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

by Bolesław Prus

  CHAPTER XLIX

  At sunrise of the twenty-first of Hator there came from Memphis to thecamp at the Soda Lakes an order by which three regiments were to marchto Libya to stand garrison in the towns, the rest of the Egyptian armywas to return home with Rameses.

  The army greeted this arrangement with shouts of delight, for a stayof some days in the wilderness had begun to annoy them. In spite ofsupplies from Egypt and from conquered Libya, there was not an excessof provisions; water in the wells dug out quickly, was exhausted; theheat of the sun burned their bodies, and the ruddy sand wounded theirlungs and their eyeballs. The warriors were falling ill of dysenteryand a malignant inflammation of the eyelids.

  Rameses commanded to raise the camp. He sent three native Egyptianregiments to Libya, commanding the soldiers to treat people mildly andnever wander from the camp singly. The army proper he turned towardMemphis, leaving a small garrison at the glass huts and in thefortress.

  About nine in the morning, in spite of the heat, both armies were onthe road; one going northward, the other toward the south.

  The holy Mentezufis approached the heir then, and said,--

  "It would be well, worthiness, couldst thou reach Memphis earlier.There will be fresh horses half-way."

  "Then my father is very ill?" cried out Rameses.

  The priest bent his head.

  The prince gave command to Mentezufis, begging him to change in no waycommands already made, unless he counselled with lay generals. TakingPentuer, Tutmosis, and twenty of the best Asiatic horsemen, he wenthimself on a sharp trot toward Memphis.

  In five hours they passed half the journey; at the halt, as Mentezufishad declared, were fresh horses and a new escort. The Asiaticsremained at that point, and after a short rest the prince with his twocompanions and a new escort went farther.

  "Woe to me!" said Tutmosis. "It is not enough that for five days Ihave not bathed and know not rose perfumed oil, but besides I mustmake in one day two forced marches. I am sure that when we reachMemphis no dancer will look at me."

  "What! Art thou better than we?" asked the prince.

  "I am more fragile," said the exquisite. "Thou, prince, art asaccustomed to riding as a Hyksos, and Pentuer might travel on ared-hot sword. But I am so delicate."

  At sunset the travellers came out on a lofty hill, whence they saw anuncommon picture unfolded before them. For a long distance the greenvalley of Egypt was visible, on the background of it, like a row ofruddy fires, the triangular pyramids stood gleaming. A little to theright of the pyramids the tops of the Memphis pylons, wrapped in abluish haze, seemed to be flaming upward.

  "Let us go; let us go!" said Rameses.

  A moment later the reddish desert surrounded them again, and again theline of pyramids gleamed until all was dissolved in the twilight.

  When night fell the travellers had reached that immense district ofthe dead, which extends for a number of tens of miles on the heightsalong the left side of the river.

  Here during the Ancient Kingdom were buried, for endless ages,Egyptians,--the pharaohs in immense pyramids, princes and dignitariesin smaller pyramids, common men in mud structures. Here were restingmillions of mummies, not only of people, but of dogs, cats, birds,--ina word, all creatures which, while they lived, were dear to Egyptians.

  During the time of Rameses, the burial-ground of kings and greatpersons was transferred to Thebes; in the neighborhood of Memphis wereburied only common persons and artisans from regions about there.

  Among scattered graves, the prince and his escort met a number ofpeople, pushing about like shadows.

  "Who are ye?" asked the leader of the escort.

  "We are poor servants of the pharaoh returning from our dead. We tookto them roses, cakes, and beer."

  "But maybe ye looked into strange graves?"

  "O gods!" cried one of the party, "could we commit such a sacrilege?It is only the wicked Thebans--may their hands wither!--who disturbthe dead, so as to drink away their property in dramshops."

  "What mean those fires at the north there?" interrupted the prince.

