The Pharaoh and the Priest. Bolesław Prus

with the onrush of business as Thou art this day. They wish to see, judge, and command everything; hence the affairs of their states are entangled for a century to come. But were some insignificant scribe to go from Egypt to those kings, explain their errors of management, and give them our official system, our pyramid, in a year's time Judaea and Phoenicia would fall into the hands of the Assyrians, and in a few tens of years powerful armies, coming from the East and the North by laud and by sea, would hurl themselves on us, armies which we might not be able to vanquish."

      "Therefore let us fall on them today and take advantage of their want of order," cried Ramses.

      "We are not cured yet of previous victories," answered Herhor, coldly; and he began to take leave of the viceroy.

      "Have victories weakened us?" burst out the heir. "Or have we not brought home treasures?"

      "But does not the axe with which we cut wood become blunted?" inquired

       Herhor; and he went out.

      The prince understood that the great minister wished peace at all costs, in spite of the fact that he was chief of the armies.

      "We shall see," whispered Ramses to himself.

      A couple of days before his departure Ramses was summoned to his holiness. The pharaoh was sitting in an armchair in a marble hall; no other person was present, and the four entrances were guarded by Nubian sentries.

      At the side of the royal armchair was a stool for the prince, and a small table covered with documents written on papyrus. On the walls were colored bas-reliefs showing the occupations of field-workers, and in the comers of the hall were ungraceful statues of Osiris smiling pensively.

      When the prince at command of his father sat down, his holiness spoke to him,

      "Here, my son, are thy documents as leader and viceroy. Well, have the first days of power wearied thee?"

      "In thy service, holiness, I shall find strength."

      "Flatterer!" said the pharaoh, smiling. "Remember that I do not require overwork on thy part. Amuse thyself; youth needs recreation. This does not mean, however, that Thou art not to have important affairs to manage."

      "I am ready."

      "First I will disclose my cares to thee. Our treasury has a bad aspect; the inflow of revenue decreases yearly, especially in Lower Egypt, and expenditures are rising."

      The pharaoh fell to thinking.

      "Those women those women, Ramses, they swallow up the wealth, not of mortal men only, but my wealth. I have some hundreds of them, and each woman wishes to have as many maids as possible, as many dressmakers, barbers, slaves, slaves for her litter, slaves for her chamber, horses, oarsmen, even her own favorites and their children Little children! When I was returning from Thebes one of those ladies, whom I do not even remember, ran into my road and, showing a sturdy boy of three years, desired that I should designate for him a property, since he was, as she said, a son of mine. My son, and three years of age. Canst Thou understand this? The affair was simple. I could not argue with a woman, besides, in such a delicate question. But for a man of noble birth it is easier to be polite than find money for every fancy of that sort."

      He shook his head and continued,

      "Meanwhile incomes since the beginning of my reign have decreased one- half, especially in Lower Egypt. I ask what this means. They answer: people have grown poor, many citizens have disappeared, the sea has covered a certain extent of land on the north, and the desert on the east, we have had a number of bad harvests; in a word, tale follows tale while the treasury becomes poorer and poorer. Therefore I beg thee to explain this matter. Look about, learn to know well-informed men who are truthful, and form of them an examining commission. When they begin to report, trust not over-much to papyrus, but verify here and there in person. I hear that Thou hast the eye of a leader; if that be true, one glance will tell thee how accurate the statements of the commission are. But hasten not in giving thy opinion, and above all, do not herald it. Note down every weighty conclusion which conies to thy head on a given day, and when a few days have passed reexamine that question and note it down a second time. This will teach thee caution in judgment and accuracy in grasping subjects."

      "It will be as Thou commandest," replied the prince.

      "Another mission which Thou must accomplish is truly difficult. Something is happening in Assyria which begins to alarm my government. Our priests declare that beyond the Northern sea stands a pyramidal mountain covered with green at its base and with snow on the summit. This mountain has marvelous qualities. After many years of quiet it begins all at once to smoke, roar, and tremble, and then it hurls out as much liquid fire as there is water in the Nile. This fire, which flows down its sides in various directions and over an immense stretch of country, ruins the labor of earth-tillers.

      "Well, Assyria is a mountain of that sort. For whole ages calm and quiet reign in that region, till all on a sudden a tempest bursts out there, great armies pour forth from it and annihilate peaceful neighbors. At present around Nineveh and Babylon seething is audible: the mountain is smoking. Thou must learn therefore how far that smoke indicates an outburst, and think out means of precaution."

      "Shall I be able to do so?" asked the prince, in a low voice.

      "Thou must learn to observe. If Thou hast the wish to learn anything well, be not satisfied with the witness of thy own eyes, but strengthen thyself with the aid of a number of others. Confine not thyself to the judgment of Egyptians alone, for each people, each man has a special way of looking at subjects, and neither one grasps the whole truth in any question. Listen therefore to what the Phoenicians, the Hebrews, the Hittites, and the Egyptians think of the Assyrians, and weigh in thy own heart with care all that agrees in their judgments concerning Assyria. If all tell thee that danger is coming from that point, Thou wilt know that it is coming; but if different men speak variously, be on thy guard also, for wisdom commands us to look for less good and more evil."

      "Thy speech is like that of the gods," whispered the heir of Egypt,

      "I am old, and from the height of the throne things are seen of which mortal men have not even a suspicion. Wert Thou to inquire of the sun what he thinks of this world's affairs, he would tell thee things still more curious."

      "Among the people from whom I am to gain knowledge of Assyria, Thou hast not mentioned the Greeks, O father," put in Ramses.

      The pharaoh nodded, and said with a kindly smile,

      "The Greeks! oh, the Greeks! A great future is in store for that people. In comparison with us they are in childhood, but what a spirit is in them!

      "Dost remember my statue made by a Greek sculptor? That is my second self, a living person! I kept it a month in the palace, but at last I gave it to the temple in Thebes. Wilt Thou believe, fear seized me lest that stone should rise from its seat and claim one-half of the government. What a disorder would rise then in Egypt!

      "The Greeks! Hast Thou seen the vases which they make, the palaces which they build? From that clay out there and from stone something comes that delights my old age and forbids me to think of my feebleness.

      "And their language! O gods, it is music and sculpture and painting. In truth, I say that if Egypt could ever die as a man dies, the Greeks would take all its property. Nay more, they would persuade the world that everything done by us was their work, and that we never existed. And still they are only the pupils of our primary schools, for, as Thou knowest, we have no right to communicate the highest knowledge to foreigners."

      "Still, father, it seems that Thou hast no trust in the Greeks."

      "No, for they are peculiar; one can trust neither Greek nor Phoenician. The Phoenician, when he wishes, sees and will tell thee genuine truth of Egypt, but Thou wilt never know when he is telling it. The Greek, as simple as a child, would tell the truth always, but he is never able.

      "The Greeks look at the world in a manner different altogether from our way. In their wonderful eyes everything glitters, assumes colors and changes, as the sky and the water of Egypt.