Pharaoh

“ The Pharaoh, my father, and I, the Queen of the Upper and the Lower Lands, return thanks to you, our people of this city, for your loyal greetings. But as for the words that the Prince Abi has spoken, we understand them not. My prayer is that the Pharaoh may still reign in glory for many years, but if he departs and I remain, learn, O people, that you have naught to fear from the weakness and inexperience of your Queen. Learn also that she seeks no husband, nor when she seeks will she ever find one within the walls of Memphis. ”

“ Man, as far as his body was concerned, and god in virtue of his soul and its attributes, the Pharaoh, in right of this double nature, acted as a constant mediator between heaven and earth. He alone was fit to transmit the prayers of men to his fathers and his brethren the gods. Just as the head of a family was in his household the priest par excellence of the gods of that family,—just as the chief of a nome was in his nome the priest par excellence in regard to the gods of the nome,—so was Pharaoh the priest par excellence of the gods of all Egypt, who were his special deities. ”

“ Pharaohs have I seen come and go, one and two and three, and four and five, but never yet have I seen a Pharaoh whom none of his councillors or guards could obey however much they willed it. When you are Pharaoh, Prince Seti, may your luck be better. Your arm, Ana, my friend, and lead on, Royal Heir of Egypt. The truth is shown to blind eyes that will not see. ”

“ And Pharaoh said, ‘ O Hâmân ! build for me a tower, haply I may reach the tracts, — the tracts of heaven, and may mount up to the God of Moses, for, verily, I think him a liar.’
40 And thus was his evil deed made seemly to Pharaoh, and he was turned from the way; but Pharaoh’s stratagem ended only in ruin, and he who believed said, ‘ O my people ! follow me, I will guide you to the way of the right direction. O my people ! verily, the life of this world is but a provision, but, verily, the hereafter, that is the abode of stability! ”

“ But get up on thy feet that I may tell thee whom my lord the king is like and to whom his nobles are like.’
49 And Pharaoh was perplexed by the freedom of his tongue and his boldness in answering. Then Pharaoh arose from his throne, and stood before Haiqâr, and said to him, ‘Tell me now, that I may perceive whom thy lord the king is like, and his nobles, to whom they are like.’
50 And Haiqâr said to him: ‘My lord is the God of heaven, and his nobles are the lightnings and the thunder, and when he wills the winds blow and the rain falls. ”

“ At last he rose, and said,—
“Never will there be a lack of men eager for the title of pharaoh. We have more of them perhaps than are needed. Luckily, the gods themselves, in setting aside useless rivals, have indicated a man most worthy of power, and it seems to me that I shall act wisely if, instead of receiving the crown offered me graciously, I answer,—
“May he live through eternity, his holiness, San-Amen-Herhor, the first pharaoh of a new dynasty!” ”

“ Then with one voice both the prophets spoke, pointing with their wands to Pharaoh:
“In the Name of the Lord God we curse you, Pharaoh, who soon shall die and make answer for this sin. The people of Egypt we curse also. Ruin shall be their portion; death shall be their bread and blood shall they drink in a great darkness. Moreover, at the last Pharaoh shall let the people go.” ”

“ Cope with His wrathful strength, who wields the thunder,
And looketh on the wide extended earth,
Even as a little thing?—Thy heart is raised,
Yea, lifted up in pride and vanity,
For thine exalted power and high estate—
But know'st thou not that He who raiseth up,
Can bring thee low e'en to the very dust,
And change thy glory into emptiness?
Then waken not the terrors of His wrath,
Nor scorn his mandate—let this people go!”
But Pharaoh harden'd still his heart, till God,
With a high hand, brought out his chosen people,
And whelm'd the might of Egypt in the wave. ”

“ And Pharaoh was dressed in a red colour, and the nobles were dressed in white.
37 And Pharaoh said to him ‘O Abiqâm, whom am I like? and the nobles of my kingdom, to whom are they like?’
38 And Abiqâm said to him, ‘O my lord! thou art like the sun, and thy servants are like its beams.’ And Pharaoh said to him, ‘Go to thy dwelling, and come hither to-morrow.’
39 Then Pharaoh commanded his Court to wear pure white, and Pharaoh was dressed like them and sat upon his throne, and he commanded them to fetch Haiqâr. And he entered and sat down before him. ”

