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

by Bolesław Prus

  CHAPTER XL

  Among the inhabitants of Pi-Bast alarming news had begun to circulateconcerning the Libyans. It was said that those barbarian warriors,disbanded by the priests, began by begging on the road homeward, thenthey stole, and finally they fell to robbing and burning Egyptianvillages, murdering the inhabitants meanwhile.

  In the course of a few days they attacked and destroyed the towns ofChinen-su, Pinat, and Kasa, south of Lake Moeris, and they cut downalso a caravan of merchants and Egyptian pilgrims returning from theoasis Uit-Mehe. The entire western boundary of the state was in peril,and even from Terenuthis inhabitants began to flee. And in theneighborhood beyond that, toward the sea, appeared bands of Libyans,sent, as it were, by the terrible chief, Musawasa, who, it seemed, wasto declare a sacred war against Egypt.

  Moreover, if any evening a western strip of sky was red for too long atime alarm fell on Pi-Bast. The people gathered along the streets;some of them went out on the flat roofs, or climbed trees, anddeclared that they saw a fire in Menuf or in Sechem. Some, even, inspite of darkness, saw fleeing people, or Libyan bands marching towardPi-Bast in long black columns.

  Notwithstanding the indignation of people, the rulers of provincesremained indifferent, for the central power issued no order.

  Prince Rameses saw this alarm of the people and the indifference ofdignitaries. Mad anger seized him, because he received no command fromMemphis, and because neither Mefres nor Mentezufis spoke with him ofdangers threatening Egypt.

  But since neither priest visited him, and both, as it were, avoidedconversation, the viceroy did not seek them, nor did he make anymilitary preparations.

  At last he ceased to visit the regiments stationed at Pi-Bast, butassembling at the palace all the young nobles, he amused himself andfeasted, repressing in his heart indignation at the priests andanxiety for the fate of the country.

  "Thou wilt see!" said he once to Tutmosis. "The holy prophets willmanage us so that Musawasa will take Lower Egypt, and we shall have toflee to Thebes, if not to Sunnu, unless the Ethiopians drive us alsofrom that place."

  "Thou speakest truth," replied Tutmosis; "our rulers' acts resemblethose of traitors."

  The first day in the month of Hator (August-September) a great feastwas given at the palace of the viceroy. They began to amuse themselvesat two in the afternoon, and before sunset all present were drunk. Itwent so far that men and women rolled on the floor, which was wet withwine and covered with flowers and pieces of broken pitchers.

  The prince was the soberest among them. He was not on the floor, hewas sitting in an armchair, holding on his knees two beautifuldancers, one of whom was giving him wine, while the other was pouringstrong perfumes on his head.

  At this moment an adjutant entered the hall, and, stepping over anumber of guests lying prostrate, hurried up to Rameses.

  "Worthy lord," said he, "the holy Mefres and the holy Mentezufis wishto speak at once with thee."

  The viceroy pushed the girls away, and with red face, stainedgarments, and tottering steps went to his chamber in the upper story.At sight of him Mefres and Mentezufis looked at each other.

  "What do ye wish, worthy fathers?" asked the prince, dropping into anarmchair.

  "I do not know whether thou wilt be able to hear us," answered theanxious Mentezufis.

  "Ah! do ye think that I am tipsy?" cried the prince. "Have no fear.To-day all Egypt is either so mad or so stupid that most sense isfound among drinkers."

  The priests frowned, but Mentezufis began,--

  "Thou knowest, worthiness, that our lord and the supreme councildetermined to disband twenty thousand mercenary warriors?"

  "Well, if I do not know?" said the heir. "Ye have not deigned to askmy advice in a question so difficult to determine, ye have not eventhought it worth while to inform me that four regiments are disbanded,and that those men, because of hunger, are attacking our cities."

  "It seems to me, worthiness, that thou art criticising the commands ofhis holiness the pharaoh," interrupted Mentezufis.

  "Not of his holiness!" cried the prince, stamping, "but of thosetraitors who, taking advantage of the sickness of my father, wish tosell Egypt to Assyrians and Libyans."

  The priests were astounded. No Egyptian had ever used words of thatkind.

  "Permit, prince, that we return in a couple of hours, when thou shalthave calmed thyself," said Mefres.

  "There is no need of that. I know what is happening on our westernboundary. Or rather it is not I who know, but my cooks, stable-boys,and laundrymen. Perhaps then ye will have the goodness, worthyfathers, to communicate your plans to me."

  Mentezufis assumed a look of indifference, and said,--

  "The Libyans have rebelled and are collecting bands with the intentionof attacking Egypt."

