Three Novels of Ancient Egypt Khufu's Wisdom

by Naguib Mahfouz

  The man could not contain himself and burst into tears, then went into his chamber and prayed earnestly.

  Next morning, the two men proceeded to Lady Ebana's hut, as they had previously promised their companions. Lady Ebana, her son Ahmose, and some friends, among them Seneb, Ham, Deeb, and Kom, received them. All were anxious and burning to hear the news. Ham told them, “Our hearts are impatient, tortured by fear yet blazing with hope. And we leave behind in the nearby huts hundreds of friends whose eyelids never closed throughout the past night.”

  Isfinis smiled sweetly and said, “Good tidings, friends! The king has given us permission to trade between Egypt and Nubia.”

  Joy filled their faces and their eyes shone -with the light of hope. Latu said decisively, “The time has come for work, so do not waste any on trivialities! Know that the way is long, so we must mobilize as many men as we can. Be unflagging in urging the common folk to join our voyage. Attract them with promises of the great profits to be made and do not confide the truth of the matter to them, so that rather we may tell them of our goal once we have crossed the border. I have no doubt that we shall find them to be loyal, as we have always found the people of Thebes and of all of Egypt to be. Off with you all and bundle up your belongings!”

  A wide-scale movement covertly spread, pervaded by a sense of enthusiasm and faith. The men, dressed in the garb of fishermen, hurried to the ships, occupying every possible space above and below their decks. Isfmis next faced a difficult problem. How could he disguise the women and children as men and employ them in places better suited to men and youths? Or should he leave them behind alone, with all the pain to them and theirs that this implied? The youth decided to bring the matter up and he consulted his closest friends. They argued back and forth, until Ahmose son of Ebana finally burst out, “Lord Isfmis, we must have an invincible army composed of men. The women cannot be allowed to delay the formation of this mighty army nor will it harm them to remain in Thebes until we return as victors. I call on our enthusiasm for the cause to make us fight while our women are at home, rather than leaving them behind us in Nubia. While this may mean pain for us, let each bear his share of the burden of pain and sacrifice for the sake of our sublime cause!”

  Ebana, much affected by these words, said, “What a wise opinion! Our place is here. We shall share their fate with the people of Thebes. If death, then death; if life, life.”

  None hesitated to agree and the women accepted the separation from their husbands and sons. Southern Thebes almost melted from the ardor of their farewells, the flowing of their tears, and the fervidness of their prayers and hopes.

  Isfinis tasted no rest in those few days charged with magnificent deeds and silent sacrifices. He met -with men, visited families, and organized the voyagers, keeping himself going by dreaming of his hopes, thinking of the present and the future, and doctoring his upsurges of anger and desire for revenge with doses of patience. Along with all this, he had also to suppress longings that burned in his heart and overcome blazing passions that ate away at him from the inside, weakening the forces of hatred that within him battled those of love. How hard he struggled and how much he bore in those few days! How much he patiently endured and suffered!

