Consider, besides, that as the former figure wascomposed exclusively of red Egyptian beans, in the present one areimmense strips of black, yellow, and white beans. For in our army andamong the people there are now very many foreigners: black Ethiopians,yellow Syrians and Phoenicians, white Greeks and Libyans."

  They interrupted him. The priests who listened began to embrace him;Mefres was weeping.

  "Never yet has there been such a prophet. One cannot imagine when hecould make such calculations," said the best mathematician in thetemple of Hator.

  "Fathers," said Pentuer, "do not overestimate my services. Long yearsago in our temples the condition of the state was represented in thismanner. I have only disinterred that which later generations had insome degree forgotten."

  "But the reckoning?" asked the mathematician.

  "The reckonings are continued unbrokenly in all the provinces andtemples," replied Pentuer. "The general amounts are found in thepalace of his holiness."

  "But the figures?" exclaimed the mathematician.

  "Our fields are arranged in just such figures, and the geometers ofthe state study them at school."

  "We know not what to admire most in this priest, his wisdom or hishumility," said Mefres. "Since we have such a man, the gods have notforgotten us."

  At that moment the guard watching on the pylons of the temple summonedthose present to prayer.

  "In the evening I will finish the explanations," said Pentuer; "now Iwill say a few words in addition.

  "Ye inquire, worthy fathers, why I use beans for these pictures. I doso because a grain put in the ground brings a harvest to thehusbandmen yearly; so a man brings tribute every year to the treasury.

  "If in any province two million less beans are sown than in pastyears, the following harvest will be notably less, and theearth-tillers will have a poorer income. In the state also, when twomillions of population are gone, the inflow of taxes must diminish."

  Rameses listened with attention, and walked away in silence.