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

by Bolesław Prus

  CHAPTER XLVII

  The priest observed the heir stealthily, and found him much changed.Rameses was pale; he had almost grown thin in a few hours; his eyeshad lost their glitter and had sunk beneath his forehead.

  When Mentezufis heard what the Greeks had in mind he did not hesitatea moment to surrender the body of Patrokles.

  "The Greeks are right," said the holy man, "in thinking that we havepower to torment the shade of Patrokles, but they are fools to supposethat any priest of Chaldea or Egypt would permit such a crime. Letthem take the body of their compatriot, if they think that after deathhe will be happier under protection of their own rites."

  The prince sent an officer straightway with the needful order, but hedetained Mentezufis. Evidently he wished to say something to him,though he hesitated.

  After some silence Rameses asked suddenly,--

  "Thou knowest, of course, holy prophet, that one of my women, Sarah,is dead, and that her son was murdered?"

  "That happened," said Mentezufis, "the night that we marched fromPi-Bast."

  The prince sprang up.

  "By the eternal Amon!" cried he. "Did that take place so long ago, andye did not mention it? Ye did not even tell me that I was suspected ofmurdering my own son?"

  "Lord," said the priest, "the leader of an army in the day beforebattle has neither son nor father; he has no one whatever save thearmy and the enemy. Could we in extreme moments disturb thee with suchtidings?"

  "That is true," replied the prince, after some thought. "If we wereattacked to-day I am not sure that I could command the army. Ingeneral I am not sure of my power to regain peace of mind.

  "Such a little--such a beautiful child! And that woman who sacrificedherself for me after I had wronged her grievously. Never have Ithought that misfortunes of such sort could happen, and that people'shearts could endure them."

  "Time heals--time and prayer," whispered the priest.

  The prince nodded, and again there was such silence in the tent thatthe dropping of sand in the hour glass was audible.

  Again the heir rallied,--

  "Tell me, holy father," said he, "unless it belongs to the greatsecrets, what is the real difference between burning the dead and themaking of mummies? for though I have heard something at school I donot understand clearly this question, to which the Greeks attach suchimportance."

  "We attach far more, the greatest importance to this question,"replied Mentezufis. "To this our cities of the dead testify; theyoccupy a whole region in the western desert. The pyramids testify toit also; they are the tombs of the pharaohs of the ancient kingdom,and the immense tombs which are cut in cliffs for the rulers of ourperiod.

  "Burial and the tomb are of great importance--the very greatest humanimportance. For while we live in bodily form fifty or a hundred years,our shades endure tens of thousands till they are perfectly purified.

  "The Assyrian barbarians laugh at us, saying that we give more to thedead than the living; but they would weep over their own lack of carefor the dead did they know the mystery of death and the tomb as do thepriests of Egypt."

  The prince started up.

  "Thou dost terrify me," said he. "Dost forget that among the deadthere are two beings dear to me, and these are not buried according toEgyptian ritual."

  "On the contrary. Just now men are embalming them. Both Sarah and thyson will have everything which may profit them in the long journey."

  "Will they?" asked Rameses, as if comforted.

  "I guarantee," answered Mentezufis, "that everything will be donewhich is needed, and should this earthly life ever be unpleasant tothee thou wilt find them happy in the other."

  On hearing this Rameses was greatly affected.

  "Then dost thou think, holy man," inquired he, "that I shall find myson some time, and that I shall be able to say to that woman: 'Sarah,I know that I have been too harsh to thee?'"

  "I am as certain of it as that I see thee now, worthy lord," repliedthe prophet.

  "Speak, speak of this!" exclaimed the prince. "A man does not think ofthe grave till he has put a part of himself there. This misfortune hasstruck me, and struck just when I thought myself more powerful thanany save the pharaoh."

  "Thou hast inquired, lord," began Mentezufis, "as to the differencebetween burning the dead and embalming them. We find the samedifference that there is between destroying a garment and preservingit in a closet. When the garment is preserved it may be of usefrequently; and if a man has only one garment it would be madness toburn it."

  "I do not understand this," interrupted Rameses. "Ye do not explain iteven in the higher schools."

  "But we can tell it to the heir of the pharaoh. Thou knowest,worthiness," continued the priest, "that a human being is composed ofthree parts: the body, the divine spark, and the shade, or _Ka_, whichconnects the body and the divine spark.

  "When a man dies his shade separates from his body as does the divinespark. If the man lives without sin the divine spark and the shadeappear among the gods to live through eternity. But each man sins,stains himself in this world; therefore his shade, the _Ka_, mustpurify itself, for thousands of years sometimes. It purifies itselfin this way, that being invisible it wanders over our earth amongpeople and does good in its wandering,--though the shades ofcriminals, even in life beyond the grave, commit offences, and at lastdestroy themselves and the divine spark contained in them.