  14

  The governor of the South finally granted Isfinis permission to set off after giving him a permit allowing him to cross the border whenever he wished. The convoy raised anchor and set sail in the cool of dawn, Isfinis, Latu, and Ahmose son of Ebana taking their seats in the deck cabin of the first ship, their hearts filled with longing and yearning, while the tears with which he had made his last farewell to his mother still stood in Ahmose's eyes. Isfinis was lost in his dreams: he thought of Thebes and its people - Thebes, the greatest of the cities of the earth, the city of a hundred gates, of obelisks that reached up to the Heavenly Twins, of stupendous temples and towering palaces, of long avenues and huge squares, of markets that knew no peace or rest either by day or by night; Thebes the glorious, the Thebes of Amun, who had decreed that His gates should be closed before His worshippers for ten years of captivity, Thebes which, in the end, had been taken by barbarians who now sat in power as ministers, judges, commanders, and nobles and whose people they had enslaved, so that Fate rubbed their faces in the dirt of those who yesterday had been slaves to them. The youth sighed from the depths of his wounded heart, then thought of the men crouched in the bellies of his ships, all driven by a single hope, all propelled by an unshakeable love of Egypt passed down from generation to generation. How they suffered from the pain of Separation from the wives, daughters, and sons that they had left behind them at the mercy of their enemies! All of them might have been that brave youth Ahmose who had suppressed his longings and curbed his yearning and on whose face resolution and strength were engraved. Among these crowding thoughts an entrancing image rose to the surface of his mind and he looked downward, hiding his eyes from Latu of the piercing glance, who, if he were to discern what he was thinking of, would grow angry once more. He wondered at how his thoughts hovered around her image, unable to drag themselves away from her. In confusion he asked himself, “Is it possible for love and hate to have the same object?” A sad look appeared in his eyes and he said to himself, “However it be with me, I shall not set eyes on her again, so there is no call for disquiet. Can anything in the world defeat forgetfulness?” Latu interrupted his dreams, saying in tones that betrayed concern, “Look to the north! I see a convoy coming on fast.”

  The two youths looked behind them and saw a convoy of five ships cutting through the crests of the waves at speed. The eye could not make out who was on board but the convoy was approaching fast and its component parts soon became distinct. Isfmis caught sight of a man standing at the front of the convoy and recognized him. Anxiously he said, “It's Commander Rukh.”

  Latu's face paled and he said with increasing agitation, “Do you think he is trying to overtake us?”

  The other had no idea how to answer and they watched the convoy anxiously and warily. A number of fears swept over Latu and he asked in exasperation, “Is that imbecile going to try and delay our departure?”

  It dawned on Isfmis that he had not yet escaped the consequences of his mistake and that peril was about to descend on the convoy, just as it neared safety's shores. Training his eyes on Rukh's convoy, he saw that it was approaching so fast that it had already overtaken some of the ships of his own. There were five warships, with detachments of guards standing on their decks, whose presence, without a doubt, did not bode well. The lead ship turned toward his own and came alongside and he saw the Commander looking at him -with a cruel expression and heard him yell at him in his thick voice, “Stand to and drop anchor!”

  The other ships changed their course to pen the convoy in, and Isfinis ordered his sailors to stop rowing and drop anchor. They obeyed, fearfully noting that the Herdsmen's ships were loaded with soldiers bristling with weapons as though ready for a battle. Isfinis grew more anxious still, fearing that the hate-consumed commander would take his rancor out on the convoy, thus dashing the hopes of his whole people. He said to his companion, “If the man wants my head, it is no bad thing that I should be the first to fall in the new struggle. Should I die, you, Latu, must carry on on the same path and not let anger take control of you and so put an end to all our hopes.”

  The older man gripped his hand, overcome by a sudden despair, but Isfinis resumed, saying firmly, “Latu, I give you the very advice you gave me yesterday: avoid unwise anger. Let me pay the price for my mistake. If, tomorrow, you return to my father and pay him your condolences for my death while congratulating him on the Egyptian troops you have brought him, it will be better than your returning to him with me while our hopes have been lost forever.”

  He heard Commander Rukh shouting at him, “Come out to the middle of the ship, peasant!”

  The youth gripped Latu's hand and left with firm steps. The commander, who was standing on the deck of his own ship, said to him, “You made me
drop my sword, crazed peasant, when I was drunk and staggering. Now here I am waiting for you, with strong heart and steady arm.”

  Realizing that the commander had a vengeful nature and wanted to challenge him so that he could wipe away the stain on his honor, Isfinis said to him quietly, somewhat reassured as to the fate of his convoy, “Would you like to return to the attack, Commander?”

  The other replied insolently, “Indeed, slave. And this time I shall kill you with my own hands in the most horrible fashion.”

  Isfinis asked him quietly, “I do not fear your challenge. But do you promise to do no harm to my convoy whatever the outcome of the duel?”

  The commander said contemptuously, “I shall leave the convoy out of respect for my master's wishes. It will proceed without your carcass.”