  "It must be, worthiness, that thou comest from afar if thou know not,"answered they. "To-morrow our heir is returning with a victoriousarmy. He is a great chief! He conquered the Libyans in one battle.Those are the people of Memphis who have gone out to greet him withsolemnity. Thirty thousand persons. When they shout--"

  "I understand," whispered the prince to Pentuer. "Holy Mentezufis hassent me ahead so that I may not have a triumphal entry. But never mindthis time."

  The horses were tired, and they had to rest. So the prince senthorsemen to engage barges on the river, and the rest of the escorthalted under some palms, which at that time grew between the Sphinxand the group of pyramids.

  Those pyramids formed the northern limit of the immense cemetery. Onthe flat, about a square kilometre in area, overgrown at that timewith plants of the desert, were tombs and small pyramids, above whichtowered the three great pyramids: those of Cheops, Chafre, andMenkere, and the Sphinx. These immense structures stand only a fewhundred yards from one another. The three pyramids are in a line fromnortheast to southwest. East of this line and nearer the Nile is theSphinx, near whose feet was the underground temple of Horus.

  The pyramids, but especially that of Cheops, as a work of humanlabor, astound by their greatness. This pyramid is a pointed stonemountain; its original height was thirty-five stories, or four hundredand eighty-one feet, standing on a square foundation each side ofwhich was seven hundred and fifty-five feet. It occupied a little morethan thirteen acres of area, and its four triangular walls would covertwenty acres of land. In building it, such vast numbers of stones wereused that it would be possible to build a wall of the height of a man,a wall half a metre thick, and two thousand five hundred kilometreslong.

  When the attendants of the prince had disposed themselves under thewretched trees, some occupied themselves in finding water; others tookout cakes, while Tutmosis dropped to the ground and fell asleepdirectly. But the prince and Pentuer walked up and down conversing.

  The night was clear enough to let them see on one side the immenseoutline of the pyramids, on the other, the Sphinx, which seemed smallin comparison.

  "I am here for the fourth time," said the heir, "and my heart isalways filled with regret and astonishment. When a pupil in the higherschool, I thought that, on ascending the throne, I would buildsomething of more worth than the pyramid of Cheops. But to-day I amready to laugh at my insolence when I think that the great pharaoh inbuilding his tomb paid sixteen hundred talents (about ten millionfrancs) for the vegetables alone which were used by the laborers.Where should I find sixteen hundred talents even for wages?"

  "Envy not Cheops, lord," replied the priest. "Other pharaohs have leftbetter works behind: lakes, canals, roads, schools, and temples."

  "But may we compare those things with the pyramids?"

  "Of course not," answered Pentuer, hurriedly. "In my eyes and in theeyes of all the people, each pyramid is a great crime, and that ofCheops, the greatest of all crimes."

  "Thou art too much excited," said the prince.

  Pyramid of Cheops]

  "I am not. The pharaoh was building his immense tomb for thirty years;in the course of those years one hundred thousand people worked threemonths annually. And what good was there in that work? Whom did itfeed, whom did it cure, to whom did it give clothing? At that workfrom ten to twenty thousand people perished yearly; that is, for thetomb of Cheops a half a million corpses were put into the earth. Butthe blood, the pain, the tears,--who will reckon them?

  "Therefore, wonder not, lord, that the Egyptian toiler to this daylooks with fear toward the west, when above the horizon the triangularforms of the pyramids seem bloody or crimson. They are witnesses ofhis sufferings and fruitless labor.

  "And to think that this will continue till those proofs of human prideare scattered into dust! But when will that be? For three thousandyears those pyramids frighten men with their p
resence; their walls aresmooth yet, and the immense inscriptions on them are legible."

  "That night in the desert thy speech was different," interrupted theprince.

  "For I was not looking at these. But when they are before my eyes, asat present, I am surrounded by the sobbing spirits of torturedtoilers, and they whisper, 'See what they did with us! But our bonesfelt pain, and our hearts longed for rest from labor.'"

  Rameses was touched disagreeably by this outburst.