“ I do not see in thee the future lord of Egypt. The dynasty in thy person will be like a Nile boat without a rudder. Thou wilt drive the priests from the court, but who will remain with thee? Who will be thy eye in the Lower and the Upper Country, who in foreign lands? But the pharaoh must see everything, whatever it be, on which fall the divine rays of Osiris. ”

“ Pharaoh, the good servant of the gods, was basely murdered by his own kin whom he trusted. Neter-Tua, his daughter, and daughter of Amen, was condemned to shame, Rames of the royal race was sent forth to danger or to death, far from her he loved, and who loved him by that divine command which rules the hearts of men. This is the command of the gods—Let these twain be wed and take Egypt as their heritage, and call down upon it peace and greatness. ”

“ No one considered it proper to watch over the pharaoh even from a distance, knowing that Rameses did not wish any one to be occupied with him at certain moments.
When he disappeared, the chief scribe said to the treasurer,—
“Time drags on like a chariot in the desert. Perhaps Hebron has some news from Tutmosis.”
“At this moment,” answered the treasurer, “his expedition with a few tens of men to the temple of Ptah seems to me inconceivable madness!”
“But did the pharaoh act more wisely at the Soda Lakes when he chased all night after Tehenna?” put in Hiram. “Daring means more than numbers.” ”

“ So calm an invocation in the thick of the battle would appear misplaced in the mouth of an ordinary man, but Pharaoh was a god, and the son of a god, and his actions and speeches cannot be measured by the same standard as that of a common mortal. He was possessed by the religious spirit in the hour of danger, and while his body continued to fight, his soul took wing to the throne of Amon. He contemplates the lord of heaven face to face, reminds him of the benefits which he had received from him, and summons him to his aid with an imperiousness which betrays the sense of his own divine origin. ”

“ Were it possible, the forms of these white-robed newcomers flashed with the glitter of well-nigh as many jewels and gold or silver orders as did those of the more exalted nobles gathered about Pharaoh’s throne.
Those who were unable, for lack of space, to gain access to the hall, had perforce, to stand [147] outside in the unprotected court and exposed to the blinding shafts of the vaulting sun. Yet, few complained, so momentous was the step now contemplated by the fanatical young Pharaoh. ”

“ He moved up his armchair to the prince, and said in a lowered voice,—
“If the pharaoh should make war on Assyria, he would have a great army attached to his person; a hundred thousand talents of tribute in arrears, about two hundred thousand talents from Nineveh and Babylon, finally about a hundred thousand talents yearly from conquered countries. Such immense wealth would enable him to redeem the property mortgaged to the priests, and put an end at once and forever to their meddling.” ”

“ That in the temple where I served at Thebes fifty years ago did not pretend to bow or to trouble himself as to which of the royal race sat upon the throne. Hush! Here comes Pharaoh.”
Then in a splendid procession, surrounded by princes, councillors, ladies, priests, and guards, Amenmeses and the Royal Wife, Urnure, a large woman who walked awkwardly, entered the hall, a glittering band. The high-priest, Roi, and the chancellor, Nehesi, received Pharaoh and led him to his throne. The multitude prostrated itself, trumpets blew and thrice the old salute of “Life! Blood! Strength! Pharaoh! ”

“ Behold Pharaoh! He is the heavenly Horus, the powerful and glorious bull [king] in Thebes. [2] He is the lord of the Vulture and Uræus diadems [3] , and his kingdom is established as firmly as the sun in the heavens. His name is [4] : "He whom Tum, the lord of Heliopolis, has begotten, and who is the son of his loins, whom Thoth has brought forth" [5] , who was created by them [the gods] in the great temple of Heliopolis in the beauty of their limbs, and who knew beforehand what he would do to establish for himself an eternal kingdom. ”

“ The wisest counsellors of Pharaoh are a senseless counsel; How can ye say unto Pharaoh: 'I am the son of the wise, The son of ancient kings'? 12Where are they, then, thy wise men? And let them tell thee now; And let them know what the Lord of hosts Hath purposed concerning Egypt. 13The princes of Zoan are become fools, The princes of Noph are deceived; They have caused Egypt to go astray, That are the corner-stone of her tribes. 14The Lord hath mingled within her A spirit of dizziness; And they have caused Egypt to stagger in every work thereof, As a drunken man staggereth in his vomit. ”

