The temple received Pentuer with great honor, and the inferior priests
went out half an hour's journey to greet him. From all the wonderful
places of Lower Egypt many prophets had assembled with the intent to
hear words of wisdom. A couple of days later came the high priest
Mefres and the prophet Mentezufis. These two rendered honor to
Pentuer, not only because he was a counsellor of Herhor and
notwithstanding his youth a member of the supreme college, but because
this priest enjoyed favor throughout Egypt. The gods had given him a
memory which seemed more than human; they had given him eloquence, and
above all a marvellous gift of clear vision. In every affair he saw
points hidden from others, and was able to explain them in a way
understood by all listeners.
More than one nomarch, or high official of the pharaoh, on learning
that Pentuer was to celebrate a religious solemnity in the temple of
Hator, envied the humblest priest, since he would hear a man inspired
by divinities.
The priests who went forth to greet Pentuer felt sure that that
dignitary would show himself in a court chariot, or in a litter borne
by eight slaves. What was their amazement at beholding a lean ascetic,
bareheaded, wearing a coarse garment, riding on a she ass, and
unattended! He greeted them with great humility, and when they
conducted him to the temple he made an offering to the divinity and
went straightway to examine the place of the coming festival.
Thenceforth no one saw Pentuer, but in the temple and the adjoining
courts there was an uncommon activity. Men brought costly furniture,
grain, garments. A number of hundreds of pupils and workmen were freed
from their employments; with these Pentuer shut himself up in the
court and worked at preparations.
After eight days of hard labor he informed the high priest of Hator
that all things were ready.
During this time Prince Rameses, who was hidden in his cell, gave
himself up to prayer and fasting. At last on a certain date about
three hours after midday a number of priests, arrayed in two ranks,
came and invited him to the solemnity.
In the vestibule of the temple the high priest greeted the prince, and
with him burned incense before the great statue of Hator. Then they
turned to a low, narrow corridor, at the end of which a fire was
burning. The air of the corridor was filled with the odor of pitch
which was boiling in a kettle. Near the kettle, through an opening in
the pavement, rose dreadful groans and curses.
"What does that mean?" inquired Rameses of a priest among those
attending him.
The priest gave no answer; on the faces as far as could be seen
emotion and terror were evident.
At this moment the high priest Mefres seized a great ladle, took
boiling pitch from the kettle, and said in loud accents,--
"May all perish thus who divulge temple secrets!"
Next he poured pitch into the opening in the pavement, and from below
came a roar,--
"Ye are killing me. Oh, if ye have in your hearts even a trace of
compassion," groaned a voice.
"May the worms gnaw thy body," said Mentezufis, as he poured melted
pitch into the opening.
"Dogs--jackals!" groaned the voice.
"May thy heart be consumed by fire and its ashes be hurled into the
desert," said the next priest, repeating the ceremony.
"O gods! is it possible to suffer as I do?" was the answer from
beneath the pavement.
"May thy soul, with the image of its shame and its crime, wander
onward through places where live happy people," said a second priest;
and he poured another ladle of burning pitch into the aperture.
"Oh, may the earth devour you!--mercy!--let me breathe!"
Before the turn came to Rameses the voice underground was silent.
"So do the gods punish traitors," said the high priest of the temple
to the viceroy.
The prince halted, and fixed on him eyes full of anger. It seemed to
Rameses that he would burst out with indignation, and leave that
assembly of executioners; but he felt a fear of the gods and advanced
behind others in silence.
The haughty heir understood now that there was a power before which
the pharaohs incline. He was seized by despair almost; he wished to
flee, to renounce the throne. Meanwhile he held silence and walked on,
surrounded by priests chanting prayers.
"Now I know," thought he, "where people go who are unpleasant to the
servants of divinity." But this thought did not decrease his horror.
Leaving the narrow corridor full of smoke, the procession found itself
on an elevation beneath the open sky. Below was an immense court
surrounded on three sides by low buildings instead of a wall. From the
place where the priests halted was a kind of amphitheatre with five
broad platforms by which it was possible to pass along the whole court
or to descend to the bottom.
In the court no one was present, but certain people were looking out
of buildings.
The high priest Mefres, as chief dignitary in the assembly, presented
Pentuer to the viceroy. The mild face of the ascetic did not
harmonize with the horrors which had taken place in the corridor; so
the prince wondered. To say something, he said to Pentuer,--
"It seems to me that I have met thee somewhere, pious father?"
"The past year at the manoeuvres near Pi-Bailos. I was there with his
worthiness Herhor."