  "His holiness, my father," said he, after a while, "presented thesethings to me differently; when we were here five years ago, the sacredlord told me the following narrative:

  "During the reign of the pharaoh Tutmosis I., Ethiopian ambassadorscame to negotiate touching the tribute to be paid by them. They wereall arrogant people. They said that the loss of one war was nothing,that fate might favor them in a second; and for a couple of monthsthey disputed about tribute.

  "In vain did the wise pharaoh, in his wish to enlighten the menmildly, show our roads and canals to them. They replied that in theircountry they had water for nothing wherever they wanted it. In vain heshowed them the treasures of the temples; they said that their countryconcealed more gold and jewels by far than were possessed by allEgypt. In vain did the lord review his armies before them, for theyasserted that Ethiopia had incomparably more warriors than hisholiness. The pharaoh brought those people at last to these placeswhere we are standing and showed them those structures.

  "The Ethiopian ambassadors went around the pyramids, read theinscriptions, and next day they concluded the treaty required of them.

  "Since I did not understand the heart of the matter," continuedRameses, "my holy father explained it.

  "'My son,' said he, 'these pyramids are an eternal proof of superhumanpower in Egypt. If any man wished to raise to himself a pyramid hewould pile up a small heap of stones and abandon his labor after somehours had passed, asking: "What good is this to me?" Ten, one hundred,one thousand men would pile up a few more stones. They would throwthem down without order, and leave the work after a few days, for whatgood would it be to them?

  "'But when a pharaoh of Egypt decides, when the Egyptian state hasdecided to rear a pile of stones, thousands of legions of men are sentout, and for a number of tens of years they build, till the work iscompleted. For the question is not this: Are the pyramids needed, butthis is the will of the pharaoh to be accomplished, once it isuttered.' So, Pentuer, this pyramid is not the tomb of Cheops, but the_will_ of Cheops,--a will which had more men to carry it out than hadany king on earth, and which was as orderly and enduring in action asthe gods are.

  "While I was yet at school they taught me that the will of the peoplewas a great power, the greatest power under the sun. And still thewill of the people can raise one stone barely. How great, then, mustbe the will of the pharaoh who has raised a mountain of stones onlybecause it pleased him, only because he wished thus, even were itwithout an object."

  "Wouldst thou, lord, wish to show thy power in such fashion?" inquiredPentuer, suddenly.

  "No," answered the prince, without hesitation. "When the pharaohs haveonce shown their power, they may be merciful; unless some one shouldresist their orders."

  "And still this young man is only twenty-three years of age!" thoughtthe frightened priest.

  They turned toward the river and walked some time in silence.

  "Lie down, lord," said the priest, after a while; "sleep. We havemade no small journey."

  "But can I sleep?" answered the prince. "First I am surrounded bythose legions of laborers who, according to thy view, perished inbuilding the pyramids-- Just as if they could have lived forever hadthey not raised those structures! Then, again, I think of hisholiness, my father, who is dying, perhaps, at this very moment.Common men suffer, common men spill their blood! Who will prove to methat my divine father is not tortured more on his costly bed than thytoilers who are carrying heated stones to a building?

  "Laborers, always laborers! For thee, O priest, only he deservescompassion who bites lice. A whole series of pharaohs have gone intotheir graves; some died in torments, some were killed. But thouthinkest not of them; thou thinkest only of those whose service isthat they begot other toilers who dipped up muddy water from the Nile,or thrust barley balls into the mouths of their milch cows.

  "But my father--and I? Was not my son slain, and also a woman of myhousehold? Was Typhon compassionate to me in the desert? Do not mybones ache after a long journey? Do not missiles from Libyan slingswhistle over my head? Have I a treaty with sickness, with pain, orwith death, that they should be kinder to me than to thy toilers?

  "Look there: the Asiatics are sleeping, and quiet has taken possessionof their breasts; but I, their lord, have a heart full of yesterday'scares, and of fears for the morrow. Ask a toiling man of a hundredyears whether in all his life he had as much sorrow as I have hadduring my power of a few months as commander and viceroy."