  "Now--and this is no secret for thee, worthiness--this shade, the_Ka_, is like a man, but looks as though made of most delicate mist.The shade has a head, hands, body, it can walk, speak, throw things orcarry them, it dresses like a man, and even, especially during a fewhundred of the earlier years after death, must take some food atintervals. But the shade obtains its main strength from the body whichremains on the earth here. Therefore if we throw a body into a graveit spoils quickly and the shade must satisfy itself with dust anddecay. If we burn the body the shade has nothing but ashes with whichto gain strength. But if we embalm the body, or preserve it forthousands of years the shade _Ka_ is always healthy and strong; itpasses the time of purification in calmness, and even agreeably."

  "Wonderful things!" whispered the heir.

  "Priests in the course of investigations during thousands of yearshave learned important details of life beyond the grave. They haveconvinced themselves that if the viscera are left in the body of adead man, his shade, the _Ka_, has a great appetite, and needs as muchfood as a man during earthly existence, and if food is withheld itwill rush at living people and suck the blood out of them. But if theviscera are removed from the body, as we remove them, the shade liveson without food almost: its own body, embalmed and filled with plantswhich are strongly fragrant, suffices it for millions of years.

  "It has been verified, also, that if the tomb of a dead man is emptythe shade yearns for the world and wanders about in it needlessly. Butif we place in a mortuary chapel the clothing, furniture, arms,vessels, utensils, things pleasant during life to the dead man, if thewalls are covered with paintings depicting feasts, hunts, divineservices, wars, and, in general, events in which the departed tookshare, if besides we add statues of members of his family, servants,horses, dogs and cattle, the shade will not go out to the worldwithout need, for it will find what it wants in the house of the deadwith its mummy.

  "Finally they have convinced themselves that many shades, even afterpenance is finished, could not enter regions of endless bliss sincethey know not the needful prayers, incantations, and conversationswith gods. We provide for that by winding the mummies in papyruses, onwhich are written sentences, and by putting the 'Book of the Dead' intheir coffins.

  "In one word, our funeral ritual assures strength to the shade,preserves it from misfortunes and yearnings after earth, facilitatesits entrance to the company of gods, and secures living people fromevery harm which shades might inflict on them. Our great care of thedead has this in view specially; hence we erect for them almostpalaces and in them dwellings with the greatest ornaments."
/>   The prince thought awhile, but said finally,--

  "I understand that ye show great kindness to weak and defencelessshades by caring for them in this manner. But who will assure me thatthere are shades?"

  "That there is a waterless desert," said the priest, "I know, for Isee it, I have sunk in its sands and felt heat in it. That there arecountries in which water turns to stone, and steam into white down, Iknow also, for credible witnesses have informed me."

  "But how do ye know of shades which no man has seen, and how do yeknow of their life after death since no one of them has ever returnedto us?"

  "Thou art mistaken, worthiness," replied the priest. "Shades haveshown themselves more than once, and even revealed their own secrets.

  "It is possible to live ten years in Thebes and not see rain: it ispossible to live a hundred years on earth and not meet a shade. Butwhoso should live hundreds of years in Thebes, or live thousands ofyears on earth would see more than one rain, and more than one shade."

  "Who has lived thousands of years?" inquired Rameses.

  "The sacred order of priests has lived, is living, and will live,"replied Mentezufis. "The sacred order of priests settled on the Nilethirty thousand years ago. Since then, it has scrutinized the heavensand the earth; it has created our wisdom, and made the plan of everyfield, sluice, canal, pyramid, and temple in Egypt."

  "That is true. The order of priests is mighty and wise, but where arethe shades? What man has seen them, and who is the person who hasspoken to them?"

  "Know this, lord," said Mentezufis. "There is a shade in each livingman; as there are people distinguished for immense strength, or amarvellous swiftness of vision, so there are men who possess theuncommon gift that during life they can separate their own shades fromtheir bodies.

  "Our secret books are filled with the most credible narrativestouching this subject. More than one prophet has been able to fallinto a sleep that is deathlike. At that time his shade separated fromthe body and transferred itself in a moment to Tyre, Babylon, orNineveh, examined what it wished, listened to counsels relating to us,and after the awakening of the prophet gave the most minute account ofall that it had witnessed. More than one evil magician, after fallingasleep in like fashion, has sent out his shade against a man whom hehated, and overturned or destroyed furniture and terrified a wholehousehold.

  "It has happened, too, that the man attacked by the shade of themagician struck the shade with a spear or a sword, and on his housebloody traces were left, while the magician received on his body thatwound exactly which was inflicted on his shade.

  "More than once also has a shade of a living man appeared in companywith him, but some steps distant."

  "I know such shades," said the prince ironically.

  "I must add," continued Mentezufis, "that not only people, butanimals, plants, stones, buildings, and utensils have shades also.But--a wonderful thing--the shade of an inanimate object is not dead,it possesses life, moves, goes from place to place, it even thinks andexpresses thought through various signs, most frequently throughknocking.