The resonant and calm voice of Pentuer arrested the prince. He had
heard that voice on some uncommon occasion. But where and when had he
heard it?
In every case the priest made an agreeable impression. If he could
only forget the cries of that man whom they had covered with boiling
pitch!
"We may begin," said Mefres.
Pentuer went to the middle of the amphitheatre and clapped his hands.
From the low buildings a crowd of female dancers issued forth, and
priests came out with music, also with a small statue of the goddess
Hator. The musicians preceded, the dancers followed, performing a
sacred dance; finally the statue moved on surrounded by the smoke of
censers. In this way they went around the court and stopping after
every few steps, implored the divinity for a blessing, and asked evil
spirits to leave the enclosure, where there was to be a solemnity full
of secrets.
When the procession had returned to the buildings, Pentuer stepped
forward. Dignitaries present to the number of two or three hundred
gathered round him.
"By the will of his holiness the pharaoh," began Pentuer, "and with
consent of the supreme priestly power, we are to initiate the heir to
the throne, Rameses, into some details of life in Egypt, details known
only to the divinities who govern the country and the temples. I know,
worthy fathers, that each of you would enlighten the young prince
better in these things than I can; ye are full of wisdom, and the
goddess Mut speaks through you. But since the duty has fallen on me,
who in presence of you am but dust and a pupil, permit me to
accomplish it under your worthy inspection and guidance."
A murmur of satisfaction was heard among the learned priests at this
manner. Pentuer turned to the viceroy.
"For some months, O servant of the gods, Rameses, as a traveller lost
in the desert seeks a road, so thou art seeking an answer to the
question: Why has the income of the holy pharaoh diminished, and why
is it decreasing? Thou hast asked the nomarchs, and though they
explained according to their power, thou wert not satisfied, though
the highest human wisdom belongs to those dignitaries. Thou didst turn
to the chief scribes, but in spite of their efforts these men were
like birds in a net, unable to free themselves without assistance, for
the reason of man, though trained in the school of scribes, is not in
a position to take in the immensity of these questions. At last,
wearied by barren explanations, thou didst examine the lands of the
provinces, their people, the works of their hands, but didst arrive at
nothing. For there are things of which people are silent as stones,
but concerning which even stones will give answer if light from the
gods only falls on them.
"When in this manner all these earthly powers and wisdoms disappointed
thee, thou didst turn to the gods. Barefoot, thy head sprinkled with
ashes, thou didst come in the guise of a penitent to this great
sanctuary, where by means of suffering and prayer thou hast purified
thy body and strengthened thy spirit. The gods--but especially the
mighty Hator--listened to thy prayers, and through my unworthy lips
give an answer, and mayst thou write it down in thy heart profoundly."
"Whence does he know," thought the prince, meanwhile, "that I asked
the scribes and nomarchs? Aha! Mefres and Mentezufis told him. For
that matter, they know everything."
"Listen," continued Pentuer, "and I will discover to thee, with
permission of these dignitaries, what Egypt was four hundred years ago
in the reign of the most glorious and pious nineteenth Theban dynasty,
and what it is at present.
"When the first pharaoh of that dynasty, Ramen-Pehuti-Ramessu, assumed
power over the country, the income of the treasury in wheat, cattle,
beer, skins, vessels, and various articles rose to a hundred and
thirty thousand talents. If a people had existed who could exchange
gold for all these goods, the pharaoh would have had yearly one
hundred and thirty-three thousand minas of gold.[15] And since one
warrior can carry on his shoulders the weight of twenty-six minas,
about five thousand warriors would have been needed to carry that
treasure."
[15] Mina = one and a half kilograms.
The priests whispered to one another without hiding their wonder. Even
the prince forgot the man tortured to death beneath the pavement.
"To-day," said Pentuer, "the yearly income of his holiness for all
products of his land is worth only ninety-eight thousand talents. For
these it would be possible to obtain as much gold as four thousand
warriors could carry."
"That the income of the state has decreased greatly, I know," said
Rameses, "but what is the cause of this?"
"Be patient, O servant of the gods," replied Pentuer. "It is not the
income of his holiness alone that is subject to decrease. During the
nineteenth dynasty Egypt had under arms one hundred and eighty
thousand warriors. If by the action of the gods every soldier of that
time had been turned into a pebble the size of a grape--"
"That cannot be!" said Rameses.
"The gods can do anything," answered Mefres, the high priest,
severely.
