The Pharaoh And The Priest Part 39

"Worthiness, I have begged thee to acquaint me with the secret of governing Aa. Thou hast done so, thou hast shown me the country and the officials, but still I know nothing. On the contrary. I am like a man in the underground divisions of a temple who sees so many pa.s.sages about him that he is unable at last to find his way out into daylight."

The nomarch was confused.

"What am I to do?" asked he. "What dost thou wish of me, O ruler?

Only say the word and I will yield to thee office, property, even life."

And, seeing that the prince received this a.s.surance with graciousness, he continued,--

"During thy journey thou hast seen the people of this province. Thou wilt say that all were not present. Agreed. I will command all to a.s.semble, and they are, men, women, old men, and children, about two hundred thousand. From the summit of the pylon thou wert pleased to survey our whole province. But if it be thy wish, we can examine from near by every field, every village, and every street of the city of Sochem. Finally I have shown thee the officials; it is true, the very lowest were absent. But command and all will stand before thee to-morrow and fall on their faces. What am I to do more? Tell me, most worthy lord."

"I believe that thou art most faithful," answered Rameses. "Therefore explain to me two things: first, why has the income of his holiness diminished? second, what art thou doing thyself in the province?"

Otoes was confused, and the prince added quickly,--

"I wish to know what thou art doing here, and by what methods, since I am young and only commencing to govern."

"Thou hast the wisdom of a century," whispered the nomarch.

"Therefore it is proper," continued the prince, "that I should ask men of experience and that thou shouldst give me knowledge."

"I will show thee all, and give every explanation," said Otoes. "But we should go to a place where there is no uproar."

In fact, in the palace which the prince occupied as many people thronged in the inner and outer court as at a fair. They ate, drank, sang, raced or rested, and all this to enhance the glory of the viceroy whom they were serving.

About three in the afternoon, the nomarch gave command to bring two horses, and with the prince he rode forth from the city westward. The court remained in the palace and amused itself with still greater gladness.

The day was beautiful, cool; the earth was covered with plants and flowers. Over the heads of the hors.e.m.e.n were heard the songs of birds, the air was full of fragrance.

"How pleasant it is here!" exclaimed Rameses. "Now I am able to collect my thoughts for the first time in a month. I had begun to think that a whole regiment of chariots had a.s.sembled in my head, and that from morning till evening reviews were held there."

"Such is the fate of a ruler in this world," said the nomarch.

They halted on an eminence. At their feet lay an immense meadow, cut through by a blue stream. On the north and on the south were white walls of towns; beyond the meadow on the rim of the horizon extended the reddish sands of the western desert, from which came an occasional breath of heated air, as if from a furnace.

On the meadow were countless herds of animals,--horned and hornless oxen, sheep, goats, a.s.ses, antelopes, even rhinoceroses.

Here and there were visible swampy places covered with water plants and reeds in which were teeming wild geese, ducks, doves, storks, pelicans, and ibises.

"Behold, lord," said Otoes, "a picture of our country, Queneh, Egypt.

Osiris fell in love with this strip of land in the midst of deserts; he covered it with plants and living creatures, so as to have from them profit. Then the kindly G.o.d took a human form and became the first pharaoh. When he felt that his body was withering, he left it and entered into his son, and later on into his son's son.

"Thus Osiris lives among us, since the beginning of ages, as pharaoh, and he gains profit from Egypt and its wealth which he himself created. The lord has extended like a mighty tree. All the pharaohs are his roots, the nomarchs and priests his larger branches, the n.o.bles the smaller branches. The visible G.o.d sits on the throne of the earth and receives the income which belongs to him from Egypt; the invisible G.o.d receives offerings in the temples, and declares his will through the lips of the priesthood."

"Thou utterest truth," said the viceroy. "Thus is it written."

"Since Osiris the pharaoh," continued the nomarch, "cannot himself be occupied in the management of the country, he has appointed us nomarchs, who come of his blood, to watch over his property."

"That is true," said Rameses. "Sometimes even the sun G.o.d becomes incarnate in a nomarch and begins a new dynasty. Thus rose the dynasties of Memphis, Elephantina, Thebes, and Ksoi."

"Thou hast said it," continued Otoes. "But now I will answer that which thou hast asked of me.