  "When a man dies his shade lives and shows itself to people. In ourbooks thousands of such cases are noted; some shades asked for food,others walked about in houses, worked in a garden, or hunted in themountains with the shades of their dogs and cats with them. Othershades have frightened people, destroyed their property, drunk theirblood, even enticed living persons to excesses. But there are goodshades: those of mothers nursing their children, of soldiers, fallenin battle, who give warning of an ambush of an enemy, of priests whoreveal important secrets.

  "In the eighteenth dynasty the shade of the pharaoh, Cheops, who wasdoing penance for oppressing people while building the great pyramid,appeared in Nubian gold mines, and in compassion for the sufferings oftoiling convicts showed them a new spring of water."

  "Thou tellest curious things, holy man," replied Rameses; "let me nowtell thee something. One night in Pi-Bast my own shade appeared to me.That shade was just like me, and even dressed like me. Soon, however,I convinced myself that it was no shade. It was a living man, acertain Lykon, the vile murderer of my son. He began his offences byfrightening the Phoenician woman Kama. I appointed a reward forseizing him--but our police not only did not seize the man, they evenpermitted him to seize that same Kama and to slay a harmless infant.

  "To-day I hear that they have captured Kama, but I know nothing ofLykon. Of course he is living in freedom, in good health, cheerful andrich through stolen treasures; may be making ready for new crimeseven."

  "So many persons are pursuing that criminal that he must be taken atlast," said Mentezufis. "And if he falls into our hands Egypt will payhim for the sufferings which he has caused the heir to her throne.Believe me, lord, thou mayst forgive all his crimes in advance, forthe punishment will be in accord with their greatness."

  "I should prefer to have him in my own hands," said the prince. "It isalways dangerous to have such a 'shade' while one is living."[22]

  [22] It is curious that the theory of shades, on which very likely the uncommon care of the Egyptians for the dead was built, has revived in our times in Europe. Adolf d'Assier explains it minutely in a pamphlet "_Essai sur l'humanite posthume et le spiritisme, par un positiviste_."

  Not greatly pleased by this end of his explanation, the holyMentezufis took leave of the viceroy. After the priest had gone,Tutmosis entered.

  "The Greeks are raising the pile for their chief," said he, "and anumber of Libyan women have agreed to wail at the funeral ceremony."

  "We shall be present," answered Rameses. "Dost thou know that my sonis killed?--such a little child. When I carried him he laughed andheld out his little hands to me. What wickedness may be in the humanheart is beyond comprehension. If that vile Lykon had attempted mylife I could understand, even forgive him. But to slay a littlechild--"

  "But have they told thee of Sarah's devotion?" inquired Tutmosis.

  "She was, as I think, the most faithful of women, and I did not treather justly. But how is it," cried the prince, striking his fist on thetable, "that they have not seized that wretch Lykon to this moment?The Phoenicians swore to me, and I promised a reward to the chief ofpolice. There must be some secret in this matter."

  Tutmosis approached the prince, and whispered,--

  "A messenger from Hiram has been with me. Hiram, fearing the anger ofthe priests, is hiding before he leaves Egypt. Hiram has heard, fromthe chief of police in Pi-Bast perhaps, that Lykon was captured-- Butquiet!" added the frightened Tutmosis.

  The prince fell into anger for a moment, but soon mastered himself.

  "Captured?" repeated he. "Why should that be a secret?"

  "It is, for the chief of police had to yield him up to the holy Mefresat his command in the name of the supreme council."

  "Aha! aha!" repeated the heir. "So the revered Mefres and the supremecouncil need a man who resembles me so much? Aha! They are to give myson and Sarah a beautiful funeral, and embalm their remains. But themurderer they will secrete safely. Aha!

  "And the holy Mentezufis is a great sage. He told me to-day all thesecrets of life beyond the grave; he explained to me the whole funeralritual, as if I were a priest at least of the third degree. Buttouching the seizure of Lykon, the hiding of that murderer by Mefres,not a word! Evidently the holy fathers are more occupied by minutesecrets of the heir to the throne than with the great secrets offuture existence. Aha!"

  "It seems to me, lord, that thou shouldst not wonder at that,"interrupted Tutmosis. "Thou knowest that the priests suspect thee ofill-will, and are on their guard. All the more--"

  "What, all the more?"

  "Since his holiness is very ill. Very."

  "Aha! my father is ill, and I meanwhile at the head of the army mustwatch the desert lest the sand should run out of it. It is well thatthou hast reminded me of this! Yes, his holiness must be very ill,since the priests are so tender toward me. They show me everything andspeak of everything, except this, that Mefres h
as secreted Lykon.

  "Tutmosis," said the prince on a sudden, "dost thou think to-day thatI can reckon on the army?"

  "We will go to death, only give the order."

  "And dost thou reckon on the nobles?"

  "As on the army."

  "That is well. Now we may render the rites to Patrokles."