  "I understand."

  "At the desire, therefore, of his holiness," continued Mentezufis,"and of the supreme council, thou art to take troops from Lower Egyptand annihilate the rebels."

  "Where is the order?"

  Mentezufis drew forth from his bosom a parchment provided with seals,and gave it to the viceroy.

  "From this moment then I command, and am the supreme power in thisprovince," said the viceroy.

  "It is as thou hast said."

  "And I have the right to hold a military council with you?"

  "Of course," replied Mefres. "Even this moment--"

  "Sit down," interrupted the prince.

  Both priests obeyed his command.

  "I ask because in view of my plans I must know why the Libyanregiments were disbanded."

  "Others too will be disbanded," caught up Mentezufis. "The supremecouncil desires to disband twenty thousand of the most expensivewarriors, so that the treasury of his holiness may save four thousandtalents yearly, without which want may soon threaten the court of thepharaoh."

  "A thing which does not threaten the most wretched of Egyptianpriests," added Rameses.

  "Thou forgettest, worthiness, that it is not proper to call a priestwretched," replied Mentezufis. "And if want threatens none of them,the merit is found in their moderate style of living."

  "In that case the statues drink the wine which is carried every day tothe temples, while stone gods dress their wives in gold and jewels,"jeered Rameses. "But no more about your abstemiousness. Not to fillthe treasury of the pharaoh has the council of priests disbandedtwenty thousand troops and opened the gates of Egypt to bandits."

  "But why?"

  "This is why: to please King Assar. And since his holiness would notagree to give Phoenicia to Assyria, ye wish to weaken the state inanother way, by disbanding hired troops and rousing war on our westernboundary."

  "I take the gods to witness that thou dost astonish us, worthiness,"cried Mentezufis.

  "The shades of the pharaohs would be more astonished if they heardthat in this same Egypt in which the power of the pharaoh is hampered,some Chaldean trickster is influencing the fate of the nation."

  "I do not believe my own ears," replied Mentezufis. "What dost thousay of some Chaldean?"

  The viceroy laughed sneeringly.

  "I speak of Beroes. If thou, holy man, hast not heard of him, ask therevered Mefres, and if he has forgotten turn then to Herhor andPentuer."

  "That is a great secret of our temples--"

  "A foreign adventurer came like a thief to Egypt, and put on themembers of the supreme council a treaty so shameful that we should bejustified in signing it only after we had lost battles, lost all ourregiments and both capitals. And to think that this was done by oneman, most assuredly a spy of King Assar! And our sages let themselvesbe so charmed by his eloquence, that, when the pharaoh would not letthem give up Phoenicia, they disbanded regiments in every case, andcaused war on our western boundary. Have we ever heard of a deed likethis?" continued Rameses, no longer master of himself. "When it wasjust the time to raise the army to three hundred thousand and hurry onto Nineveh, those pious maniacs discharged twenty thousand men andfired their own dwelling
-house."

  Mefres, still and pale, listened to these jeers. At last he said,--

  "I know not, worthy lord, from what source thou hast taken thyinformation. May it be as pure as the hearts of the highestcounsellors! But let us suppose that thou art right, that someChaldean priest had power to bring the council to sign a burdensometreaty with Assyria. If it happened thus, whence knowest thou thatthat priest was not an envoy of the gods, who through his lipsforewarned us of dangers hanging over Egypt?"

  "How do the Chaldeans enjoy your confidence to such a degree?" askedthe viceroy.

  "The Chaldean priests are elder brothers of the Egyptians,"interrupted Mentezufis.

  "Then perhaps the Assyrian king is the master of the pharaoh?"

  "Blaspheme not, worthiness," said Mefres, severely. "Thou art pushinginto the most sacred things frivolously, and to do that has provedperilous to men who were greater than thou art."

  "Well, I will not do so. But how is a man to know that one Chaldean isan envoy of the gods, and another a spy of King Assar?"

  "By miracles," answered Mefres. "If, at thy command, prince, this roomshould fill with spirits, if unseen powers were to bear thee in theair, we should know that thou wert an agent of the immortals, andshould respect thy counsel."

  Rameses shrugged his shoulders. "I, too, have seen spirits: a younggirl made them. And I saw a juggler lying in the air in theamphitheatre."

  "But thou didst not see the fine strings which his four assistants hadin their teeth," put in Mentezufis.