  Before them rose slowly from the depth of the night a wonderful shade.It was an object fifty yards long and as high as a house of threestories, having at its side, as it were, a five-storied tower ofuncommon structure.

  "Here is the Sphinx," said the irritated prince, "purely priests'work! Whenever I see this, in the day or the night time, the questionalways tortures me: What is this, and what is the use of it? Thepyramids I understand: A mighty pharaoh wished to show his power, and,perhaps, which was wiser, wished to secure eternal life which nothief or enemy might take from him. But this Sphinx! Evidently that isour sacred priestly order, which has a very large, wise head andlion's claws beneath it.

  "This repulsive statue, full of double meaning, which seems to exultbecause we appear like locusts when we stand near it,--it is neither aman nor a beast nor a rock-- What is it, then? What is its meaning? Orthat smile which it has-- If thou admire the everlasting endurance ofthe pyramids, it smiles; if thou go past to converse with the tombs,it smiles. Whether the fields of Egypt are green, or Typhon lets loosehis fiery steeds, or the slave seeks his freedom in the desert, orRameses the Great drives conquered nations before him, it has for allone and the same changeless smile. Nineteen dynasties have passed likeshadows; but it smiles on and would smile even were the Nile to growdry, and were Egypt to disappear under sand fields.

  "Is not that monster the more dreadful that it has a mild humanvisage? Lasting itself throughout ages, it has never known grief overlife, which is fleeting and filled with anguish."

  "Dost thou not remember, lord, the faces of the gods," interruptedPentuer, "or hast thou not seen mummies? All immortals look ontransient things with the selfsame indifference. Even man does whennearing the end of his earth-life."

  "The gods hear our prayers sometimes, but the Sphinx never moves. Nocompassion on that face, a mere gigantic jeering terror. If I knewthat in its mouth were hidden some prophecy for me, or some means toelevate Egypt, I should not dare to put a question. It seems to methat I should hear some awful answer uttered with unpitying calmness.This is the work and the image of the priesthood. It is worse thanman, for it has a lion's body; it is worse than a beast, for it has ahuman head; it is worse than stone, for inexplicable life is containedin it."

  At that moment groaning and muffled voices reached them, the source ofwhich they could not determine.

  "Is the Sphinx singing?" inquired the astonished prince.

  "That singing is in the underground temple," replied Pentuer. "But whyare they praying at this night hour?"

  The Great Sphinx]

  "Ask rather why they pray at all, since no one hears them."

  Pentuer took the direction at once and went toward the place of thesinging. The prince found some stone for a support and sat downwearied. He put his hands behind him, leaned back, and looked into theimmense face before him.

  In spite of the lack of light, the superhuman features were clearlyvisible; just the shade added life and character. The more the princegazed into that face, the more powerfully he felt that he had beenprejudiced, t
hat his dislike was unreasonable.

  On the face of the Sphinx, there was no cruelty, but ratherresignation. In its smile there was no jeering, but rather sadness. Itdid not feel the wretchedness and fleeting nature of mankind, for itdid not see them. Its eyes, filled with expression, were fixedsomewhere beyond the Nile, beyond the horizon, toward regionsconcealed from human sight beneath the vault of heaven. Was itwatching the disturbing growth of the Assyrian monarchy? Or theimpudent activity of Phoenicia? Or the birth of Greece, or events,perhaps, which were preparing on the Jordan? Who could answer?

  The prince was sure of one thing, that it was gazing, thinking,waiting for something with a calm smile worthy of supernaturalexistence. And, moreover, it seemed to him that if that _something_appeared on the horizon, the Sphinx would rise up and go to meet it.

  _What_ was that to be, and when would it come? This was a mystery thesignificance of which was depicted expressly on the face of thatcreature which had existed for ages. But it would of necessity takeplace on a sudden, since the Sphinx had not closed its eyes for oneinstant during millenniums, and was gazing, gazing, always.

