THE LUMINOUS BOOK
High up among the tombs lived Unis, neophyte of the Temple of Amen. The
abandoned tomb-chapel which served to shelter him immediately overlooked
the tree-embowered villa of Enana the Magician, for whom, at times, the
youthful prophet worked. His only attendant was Bata, an aged Ethiopian,
not so long ago his nurse.
Bata was seen almost daily in the market-place. Here she not only
collected the various offerings of the simple herdsmen and peasants, but
acted as go-between in the affairs of the superstitious farmers, herdsmen
and petty officials who were in the habit of consulting her master.
For Unis carried on a desultory practice in necromancy, astrology and
divination. Bata collected the fees, which were generally paid in kind.
Unis spent the few “auspicious days” which the Egyptian calendar allowed
to each month, seated upon a low bench beneath a sycamore tree on the
border of a narrow canal, immediately opposite Enana’s island home. Here
he listened to those who came to consult him or wrote letters for those
who required it.
In his character of seer, Unis had found it necessary to act in many
varied capacities. During the course of a single day, he was often called
upon to act as scribe, physician, exorcist, diviner, faith-healer and
farmer.
Unis was supposed to know the past; he could foretell the future. He
could “see” one who had tampered with his neighbor’s landmarks or altered
the flow of water in his neighbor’s dykes. He could forewarn of an
approaching sandstorm—that nine days’ terror of the traveler. He could
provide the necessary amulets against the bite of snake or scorpion. He
could tell the whereabouts of lost cattle or name that man or woman who
had made off with the offerings to the dead.
Thus, a timid maiden, desirous of a love-charm, was advised to drink the
ashes of a lizard dissolved in water and to swallow it, with a prayer to
Hathor, some auspicious evening when Aah, the silver moon, shone at her
brightest.
Consulted by some young gallant of the city, on similar, though less
wholesome lines, Unis would draw a circle in the sand. A circle, a gold
bangle! Money can open many a door!
The circle might be readily understood, but the outline of the jackal
above it—death’s emblem, spiritual and physical—was generally beyond the
young man’s powers of comprehension.
To the aged Teta, desirous of a potion which would assure to him the
wished for one hundred and ten years, Unis replied: “I see the _ba_-bird
poised above thy tomb.” Teta was found dead upon his couch the following
morning.
To Benta the ambitious Unis had taught the value of patience by pointing
to Auta hard at work upon his granite statue of the Princess Bekit-aton.
Six months of cutting, chiseling, rubbing and burnishing had the
persevering Auta lavished upon his masterpiece, and, throughout those
weary months, but three simple implements had served him for his
difficult task—a wooden mallet, a bronze chisel and a flint burnisher.
Apart from this, sand, water and emery-dust were Auta’s only helpers.
Though Unis was consulted by peasant and petty official, peasant and
official alike considered him mad. As such he became a person to be
pitied and cared for, as one afflicted by the gods, yet one through whom
the gods spoke. Thus, Unis could come and go wheresoever and whensoever
he pleased.
Except for his periodic visits to the sycamore, Unis was rarely seen. All
his time was spent in the great temple library or amidst the crumbling
shrines and half-choked tombs of the necropolis.
To the guards of the cemetery he was someone’s animated _ka_, a restless
‘soul’ seeking, perhaps, to identify his ruined tomb or to find and
become reunited to the lost ‘souls’ of his wife and children. He was
constantly on the lips of the public-storytellers as an ever-present
example of the truth of one of the oldest and most familiar of Egyptian
wondertales, the Adventures of Menti.
In point of fact, Unis was as much flesh and blood as anyone. Yet none,
whether courtier, priest or peasant, could have guessed the reason of his
tireless researches among the open shafts and ruined chapels of the older
part of the great Theban cemetery.
However, the very fact that the Thebans were so frequently regaled with
the story of Menti might well have given them a clue as to the true
reason of Unis’ occupation in that haunted spot.