  The prince laughed again, and, remembering what Tutmosis had told himabout the devotions of Mefres, he said in a jeering tone,--

  "In the days of Cheops a certain high priest wished absolutely to flythrough the air. With this object he prayed to the gods, and commandedhis inferiors to see whether unseen powers were not raising him. Andwhat will ye say, holy fathers? From that time forth there was no daywhen prophets did not assure the high priest that he was borne in theair,--not very high, it is true, about a finger from the pavement.But--what is that to thy power, worthiness?" inquired he of Mefres,suddenly.

  The high priest, when he heard his own story, shook in the chair, andwould have fallen had not Mentezufis supported him.

  Rameses bustled about, gave the old man water to drink, rubbed vinegaron his temples and forehead, and fanned him.

  Soon the holy Mefres recovered, rose from the chair, and said toMentezufis,--

  "May we not go now?"

  "I think so."

  "But what am I to do?" asked the prince, feeling that something evilhad happened.

  "Accomplish the duties of leader," said Mentezufis, coldly.

  Both priests bowed to the prince ceremoniously, and departed. Rameseswas not entirely sober, but a great weight fell on his heart. At thatmoment he understood that he had committed two grievous errors: He hadconfessed to the priests that he knew their great secret, and he hadjeered, without mercy, at Mefres. He would have given a year of hislife could he have blotted from their memories all that drunkenconversation. But it was too late then to do so.

  "It cannot be hidden," thought he. "I have betrayed myself andprocured mortal enemies. The position is difficult. The strugglebegins at a moment which is for me most unfavorable. But let us go on.More than one pharaoh has struggled with the priests and conquered,even without having very strong allies."

  Still he felt the danger of his position so clearly that at thatmoment he swore by the sacred head of his father that he would neverdrink wine again freely. He summoned Tutmosis. The confidant appearedat once, perfectly sober.

  "We have a war, and I am commander," said the viceroy.

  Tutmosis bent to the earth.

  "I will never get drunk again," added the prince. "And knowest thouwhy?"

  "A leader should abstain from wine and stupefying perfumes," saidTutmosis.

  "I have not thought of that,--that is nothing; but I have babbled outa secret before the priests."

  "What secret?" cried the terrified Tutmosis.

  "This,--that I hate them, and jeer at their miracles."

  "Oh, that is no harm. They never calculate on the love of people."

  "And that I know their political secrets," added the prince.

  "Ei!" hissed Tutmosis. "That is the one thing that was not needed."

  "No help for it now," said Rameses. "Send out our couriers immediatelyto the regiments; let the chiefs meet to-morrow morning in a militarycouncil. Give command to light alarm signals, so that all the troopsof Lower Egypt may march toward the western border to-morrow. Go tothe nomarchs here, and command them to inform all the others tocollect clothing, provisions, and weapons."

  "We shall have trouble with the Nile," said Tutmosis.

  "Then let every boat and barge be held at the arms of the Nile toferry over troops. We must summon every nomarch to occupy himself infitting out reserves."

  Meanwhile Mefres and Mentezufis returned to their dwellings in thetemple of Ptah. When they were alone in a cell, the high priest raisedhis hands, and exclaimed,--

  "O Trinity of immortal gods,--Osiris, Isis, and Horus,--save Egyptfrom destruction! Since the world became the world, no pharaoh hasever uttered so many blasphemies as we have heard to-day from thatstripling. What do I say, pharaoh?--No enemy of Egypt, no Hittite,Phoenician, or Libyan has ever dared so to insult priestly immunity."

  "Wine makes a man transparent," answered Mentezufis.

  "But in that youthful heart is a nest of serpents. He insults thepriestly rank, he jeers at miracles, he has no belief in gods."

  "But this concerns me most," said Mentezufis, thoughtfully,--"how didhe learn of our negotiations with Beroes? for he knows them, I willswear to that."

  "A dreadful treason has been committed," added Mefres, seizing hishead.

  "A very wonderful thing! There were four of us."

  "Not at all four of us. The elder priestess of Isis knew of Beroes,two priests who showed him the road to the temple of Set, and apriest who received him at the door. But wait! that priest spends allhis time in underground places. But if he overheard?"

  "In every case he did not sell the secret to a stripling, but to someone more important; and that is dangerous."

  The high priest of the temple of Ptah, the holy Sem, knocked at thedoor of the cell.

  "Peace to you," said he, entering.

  "Blessing to thy heart."

  "I came, for ye were raising your voices as if some misfortune hadhappened. Does this war with the wretched Libyans not surprise you?"

  "What dost thou think of the prince,--the heir to the throne?" askedMentezufis, interrupting him.

  "I think," answered Sem, "that he must be quite satisfied with the warand supreme command. He is a born hero. When I look at him I rememberthat lion, Rameses the Great. This youth is ready to rush at all thebands of Libya, and, indeed, he may scatter them."