  Meanwhile Pentuer found a window through which came from theunderground temple pensive hymns of the priestly chorus:

  _Chorus I._ "Rise, as radiant as Isis, rise as Sothis rises on thefirmament in the morning at the beginning of the established year."

  _Chorus II._ "The god Amon-Ra was on my right and on my left. Hehimself gave into my hands dominion over all the world, thus causingthe downfall of my enemies."

  _Chorus I._ "Thou wert still young, thou wert wearing braided hair,but in Egypt naught was done save at thy command--no corner-stone waslaid for an edifice unless thou wert present."

  _Chorus II._ "I came to Thee, ruler of the gods, great god, lord ofthe sun. Tum promises that the sun will appear, and that I shall belike him, and the Nile; that I shall reach the throne of Osiris, andshall possess it forever."

  _Chorus I._ "Thou hast returned in peace, respected by the gods, Oruler of both worlds, Ra-Mer-Amen-Rameses. I assure to thee unbrokenrule; kings will come to thee to pay tribute."

  _Chorus II._ "O thou, thou Osiris-Rameses! ever-living son of heaven,born of the goddess Nut, may thy mother surround thee with the mysteryof heaven, and permit that thou become a god, O thou, OOsiris-Rameses."[23]

  [23] Tomb inscriptions.

  "So then the holy father is dead," said Pentuer to himself.

  He left the window and approached the place where the heir wassitting, sunk in imaginings.

  The priest knelt before him, fell on his face, and exclaimed:

  "Be greeted, O pharaoh, ruler of the world!"

  "What dost thou say?" cried the prince, springing up.

  "May the One, the All-Powerful, pour down on thee wisdom and strength,and happiness on thy people."

  "Rise, Pentuer! Then I--then I--"

  Suddenly he took the arm of the priest and turned toward the Sphinx.

  "Look at it," said he.

  But neither in the face nor in the posture of the colossus was thereany change. One pharaoh had stepped over the threshold of eternity;another rose up like the sun, but the stone face of the god or themonster was the same precisely. On its lips was a gentle smile forearthly power and glory; in its glance there was a waiting for_something_ which was to come, but _when_ no one knew.

  Soon the messengers returned from the ferry with information thatboats would be waiting there.

  Pentuer went among the palms, and cried,--

  "Wake! wake!"

  The watchful Asiatics sprang up at once, and began to bridle theirhorses. Tutmosis also rose, and yawned with a grimace.

  "Brr!" grumbled he, "what cold! Sleep is a good thing! I barely dozeda little, and now I am able to go even to the end of the world, evenagain to the Soda Lakes. Brr! I have forgotten the taste of wine, andit seems to me that my hands are becoming covered with hair, like thepaws of a jackal. And it is two hours to the palace yet.

  "Happy are common men! One ragged rogue sleeps after another and feelsno need of washing: he will not go to work till his wife brings abarley cake; while I, a great lord, must wander about, like a thief inthe night, through the desert, without a drop of water to put to mylips."

  The horses were ready, and Rameses mounted his own. Pentuerapproached, took the bridle of the ruler's steed, and led, goinghimself on foot.

  "What is this?" inquired the astonished Tutmosis.

  He bethought himself quickly, ran up, and took Rameses' horse by thebridle on the other side. And so all advanced in silence, astonishedat the bearing of the priest, though they felt that somethingimportant had happened.

  After a few hundred steps the desert ceased, and a highroad throughthe field lay before the travellers.

  "Mount your horses," said Rameses; "we must hurry."

  "His holiness commands you to sit on your horses," cried Pentuer.

  All were amazed. But Tutmosis recovered quickly, and placed his handon his sword-hilt.

  "May he live through eternity, our all-powerful and gracious leaderRameses!" shouted the adjutant.

  "May he live through eternity!" howled the Asiatics, shaking theirweapons.

  "I thank you, my faithful warriors," answered their lord.

  A moment later the mounted party was hastening toward the river.