It seems that Menti’s “spirit” returned from enjoying a few hours among
living men and reentered his mummy to find that the bodies of his wife
and child were missing from their coffins. Menti at once compelled their
restoration by means of his knowledge of the names, charms and talismans
contained in the magic Book of Thoth.
Written, ’twas said, by the God Thoth himself, this wonder-working
Book had once belonged to that Architect and Seer of old, Imhotep. It
was a common saying in Unis’ day that the Great Step Pyramid west of
white-walled Memphis, could never have been raised had it not been for
the compelling incantations—recited in the prescribed attitude and with
the proper tone of voice—by that now deified architect of the godkings of
old, Imhotep.
Before the death of Imhotep, it was said that he had hidden the Magic
Book behind the sarcophagus in which lay King Zozer, his master, deep
within his stupendous pyramid. A thousand years later its hiding place
had been revealed to Amenhotep, son of Hap, in a dream.
Amenhotep’s possession of the Book must have been a fact. How else could
he have erected the colossal Temple to the “spirit” of the late Pharaoh;
how otherwise could he have built the Temple at Kha-en-Mat, the beautiful
Temple on the Island and the great colonnaded Temple of Amen, upon
which, at the command of Pharaoh Akhten-aton, work had but recently been
relinquished.
Indeed, without Thoth to assist him, who could have raised the two great
statues of the late Pharaoh, over seven hundred tons in weight. Who could
have lifted above the court the stupendous architraves of his Mortuary
Temple, two hundred tons of stone, and, finally, who could have perfected
the huge stone tablet, thirty feet in height, and covered it with gold
and gems? None but the God Thoth, of course!
But, would Thoth willingly stop the Sunboat and descend to earth merely
to raise for men monuments that should rival the very halls of the gods
themselves?
Not unless compelled thereto by the fact that his _Names_ were known to
mortals, his stolen _Talismans_ in the possession of some inhabitant of
earth.
One object alone on earth contained those Hidden Names and Talismans,
together with the “Utterances” which could compel both Thoth and Set to
leave their appointed places in the sky and descend to earth.
This series of irresistible “incantations,” these compelling
“utterances” which could thus drag the very gods from heaven, were all
contained in the “Luminous Book of Thoth.”
Herein were inscribed the Hidden Names of all the Gods, the Triads, the
Enneads of the Sky. Herein were the Mysterious Names of the Keepers of
the Double Gates of Heaven; of the Serpents that guard the approaches of
Duat, of Ra in his Boat, of Osiris on his Throne!
So awe-inspiring a hold upon the imagination of the Thebans had the
legend of this mysterious Book that its name was never mentioned. Rarely,
indeed, was it alluded to by the priests.
Like that of Pharaoh, the sun-god manifest in the flesh, like that of
the Unseen Statue of the Great Temple of Amen, like that of the abhorred
Crocodile God of Ombos, its name was never taken upon the lips.
When the architect Amenhotep, son of Hap, was gathered to his fathers,
Pharaoh commanded that he should be buried beneath a little temple which
stood somewhat to the south of his own stupendous mortuary temple.
Here, for a time, Unis had acted as lector, intoning the prayers and
offering to the hidden _ka_-statue of the dead architect the various
portions of meat, bread and wine with which Pharaoh had endowed the tomb,
out of taxes received from the nearby town of Onit. In so doing, Unis
stood immediately above the subterranean chamber in which the mummy of
Amenhotep lay.
Unis had been called from his duties at the son of Hap’s tomb by Enana,
and set to work among the ancient manuscripts of the great library of
Amen.
Enana would have him find some clue to the present whereabouts of the
Book of Thoth. As he loved life and feared death he was told to keep for
his master’s ears alone any news to this effect.
Unis soon became an initiate of the Sorcerers of Amen, then minor prophet
of Amen. With such a powerful master as Enana, first Magician of the
Temple, Unis felt that he should go far. He gave himself up wholly to the
work in hand. Certain hints gleaned from the documents led him to believe
that the Book had, as of old, been secreted in a tomb, in this case an
unnamed tomb on the western shore.