"But better," continued Pentuer, "if each soldier were to place on the
ground one pebble, there would be one hundred and eighty thousand
pebbles; and, look, worthy fathers, these pebbles would occupy so much
space." He pointed to a quadrangle of reddish color in the court. "In
this figure the pebbles deposited by warriors of the time of Rameses
I. would find their places. This figure is nine yards long and about
five wide. This figure is ruddy; it has the color of Egyptian bodies,
for in those days all our warriors were Egyptian exclusively."
The priests began to whisper a second time. The prince frowned, for
that seemed to him a reprimand, since he loved foreign soldiers.
"To-day," said Pentuer, "we assemble one hundred and twenty thousand
warriors with great difficulty. If each one of those cast his pebble
on the ground, they would form a figure of this sort. Look this way,
worthiness." At the side of the first quadrangle lay a second of the
same width, but considerably shorter; its color was not uniform
either, but was composed of a number of colors. "This figure," said
Pentuer, "is about five yards wide, but is only six yards in length.
An immense number of men is now lacking,--our army has lost one-third
of its warriors."
"Wisdom of men like thee, O prophet, will bring more good to the state
than an army," interrupted the high priest.
Pentuer bent before him and continued,--
"In this new figure which represents the present army of the pharaoh
ye see, worthy men, besides the ruddy color which designates Egyptians
by blood, three other stripes,--black, white, and yellow. They
represent mercenary divisions,--Ethiopians, Asiatics, Greeks, and
Libyans. There are thirty thousand of them altogether, but they cost
as much as fifty thousand Egyptians."
"We must do away with foreign regiments at the earliest," said Mefres.
"They are costly, unsuitable, and teach our people infidelity and
insolence. At present there are many Egyptians who do not fall on
their faces before the priests; more, some of them have gone so far as
to steal from graves and temples."
"Therefore away with the mercenaries!" said Mefres, passionately. "The
country has received from them nothing save harm, and our neighbors
suspect us of hostile ideas."
"Away with mercenaries! Dismiss these unruly infidels!" cried the
priests.
"When in years to come, O Rameses, thou wilt ascend the throne," added
Mefres, "thou wilt fulfil this sacred duty to the gods and to Egypt."
"Yes, fulfil it! free thy people from unbelievers!" cried the priests.
Rameses bent his head, and was silent. The blood flew to his heart. He
felt that the ground was trembling under him.
He was to dismiss the best part of the army,--he, who would like to
have twice as great an army and four times as many mercenary warriors.
"They are pitiless with me," thought Rameses.
"Speak on, O Pentuer, sent down from heaven to us," said Mefres.
"So then, holy men," continued Pentuer, "we have learned of two
misfortunes,--the pharaoh's income has decreased, and his army is
diminished."
"What need of an army?" grumbled the high priest, shaking his head
contemptuously.
"And now, with the favor of the gods and your permission, I will
explain why it has happened thus, why the treasury will decrease
further, and troops be still fewer in the future."
The prince raised his head and looked at the speaker. He thought no
longer now of the man put to death beneath the corridor.
Pentuer passed a number of steps along the amphitheatre, and after him
the dignitaries.
"Do ye see at your feet that long, narrow strip of green with a broad
triangular space at the end of it? On both sides of the strip lie
limestone, granite, and, behind these, sandy places. In the middle of
the green flows a stream, which in the triangular space is divided
into a number of branches."
"That is the Nile! That is Egypt!" cried the priests.
"But look," interrupted Mefres, with emotion. "I will discover the
river. Do ye see those two blue veins running from the elbow to the
hand? Is not that the Nile and its canals, which begins opposite the
Alabaster mountains and flows to Fayum? And look at the back of my
hand: there are as many veins there as the sacred river has branches
below Memphis. And do not my fingers remind you of the number of
branches through which the Nile sends its waters to the sea?"
"A great truth!" exclaimed the priests, looking at their hands.
"Here, I tell you," continued the excited high priest, "that Egypt is
the trace of the arm of Osiris. Here on this land the great god rested
his arm: in Thebes lay his divine elbow, his fingers reached the sea,
and the Nile is his veins. What wonder that we call this country
blessed!"
"Evidently," said the priest, "Egypt is the express imprint of the arm
of Osiris."
"Has Osiris seven fingers on his hand," interrupted the prince, "for
the Nile has seven branches falling into the sea?"
Deep silence followed.
"Young man," retorted Mefres, with kindly irony, "dost suppose that
Osiris could not have seven fingers if it pleased him?"
"Of course he could!" said the other priests.
"Speak on, renowned Pentuer," said Mentezufis.
"Ye are right, worthy fathers," began Pentuer: "this stream with its
branches is a picture of the Nile; the narrow strip of green bounded
by stones and sand is Upper Egypt, and that triangular space, cut with
veins, is a picture of Lower Egypt, the most extensive and richest
part of the country.