"Thou hast asked what I do in this province? I guard the property of Osiris, the pharaoh, and my own part in it. Look at those flocks; thou seest various animals. Some give milk, others flesh, others wool and skins. The people of Egypt give wheat, wine, woollen stuffs, vessels, houses. My affair is to take from each what he should give, and lay it down at the feet of the pharaoh.

"In watching over the numerous herds I could not succeed alone; so I have chosen watchful dogs and wise shepherds. Some of my servants milk animals, shear them, remove their skins; others watch them so that thieves may not steal or the plunderer injure. So with the province. I could not collect all the taxes and guard men from evil; hence I have officials who do what is proper, and render account of their action--"

"All this is true," interrupted the prince. "I know and understand what thou sayest. But I cannot comprehend why the income of his holiness decreases, though guarded well, as thou hast told me."

"Be pleased to remember," continued the nomarch, "that Set, though a full brother of the radiant Osiris, hates that G.o.d, wars with him, and deforms all his labors. He sends deadly diseases on beasts and on men; he causes the overflow of the Nile to be scant or over-violent, and he hurls clouds of sand in time of heat upon Egypt.

"When a year is good, the Nile reaches the desert; when it is bad, the desert comes down to the Nile, and then the royal income decreases.

"Look!" continued he, pointing at the meadow. "The flocks there are numerous, but in my youth they were greater in number. But who is the cause of this? No other than Set, whom human power cannot vanquish.

This meadow, great to-day, was once greater, and from this spot they could not see the desert, which now is a terror.

"When the G.o.ds are battling, men can do nothing; where Set conquers Osiris, who can bar the way to him?"

The worthy Otoes finished; the prince hung his head. In school he had heard not a little about the love of Osiris and the malice of Set, and while still a child he was angry that no one had forced Set to a final reckoning.

"When I grow up," thought he at that time, "and carry a javelin, I will seek out Set and we will make a trial."

And he was looking now at that measureless sand s.p.a.ce, that kingdom of the ominous G.o.dhead which was decreasing the income of Egypt; but he had no thought to do battle with Set. For how can man fight with the desert? Man can only avoid it or perish.

CHAPTER XXII

His stay in Aa had so wearied Rameses that to seek rest and rally his thoughts he commanded to stop all solemnities in his honor, and directed that during his journey people should never come forth to greet him.

The prince's retinue were astonished, even somewhat offended; but they carried out the command, and Rameses again found some quiet. He had time to review his troops, which was his most agreeable occupation, and he could collect his scattered thoughts in some measure.

Shut up in the remotest corner of the palace, the prince began to consider how far he had carried out the commands of the pharaoh his father.

He had surveyed Aa with his own eyes,--its fields, towns, population, officials. He had verified the fact that the eastern edge of the province was yielding to the advance of the desert. He had observed that laborers were indifferent and stupid; that they did only what was commanded, and that with unwillingness. Finally, he had convinced himself that really faithful and loving subjects were to be found only among the aristocracy, for they were related to the family of the pharaohs, or were of the n.o.ble order, and were grandsons of the men who had fought under the great Rameses.

In every case those people rallied to the dynasty heartily, and were ready to serve it with genuine readiness; not like the low people, who when they had shouted a greeting ran back with all speed to their pigs and their oxen.

But the chief object of his mission was not explained yet. Rameses not only did not see clearly causes for the decrease of the royal income, but he did not know how to formulate this question: Why is there evil, and how can we correct it? He only felt that the legendary war of the G.o.d Set with Osiris furnished no true explanation, and gave no means of cure whatever.

But the prince, as the coming pharaoh, wished to have a great income, like that of former rulers in Egypt. He was boiling with anger at the very thought that when he had mounted the throne he would be as poor as his father and perhaps even poorer.

"Never!" cried the prince, balling his fists.

To increase the royal property he was ready to rush sword in hand against Set and hew that G.o.d into pieces, as Set had hewn his own brother Osiris. But instead of the cruel divinity and his legions he saw around him ignorance, the desert, and silence.

Under the influence of these struggles with his own thoughts, he seized once the high priest Mefres.

"Tell me, holy father, to whom all wisdom is familiar, why does the income of the state decrease, and in what manner can we add to it?"