Unis took up his residence in one of the abandoned tombs. With
unremitting assiduity and stoical fortitude he spent day after day among
the excoriated boulders, the dusty mounds, the bat-infested shafts and
tumbled-in shrines which constituted the older corner of the Theban
necropolis.
In this fruitless search the Gods Hunger and Thirst were his only
companions.
Unis turned once more to the library. With indomitable patience he
continued his researches among its unending shelves of musty documents.
Soon he noticed that the name of Amenhotep, the son of Hap, was very
frequently coupled with that of the lost Book. In fact, Unis finally
convinced himself that the Book lay buried with the body of that old
sage, in the subterranean vault of the little temple at which he had
formerly served.
Armed with permission to spend a night in the temple, Unis waited until
Ahmes, the present _ka_-priest, had retired into the outer forecourt,
in an alcove of which he slept. When the aged priest had snuffed
out his lamp, Unis descended into the vault immediately beneath the
offering-tablet and altar.
With determined perseverance, Unis tapped walls and floor, slowly,
systematically. In the western corner of the floor his work met with
success. The pavement thereabouts emitted a hollow sound. In a few
moments Unis had lifted a square slab which fitted so nicely to the
floor that the joints had been invisible. Lamp in hand, Unis descended a
short flight of steps, picked his way along an uneven rocky passage, and
presently stood in the vaulted tomb-chamber of the son of Hap.
For an instant unreasoning fear clutched at the heart of the reckless
priest. There stood the alabaster sarcophagus which held the body of the
sage. Unis read the inscription engraved upon the side: “Amenhotep, born
of Yatu; his father Hap, son of Hap, Justified of Osiris.” There lay
Amenhotep and, with him, the Book.
The Book! Unis’ fears vanished. Trembling with excitement and high
hopes the young priest set himself to his self-imposed task. It was an
auspicious night in the calendar of the prophets of Amen! The Star of
Thoth was in the ascendent!
Unis set to work with a short, stout bronze bar. Hour after hour went by
unnoted by the feverishly excited youth.
At last the stone cover yielded to his efforts. Unis’ eyes gleamed with
joy and anticipation. Enana, his master, would be hailed as one with
Imhotep, builder of the pyramids, with Ptahhotep the Philosopher, with
Amenhotep, son of Hap, himself! Perhaps he too would compel the gods to
do his bidding!
Unis gave a last push to the great cover. It fell to the sand-covered
floor with a dull thud. He lowered the lamp. There before him was the
outer coffin of the old sage. This, in turn, Unis lifted and found,
beneath, the gem-crusted coffin—solid gold it seemed—in which Amenhotep’s
royal master had caused the son of Hap to be placed.
The heat in the little chamber was intense. The blood in Unis’ temples
throbbed with his exertions. His body gleamed in the flickering light;
perspiration ran from every pore. For a time the youth returned to the
upper chamber where he could fill his lungs with the purer and cooler air.
But not for long. In a few moments he returned to the tomb chamber. He
lifted the gorgeous coffin-lid from the linen-swathed form it concealed.
At once the stifling odor of myrrh, liquidambar, cinnamon, and other
strong essences again almost overcame him.
Unis bent down. With an effort he lifted the mummified figure. He
felt about underneath the head. Nothing! Unis tried the feet of the
tightly-draped figure. No book!
Then Unis did something for which he knew punishment on earth was
severe. What might be his fate in the hereafter Unis did not dare to
think! Lifting the body from the coffin altogether, he commenced slowly
and methodically to unwrap it. Yard upon yard of aromatic linens he
loosened, until finally nothing but the blackened form of Amenhotep lay
before him.
No eyes had Unis for the jewels with which Amenhotep’s sorrowing
master had covered the dead architect. The throbbing brain of Unis was
concentrated upon but one thing, the Magic Book.
It was not in the wrappings. It was not between the knees of the
deceased, where, as Unis knew, so often documents are placed. It was not
between the folded hands of Amenhotep. It was neither at his head nor at
his feet.