"Well, in the beginning of the nineteenth dynasty, all Egypt, from the
cataract to the sea, included five hundred thousand measures of land.
On every measure lived sixteen persons: men, women, and children. But
during four hundred succeeding years almost with each generation a
piece of fertile soil was lost to Egypt."
The speaker made a sign. A number of young priests ran out of the
building and sprinkled sand on various parts of the green area.
"During each generation," continued the priest, "fertile land
diminished, and the narrow strip of it became much narrower. At
present our country instead of five hundred thousand measures has only
four hundred thousand--or during two dynasties Egypt has lost land
which supported two millions of people."
In the assembly again rose a murmur of horror.
"And dost thou know, O Rameses, servant of the gods, whither those
spaces have vanished where on a time were fields of wheat and barley,
or where flocks and herds pastured? Thou knowest that sands of the
desert have covered them. But has any one told thee why this came to
pass? It came to pass because there was a lack of men who with buckets
and ploughs fight the desert from morning till evening. Finally, dost
thou know why these toilers of the gods disappeared? Whither did they
go? What swept them out of the country? Foreign wars did it. Our
nobles conquered enemies, our pharaohs immortalized their worthy names
as far away as the Euphrates River, but like beasts of burden our
common men carried food for them, they carried water, they carried
other weights, and died along the road by thousands.
"To avenge those bones scattered now throughout eastern deserts, the
western sands have swallowed our fields, and it would require immense
toil and many generations to win back that dark Egyptian earth from
the sand grave which covers it."
"Listen! listen!" cried Mefres, "some god is speaking through the lips
of Pentuer. It is true that our victorious wars are the grave of
Egypt."
Rameses could not collect his thoughts. It seemed to him that
mountains of sand were falling on his head at that moment.
"I have said," continued Pentuer, "that great labor would be needed to
dig out Egypt and restore the old-time wealth devoured by warfare. But
have we the power to carry out that project?"
Again he advanced some steps, and after him the excited listeners.
Since Egypt became Egypt, no one had displayed so searchingly the
disasters of the country, though all men knew that they had happened.
"During the nineteenth dynasty Egypt had eight millions of
inhabitants. If every man, woman, old man, and child had put down in
this place one bean, the grains would make a figure of this kind."
He indicated with his hand a court where one by the side of another
lay eight great quadrangles covered with red beans.
"That figure is sixty yards long, thirty yards wide, and as ye see,
pious fathers, the grains composing it are of the same kind, for the
people of that time were from Egyptian grandfathers and
great-grandfathers. But look now."
He went farther, and indicated another group of quadrangles of various
colors.
"Ye see this figure which is thirty yards wide, but only forty-five
yards in length. Why is this? Because there are in it only six
quadrangles, for at present Egypt has not eight, but only six millions
of inhabitants. Consider, besides, that as the former figure was
composed exclusively of red Egyptian beans, in the present one are
immense strips of black, yellow, and white beans. For in our army and
among the people there are now very many foreigners: black Ethiopians,
yellow Syrians and Phoenicians, white Greeks and Libyans."
They interrupted him. The priests who listened began to embrace him;
Mefres was weeping.
"Never yet has there been such a prophet. One cannot imagine when he
could make such calculations," said the best mathematician in the
temple of Hator.
"Fathers," said Pentuer, "do not overestimate my services. Long years
ago in our temples the condition of the state was represented in this
manner. I have only disinterred that which later generations had in
some degree forgotten."
"But the reckoning?" asked the mathematician.
"The reckonings are continued unbrokenly in all the provinces and
temples," replied Pentuer. "The general amounts are found in the
palace of his holiness."
"But the figures?" exclaimed the mathematician.
"Our fields are arranged in just such figures, and the geometers of
the state study them at school."
"We know not what to admire most in this priest, his wisdom or his
humility," said Mefres. "Since we have such a man, the gods have not
forgotten us."
At that moment the guard watching on the pylons of the temple summoned
those present to prayer.
"In the evening I will finish the explanations," said Pentuer; "now I
will say a few words in addition.
"Ye inquire, worthy fathers, why I use beans for these pictures. I do
so because a grain put in the ground brings a harvest to the
husbandmen yearly; so a man brings tribute every year to the treasury.
"If in any province two million less beans are sown than in past
years, the following harvest will be notably less, and the
earth-tillers will have a poorer income. In the state also, when two
millions of population are gone, the inflow of taxes must diminish."
Rameses listened with attention, and walked away in silence.