  “And where do you want to fight?”

  “On the deck of my ship.”

  Without uttering a word, the youth jumped into a boat and rowed with his strong arms till he reached the commander's ship. There he climbed the ladder onto its deck and stood face to face with his enemy. The commander threw a cruel look at him, angered by the calmness, self-possession, and disdain that appeared on the other's beautiful face. He gestured to one of the soldiers, who gave the youth a sword and shield. As he prepared himself for the fight, the commander said to him, “Today there will be no mercy, so defend yourself.” Then he attacked him like a ravening beast and the two joined in violent combat surrounded by a circle of heavily armed soldiers, while, at the prow of the other ship, Latu and Ahmose stood watching the battle with often-averted eyes. The commander delivered a succession of blows, which Isfmis warded off with his amazing skill. Then the latter directed a hard blow at his opponent that fell on his shield, striking it with a force that left its mark. The youth seized the opportunity and began his assault with strength and skill, forcing the commander to retreat, pushing away from himself the blows leveled at him by his powerful opponent, who gave him no opportunity to rest or counter-attack. Exasperation appeared on the man's face and, grinding his teeth in insane fury, he threw himself upon his opponent in desperation. The youth, however, stepped aside and directed at him an elegant stroke that gashed his neck, causing the man's hands to go limp, and he ceased fighting and staggered as though drunk, only to fall finally on his face, flailing in his own blood. The troops, letting out an angry cry, drew their long swords in readiness for an assault on the youth at the first signal from the officer commanding them. Certain that he would perish, Isfmis realized the futility of resistance, especially as so many had their arrows trained on him, and he awaited the taste of death submissively, his eyes never leaving the commander sprawled at his feet. At that delicate juncture, he heard a voice nearby calling out angrily, “Officer, tell your men to sheathe their swords!”

  It seemed to him that he knew the voice and, his heart leaping in his breast, he turned to its source and saw a royal ship almost touching the death ship. Princess Amenridis was leaning on its railing, the lineaments of anger sketched on her lovely face.

  The soldiers sheathed their swords and saluted. Isfmis bowed his head respectfully before he had time to recover from his astonishment and credit that he truly had been saved from death. The princess asked the officer, “Has he killed Commander Rukh?”

  The officer approached the commander, felt his heart, and examined his neck. Then he stood up and said, “I see a very dangerous wound, Your Highness, but he is still breathing.”

  Coldly she asked him, “Was it a fair fight?”

  “It was, Your Highness.”

  The princess said angrily, “How then did it enter your minds to kill a man to whom the king has granted safe-conduct?”

  Embarrassment showed on the officer's face and he said nothing. The princess said in an imperious tone, “Release this trader and take the wounded commander to the palace physicians!”

  The officer obeyed the order and let Isfmis go free and the youth climbed down into his boat and turned it toward the royal ship, saying to himself with relief, “How did the princess manage to arrive at the right moment?” Then he climbed onto the deck of the ship, unimpeded by any of the guards, to find that the princess had returned to her cabin, to which he directed his firm steps, asking a slave girl for permission to enter. The girl disappeared inside for a moment and then returned with permission, and he entered, his heart beating. He found the princess seated on a luxurious divan, her back resting on a silken cushion, her face radiating a brilliant light. He bowed before her with genuine respect and, as he straightened his back, saw his necklace with the green emerald around her neck. He blushed. Nothing of the emotions passing over his face and eyes escaped her, and she said in a sweet and melodious voice, pointing to the necklace with her finger, “Have you come to ask me for the price of the necklace?”

  The youth was reassured by her sweet tone and pleased by her jesting. He said honestly, “Indeed no. I have come, Your Highness, to thank you in all sincerity for the blessing of life that you have bestowed upon me, for which I shall remain in your debt as long as I live.”