“ But the walls increase from generation to generation and the edifice continues.
He, the son of the pharaoh, had never felt yet his littleness as in that moment, when his glance in the midst of the night was wandering beyond the Nile among pylons of the pharaoh's palace, and the indefinite but imposing outlines of the Memphis temples.
At that moment from among the trees whose branches touched the terrace, he heard a voice.
"I know thy anxiety and I bless thee. The court will not free the prisoners. ”

“ But soon they forgot, as men alive always forget death and those whom Time has devoured, for the wine was good and strong and the eyes of the women were bright and victory had crowned our spears, and for a while Egypt was once more free.
So it went on till Pharaoh rose and departed, the great gold earrings in his ears jingling as he walked, and the trumpets sounding before and after him. I too rose to go with my mother when a messenger came and bade me wait upon Pharaoh, and with me the dwarf Bes. ”

“ He is represented on the walls of the temple as of colossal stature, while the noblest [466] of his subjects are but pigmies in his presence; with one hand he crushes hosts of his enemies, with the other he grasps that of his patron deity.
"The Pharaoh was the earthly manifestation and avatar of the unseen and mysterious power which oppressed the souls of man with terror. 'I am Pharaoh,' 'By the life of Pharaoh,' 'Say unto Pharaoh whom art thou like in thy greatness.' These familiar phrases of Scripture gain a new emphasis of meaning as we remember them amongst these temple palaces." ”

“ Now this is the story of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. God had a noble purpose in this man's life to begin with. He gave him every opportunity. He brought to bear all that infinite love and mercy could bring to bear to get Pharaoh to be a good man. The reason Pharaoh ended as he did end was not because God did not love him and did not do His infinite best to save Him. It was because Pharaoh resisted and resisted, rebelled and rebelled till at last he threw himself a corpse upon this distant seashore. ”

“ A decurion of ten policemen knows the whole street, a centurion a division of the city, the chief knows all the city. The pharaoh stands above them all, as if he were standing on the highest pylon of the temple of Ptah, and sees not only Memphis, but the cities, Sochem, On, Cheran, Turra, Tetani, with their suburbs, and a portion of the western desert.
"From that height his holiness is unable, it is true, to see the people who are wronged, or those who are unrewarded, but he is able to see the crowd of laborers who have collected without work. ”

“ This is Pharaoh and all his multitude, saith the Lord God.'
32And it came to pass in the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, in the first day of the month, that the word of the Lord came unto me, saying: 2'Son of man, take up a lamentation for Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say unto him:
Thou didst liken thyself unto a young lion of the nations; Whereas thou art as a dragon in the seas; And thou didst gush forth with thy rivers, And didst trouble the waters with thy feet, And foul their rivers. 3Thus saith the Lord God: I will therefore spread out My net over thee With a company of many peoples ”

“ Now therefore let Pharaoh look out a man discreet and wise, and set him over the land of Egypt. Let Pharaoh do this, and let him appoint officers over the land, and take up the fifth part of the land of Egypt in the seven plenteous years. And let them gather all the food of those good years that come, and lay up corn under the hand of Pharaoh, and let them keep food in the cities. And that food shall be for store to the land against the seven years of famine, which shall be in the land of Egypt; that the land perish not through the famine. ”

“ The best return he can make to Pharaoh for his hospitality to him in his infancy is to set him free from his lust-engendered illusions, like a fish from the fish-hook which has caught him. Pharaoh then twits Moses with his sorceries in changing his staff into a serpent, and thereby beguiling the people. ”

“ Pharaoh's desires.
Moses
[Reads.] To our beloved son, greeting. Add to our thoughts of you, if possible to add, but a little, and you are more than old heroes—not to bemean your genius, who might cry "Was that all!" We pile barriers everywhere: we give you idiots for tools, tree stumps for swords, skin sacks for souls. The sixteenth pyramid remains to be built: we give you the last draft of slaves. Move! Forget not the edict. Pharaoh. ”

“ Pharaoh could see them from the terraces of his palace, from the gardens of his villa, and from every point in the plain in which he might reside between Heliopolis and Mêdûm—as a constant reminder of the lot which awaited him in spite of his divine origin. The people, awed and inspired by the number of them, and by the variety of their form and appearance, were accustomed to tell stories of them to one another, in which the supernatural played a predominant part. ”