  "This youth," added Mefres, "is capable of overturning all ourtemples, and wiping Egypt from the face of the earth."

  Holy Sem drew forth quickly a gold amulet which he wore on his breast,and whispered,--

  "Flee, evil words, to the desert. Go far, and harm not the just. Whatart thou saying, worthiness?" continued he, more loudly, and in a toneof reproach.

  "The worthy Mefres speaks truth," said Mentezufis. "Thy head wouldache, and thy stomach also, should human lips repeat the blasphemouswords which we have heard this day from that giddy stripling."

  "Jest not, O prophet," said the high priest Sem, with indignation."Sooner would I believe that water burns and air quenches than thatRameses would commit blasphemy."

  "He did so in seeming drunkenness," said Mefres, maliciously.

  "Even if he were drunk--I do not deny that the prince is frivolous,and a rioter; but a blasphemer--"

  "So, too, did we think," said Mentezufis. "And we were so sure ofknowing his character that when he returned from the temple of Hatorwe ceased even to exercise control over him."

  "Thou wert sparing of gold to pay me
n for watching," said Mefres."Thou seest now what results are involved in a neglect which seemedslight to thee."

  "But what has happened?" inquired Sem, impatiently.

  "I will answer briefly: the prince reviles the gods."

  "Oho!"

  "He criticises the commands of the pharaoh."

  "Is it possible?"

  "He calls the supreme council traitors."

  "But--"

  "But from whom did he learn of the coming of Beroes, even of hisinterview with Mefres, Herhor, and Pentuer, in the temple of Set?"

  The high priest Sem, seizing his head with both hands, walked up anddown through the cell.

  "Impossible!" said he. "Impossible! Has any one cast a spell over thatyoung man? Perhaps the Phoenician priestess, whom he stole from thetemple."

  This consideration seemed to Mentezufis so apposite that he looked atMefres. But the angry high priest would not be turned aside for aninstant.

  "Let us see," said he. "But first we must investigate and learn whatthe prince was doing day by day, after his return from the temple ofHator. He had too much freedom, too many relations with unbelieversand with enemies of Egypt. But thou wilt help us, worthy Sem."

  Because of this decision, the high priest Sem ordered to summon forthe following day a solemn service at the temple of Ptah.

  So they stationed on squares and at street corners, even in thefields, heralds of the priests, and called all the people with flutesand trumpets.

  And when a sufficient number of hearers had assembled, they informedthem that in the temple of Ptah there would be prayers and processionsduring three days, to the intent that the good god would blessEgyptian arms and crush Libyans; that he would send down on theirleader, Musawasa, leprosy, insanity, and blindness.

  As the priests wished, so was it done. From morning till late atnight common people of every occupation crowded around the temple; thearistocracy and the wealthy citizens assembled in the forecourt; whilethe priests of the city and of the neighboring provinces madesacrifices to Ptah and repeated prayers in the most holy chapel.

  Thrice daily did a solemn procession issue forth, carrying in a goldenboat, concealed by curtains, the revered statue of the divinity;whereat the people prostrated themselves and confessed their faultsloudly, while prophets disposed in the crowd numerously helped them topenitence by appropriate questions. A similar thing was done in theforecourt of the temple. But since officials and rich people did notlike to accuse themselves openly, the holy fathers took them aside,and gave advice and exhortation in whispers.

  In the afternoon the service was most solemn, for at that time thetroops marching westward came to receive the blessing of the highpriest, and strengthen the power of amulets which had the quality ofweakening blows from the enemy.

  Sometimes thunder was heard in the temple, and at night, above thepylons, there was lightning. This was a sign that the god had heardsome one's prayers, or was conversing with the priesthood.

  When, after the ending of the solemnity, the three dignitaries--Sem,Mefres, and Mentezufis--met for consultation, the position had becomeclearer.

  The solemnity had brought the temple about forty talents, but sixtytalents had been given out in presents or in paying the debts ofvarious persons of the aristocracy as well as of the highest militarycircles.

  They had collected the following information:--

  A report was current in the army, that when Prince Rameses mounted thethrone, he would begin a war with Assyria, which would assure greatprofit to those taking part in it. The lowest soldier, they said,would not return without a thousand drachmas, or perhaps a stilllarger sum.

  It was whispered among people that when the pharaoh returned withvictory from Nineveh, he would give slaves to the earth-tillers, andremit for a number of years all taxes.

  The aristocracy, on its part, judged that the new pharaoh would,first of all, take from priests and return to nobles all lands whichhad become temple property, and would pay also the debts of nobles. Itwas said, too, that the coming pharaoh would govern independently,without a supreme priestly council.