  She smiled a dazzling smile that passed over her lips like a lightning flash. She said, “Indeed, you owe me your life. Do not wonder if I say so, for I am not one of those whom hypocrisy compels to put on a show of false modesty. I discovered this morning that the commander had set sail with a small fleet to cut off your convoy, so I caught up with him in this ship and I saw a part of your fight. Then I intervened at the right moment to save your life.”

  Her graciousness was to his heart as water to one dying of thirst. The look in her drowsy eyes and her announcement of her desire to save his life intoxicated him with happiness and he asked her, “May I hope that my lady will tell me frankly, in view of what I know to be her hatred of hypocrisy and affectation, what made her take upon herself the inconvenience of saving my life?”

  She replied gaily, as though making light of his attempts to embarrass her, “To make you my debtor for it.”

  “It is a debt that makes me richer, not poorer.”

  She raised to him her blue eyes, making him feel as though he was about to stagger and fall at her feet, and said, “What a liar you are! Is that what a debtor says to his creditor as he turns his back on him to set off on a journey from which he will never return?”

  “On the contrary, my lady, it is a journey from which he will return soon.”

  As though addressing herself, she said, “I am wondering to myself what benefit I might derive from this debt.”

  Heart throbbing, he looked into the blueness of her eyes and saw in them a look of surrender and of tenderness sweeter than the life that she had given him. The air between them seemed to him to pulsate with a profound heat and a magic that drew their two souls into itself, to meet and mingle. All inhibition thrown aside, he fell at her feet.

  With strands of golden hair straying over her shining forehead and her ears, she asked him, “Will you be gone for long?”

  He replied, sighing, “A month, my lady.”

  A look of sorrow passed over her eyes and she said, “But you do intend to come back, don't you?”

  “I do, my lady, by this life of mine which belongs to you and by this sacred cabin!”

  She held her hand out to him and said, “Till we meet again.”

  He kissed her hand and said, “Till we meet again.”

  *

  Latu met him with open arms and tears in his eyes, hugging him to his chest, and Ahmose threw his arm around his neck and kissed his brow. The convoy then raised anchor and set off at full tilt, the men standing gazing after the princess's ship, which pushed on to the north as they did to the south, until their eyes turned away in weariness. Returning to the cabin, they took their seats as though nothing had happened.

  Isfmis distracted himself by watching the villages and their hardy menfolk with their coppery bodies, but his heart kept pulling him back to the cabin. Did Latu suspect anything? Latu was a noble man, whose heart had grown old and renounced
everything but love of Egypt. And he could not shake himself free either of a thought that haunted him: had he acted wrongly or rightly? But what mortal could reach the goal that he had first set himself without taking into account what he might find along the way? How many a man had set out to climb a mountain and found himself descending into a deep chasm! And how many a man, having fledged his arrows for the hunt, had found the quarry had turned and was chasing him!

  15

  The convoy safely crossed the borders of Egypt, and the men prayed an ardent collective prayer to the Lord Amun. They thanked their Lord for the paths of success that he had paved for them and they called on Him to bring their hopes within reach and preserve their women from all harm. The convoy proceeded upstream for some days and nights till it anchored at a small island for rest and recuperation. Latu invited the men to leave the ships for the island and, standing among them with Isfinis on his right, he said to them, “Brothers, let me reveal to you a secret that I have concealed from you for reasons that you will understand. Know that we are envoys to you from the family of our martyred sovereign Seqenenra and that your sovereign Kamose awaits your arrival now in Napata.”

  Astonishment appeared on the men's faces and some, unable to contain themselves for joy, asked, “Is it true, Lord Latu, that our royal family is in Napata?”

  Smiling, he bowed his head in reply. Others asked, “Is our Sacred Mother Tetisheri there?”

  “She is, and soon she will congratulate you herself.”

  “And our sovereign Kamose, son of Seqenenra?”

  “He is, and you will see him with your own eyes, and hear him with your own ears.”

  “And the Crown Prince, Ahmose?”

  Latu smiled and pointed to Isfinis, then bowed his head, saying, “I present to you, gentlemen, the Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Egypt, His Royal Highness Prince Ahmose.”