Chapter 27

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 counselor 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 marvelous 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 Ramses, 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 Ramses 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 Ramses 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 Ramses 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 maneuvers 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, Ramses, 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, Ramses, as a traveler 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. [Mina equals one and a half kilograms.] 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."

The priests whispered to one another without hiding their wonder. Even the prince forgot the man tortured to death beneath the pavement.

"Today," 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 Ramses, "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 Ramses.

"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 to the court. "In this figure the pebbles deposited by warriors of the time of Ramses 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.

"Today," 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 Me f res. "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 Ramses, Thou wilt ascend the throne," added Mefres, "Thou wilt fulfill this sacred duty to the gods and to Egypt."

"Yes, fulfill it! free thy people from unbelievers!" cried the priests.

Ramses 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 Ramses.

"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 laud which supported two millions of people."

In the assembly again rose a murmur of horror.

"And dost Thou know, O Ramses, 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."

Ramses 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."

Ramses listened with attention, and walked away in silence.