Unis replaced the body in its coffin, throwing the linens in upon it
pellmell. He covered it with its two wooden covers. The great stone outer
cover he knew must stay where it had fallen. He could have that replaced
by others, following his report on the present condition of the extra
wrappings of the son of Hap, which had been his ostensible reason for
entering the tomb.
Unis once again took mallet in hand. He carefully and methodically
examined both walls and floor.
He dared not rap upon the False Door. Behind it slept Amenhotep’s living
self, as represented by his statue.
Unis had far more terror of that enchanted wooden portrait of the dead
man than he had of the body; the shell, of Amenhotep itself.
Alas, all his efforts were in vain. The Book of Books was not in the tomb.
Bitterly disappointed, Unis stooped to pick up his flickering lamp. As
he did so his eyes fell upon a gleaming object which was almost hidden
in the sand at his feet. Mechanically he picked it up and glanced at the
blue and green inlays. The _tat_-emblem and solar-disc upon its gold base
showed it to be the scarab-ring of Amenhotep, son of Hap.
From that date, Unis spent all the daylight hours among the tombs of the
Theban cemetery. He systematically covered every foot of the hill-side,
entering both the ancient tombs, and the modern, as far as he was
allowed. At night he delved among the ancient scrolls of the library of
Amen.
Each night upon his return he had been met by the impatient Enana. Every
night, week in, week out, he had perforce to shake his head, to spread
his scratched and often bleeding hands deprecatingly.
Of late Unis’ step had lost its elasticity. An unnatural brightness
glistened in his sunken eyes. To-night, especially, Enana’s mind had been
filled with anxiety for his safety.
Unis should have rounded the point by the tamarisk grove hours ago.
Enana’s anxiety was not for Unis. His one thought was of the Book. The
Book he must have, if he would put his present plans into effect.
Had the young priest but known it, he was the third person sacrificed by
Enana, the Magician, to the finding of the Book.
As Enana turned to enter the low doorway of the tomb in which Unis had
recently taken up his quarters, an unusual light in the valley below
caught his attention. He paused. At the foot of the steep incline, at the
upper reaches of which he stood, moved an unnatural pinkish flame. It
seemed to palpitate, to wax and wane as it moved, for move it did.
Nearer, ever nearer, it came, constantly growing larger and brighter,
until suddenly by its light Enana recognized the pallid face of Unis, his
assistant.
As Unis came towards him the overjoyed Enana noticed that his long thin
arms were held straight out before him, that there, upon his upturned
palms lay—the Luminous Book!
It needed no word of Unis to tell him what it was. The light that glowed
about its pure white leather cover proved it the Book of Books.
The overjoyed Magician advanced toward the young priest, but suddenly
halted, as he caught the horrible expression which distorted the latter’s
livid face. It was as if Unis was being compelled against his will to
hold the Book.
Unis’ eyes were open, but they did not seem to see. His feet carried him
along, whither he seemed not to care. Foam flecked his blackened lips;
beads of perspiration stood out upon his forehead.
Gazing straight before him, slowly Unis advanced. Hesitating for a bare
second at the threshold of the doorway—one might have supposed that
he was unfamiliar with it—he slowly entered the chamber, set the Book
carefully down upon a cedar table near the upper wall, turned and left as
silently as he had entered.
The room, which had formerly been in total darkness, was now illumined as
though by a temple lamp. For a moment Unis paused, turned his unseeing
eyes full upon his master, the next he had vanished behind a great stone
stela which stood beside the ancient tomb which had been his dwelling
place.
Far better it had been for Unis had he continued to fear the pursuing
fury of the _ka_-statue of the son of Hap!
Alas for Unis! Searching one day through the manuscripts of the library
of Hotephra, Great High Priest of Amen, he had stumbled upon the son of
Hap’s will. It lay folded in the High Priest’s copy of the temple ritual.
The secret hiding-place of the Book was thus revealed to him.