  Finally, in all social circles there reigned a conviction thatRameses, to secure the aid of Phoenicia, had had recourse to thegoddess Istar,[18] to whom he showed marked devotion. In every case itwas certain that the heir had once visited the temple of Istar, andhad seen, in the night, certain miracles. Finally, rumors were currentamong Asiatics that Rameses had made immense presents to the temple,and in return had taken thence a priestess to confirm him in the faithof the goddess.

  [18] Another form of Astarte.

  All these tidings were collected by the most worthy Sem and hisassistants. The holy fathers, Mefres and Mentezufis, communicated tohim other information which had come to them from Memphis:--

  The Chaldean priest and miracle-worker, Beroes, was received in thesubterranean parts of the temple of Set by the priest Osochar, who,when giving his daughter in marriage two months later, had presentedher with rich jewels and bought a good estate for her and her husband.And since Osochar had no considerable income, a suspicion rose thatthat priest had overheard the conversation of Beroes with the Egyptianpriests, and had sold to Phoenicians, criminally, the secret of thetreaty, and received a great estate from them.

  When he heard this, the high priest Sem added,--

  "If the holy Beroes does, indeed, perform miracles, then ask him,first of all, if Osochar has betrayed the secret."

  "They inquired of Beroes," said Mefres, "but the holy man answeredthat in that affair he preferred to be silent. He added, also, thateven if some one had heard their conversation, and reported toPhoenicians, neither Egypt nor Chaldea would suffer any injury; and ifthey should find the guilty person, it would be proper to show himmercy."

  "A holy man! Indeed, a holy man!" whispered Sem.

  "And what wilt thou say, worthiness," asked Mefres, "of the princeand the disturbances which his conduct has caused in the country?"

  "I will say the same as Beroes: 'The heir does not cause harm toEgypt, so we should show him indulgence.'"

  "This young man reviles the gods and miracles; he enters foreigntemples, he excites the men to rebellion. These are no small matters,"said Mefres, bitterly. This priest could not pardon Rameses for havingjeered at his devotion so rudely.

  The high priest Sem loved Rameses; so he answered with a kindlysmile,--

  "What laborer is there in Egypt who would not like to have a slave,and abandon hard labor for sweet idleness? Or what man is there onearth who is without the dream of not paying taxes, since with thatwhich he pays the treasury, his wife, he himself, and his childrenmight buy showy clothes and use various dainties?"

  "Idleness and excessive outlay spoil a man," said Mentezufis.

  "What warrior," continued Sem, "would not desire war and covet athousand drachmas, or even a greater sum? Further, I ask you, Ofathers, what pharaoh, what nomarch, what noble pays old debts withalacrity, and does not look askance at the wealth of temples?"

  "That is vile greed," whispered Mefres.

  "And, finally," said Sem, "what heir to the throne has not dreamed ofdecreasing the importance of the priesthood? What pharaoh at thebeginning of his reign has not tried to shake off the supremecouncil's influence?"

  "Thy words are full of wisdom," said Mefres, "but to what may theylead us?"

  "To this, not to accuse the heir before the supreme council, for thereis no court that would condemn the prince for this, that earth-workerswould be glad not to pay taxes, or that soldiers want war if they canhave it. Nay, ye may receive a reprimand. For if ye had followed theprince day by day and restrained his minor excesses, we should nothave at present that pyramid of complaints founded, moreover, onnothing. In such affairs the evil is not in this, that people areinclined to sin, for they have been so at all times. But the dangeris here, that we have not guarded them. Our sacred river, the motherof Egypt, would very soon fill all canals with mud, if engineersceased to watch it."

  "And what wilt
thou say, worthiness, of the fictions which the princepermitted himself in speaking with us? Wilt thou forgive his foulreviling of miracles?" inquired Mefres. "Moreover this stripling hasinsulted me grievously in my religious practices."

  "Whoso speaks with a drunken man is himself an offender," said Sena."To tell the truth, ye had no right, worthy fathers, to speak with aman who was not sober about important state questions. Ye committed afault in making a drunken man commander of an army. A leader must besober."

  "I bow down before thy wisdom," said Mefres; "still I vote to lay acomplaint against the heir before the supreme council."

  "But I vote against a complaint," answered Sem, energetically. "Thecouncil must learn of all acts of the viceroy, not through acomplaint, but through an ordinary report to it."

  "I too am opposed to a complaint," said Mentezufis.

  The high priest, Mefres, seeing that he had two votes against him,yielded in the matter of a complaint. But he remembered the insultfrom the prince and hid ill-will in his bosom.