The Egyptian (44 page)

So intense was his agitation that he demanded to be carried to his ship while yet ailing, nor could I as his physician prevent him.

Horemheb said, “It is better so. The people of Thebes will have their way, and Akhnaton will have his; both will be satisfied, and there will be peace in the land once more.”

I attended Pharaoh on his voyage down the river. He was too impatient to wait even for the royal family but set sail first. Horemheb ordered an escort of warships to accompany the vessel that he might come to no harm.

So beneath her red sails Pharaoh’s ship glided down the river, and Thebes fell behind. Walls, temple roofs, and the gilded tips of the obelisks sank below the horizon, and lastly the three peaks, the eternal guardians of Thebes, vanished also. But the memory of Thebes remained with us for many days, for the river was full of fat crocodiles whose tails splashed up the foul waters, and a hundred times a hundred swollen corpses drifted with the current. There was no shoal or clump of reeds without its body, held fast by clothes or hair, and all because of Pharaoh Akhnaton’s god. But he knew nothing of this, for he lay in his cabin on soft mats, where servants anointed him with perfumed oils and burned incense about him, that he might not smell the smell of his god.

When we had been sailing for ten days, the river was pure again, and Pharaoh stepped into the bows to look about him. The earth was summer yellow; farmers were gathering in their harvest, and in the evenings the cattle were driven down to the water’s edge to drink, and herdsmen blew on their double pipes. When the people saw Pharaoh’s ship, they arrayed themselves in white and ran down to the shore, where they shouted their greetings and waved their branches of palm. The sight of these contented people was better than any medicine to Pharaoh. Now and then he would give orders for the ship to put in to the bank, and he would go ashore to talk to the people, to touch them, and to bless the women and children with his hands. The sheep also came shyly up, to nuzzle and nibble at the hem of his robe, and he laughed for joy.

In the darkness of night he stood in the bows gazing at the burning stars, and he said to me, “I will divide all the land of the false god among those who are content with little and have labored with their hands, that they may be happy and bless the name of Aton. I will divide all the land among them, for my heart rejoices at the sight of plump children and laughing women and men who labor in the name of Aton without fear or hatred of any.”

He said also, “The heart of man is dark; I should not have believed this had I not seen it for myself. For so lucent is my own clarity that I do not comprehend the darkness, and when light pours into my heart, I forget all the hearts that are twisted and shadowy. There must be many who do not comprehend Aton, though they see him and feel his love, for they have lived their lives in darkness, and their eyes do not know the light when they see it. They call it evil and say that it hurts their eyes. Therefore I leave them alone and do not trouble them, but I will not dwell among them. I gather about me those who are dearest to me and will remain among them, never to leave them, that I may not suffer those evil pains in my head through seeing things that oppress my spirit and are hideous in the sight of Aton.”

Screwing up his eyes at the stars, he went on, “Night is abomination to me. I do not love the darkness; I fear it. I do not love the stars, for when they shine, jackals slink from their dens, lions leave their lairs and roar with blood lust. Thebes is night to me, and so I spurn it—in truth I spurn all that is old and crooked and put my faith in the young and in children. The spring of the world is born of them. Those who from childhood dedicate themselves to the teaching of Aton are purified, and so the whole world shall be purified. Schools shall be transformed, the old teachers driven forth, and new texts Written for children to copy. Moreover I will make writing simpler than it now is, for we need no pictures to understand it; I shall cause a script to be adopted that even the humblest may quickly learn. There shall no longer be a gulf between scribes and people; the people shall learn to write so that in every village—even the smallest—there shall be one to read what I shall write to them. For I shall write to them often, of many things that they should know.”

Pharaoh’s talk disturbed me. I knew this new script that was easy to learn and to read; it was not sacred writing, nor was it as beautiful or as rich in content as the old, and every self-respecting scribe despised it.

Therefore I said, “Popular script is ugly and barbarous, and it is not sacred writing. What will become of Egypt if everyone is made literate? Such a thing has never been. No one will then be content to labor with his hands; the soil will lie untilled, and people will take no pleasure in their ability to write when they are starving.”

I should not have said this, for he cried out in high indignation, “So near to me then is the darkness! It stands beside me in you, Sinuhe.. You cast doubts and obstacles in my path—but truth burns like fire within me. My eyes pierce all barriers as if they were barriers of pure water, and I behold the world that will come after me. In that world is neither hatred nor fear; men share their toil with one another and there are neither rich nor poor among them—all are equal—all can read what I write to them. No man says to another ‘dirty Syrian’ or ‘miserable Negro’. All are brothers, and war is banished from the world. And seeing this, I feel my strength increase; so great is my joy that my heart is near to bursting.”

Once more I was persuaded of his madness. I led him to his sleeping mat and gave him soothing medicine. Yet his words were a torment, and my heart felt the sting of them, for there was something in me that had matured to receive his message.

I said to my heart, His mind is greatly disordered because of his sickness, nevertheless the disorder is both beneficient and infectious. I could wish that his visions might come true although my reason tells me that such a world could exist nowhere but in the Western Land, Still my heart cries out that his truth is higher than all other truths that have been spoken and that no greater truth will ever be spoken after him, notwithstanding that bloodshed and ruin break from his footprints. If he lives long enough, he will overthrow his own great kingdom.

And as I gazed at the stars through the darkness I reflected, I Sinuhe am a stranger in the world and do not even know who brought me into it. Of my own will I became the poor man’s physician in Thebes, and gold means little to me, though I prefer a fat goose to dry bread and wine to water. None of that is so important that I could not abstain from it. Having no more than my life to lose, why should I not be a prop for his weakness—stand at his side and encourage him, without misgivings? For he is Pharaoh! The power is his and there is no more wealthy or more fertile land in the whole world than Egypt, and who knows but Egypt may survive the trial? If such a thing could be, then indeed the world would be renewed: men would be brothers and there would be neither rich nor poor. Never before has a man been offered such an opportunity to bring his truth into being, for this man is born Pharaoh, and the chance will never come again. Here is the one moment in all ages of the world when his truth may be made reality.

Such were my waking dreams aboard the rocking ship, while the night wind bore to my nostrils the fragrance of ripe grain and of the threshing floors. But the wind chilled me and the dream melted and I said to myself ruefully, If only Kaptah were here to hear his words! For although a physician is a clever man and can heal many maladies, yet the world’s sickness and misery is so great that not all the doctors in the world could cure it even if they were competent—and there are ills before which physicians are powerless. Thus Akhnaton may be a physician for the human heart, but he cannot be everywhere. There are hearts so hardened and blackened that not even his truth can avail them anything. Kaptah would say, Even were the time to come when there would be neither poor nor rich, yet there will always be wise and stupid, sly and simple, for so there have ever been and ever will be. The strong man sets his foot on the neck of the weakling; the cunning man runs off with the simpleton’s purse and sets the dunce to work for him. Man is a crooked dealer and even his virtue is imperfect. Only he who lies down never to rise again is wholly good. Already you may see the fruits of that goodness, and those who have most reason to bless it are the crocodiles of the river and the gorged crows on the temple roof.

Pharaoh Akhnaton spoke with me, and I spoke with my weak and vacillating heart. On the fifteenth day we reached land that belonged neither to a god nor to any eminent man. From the shore its hills shaded from golden yellow into blue. The soil lay uncultivated, and only a few herdsmen guarded their flocks there and lived in reed huts along the bank. Here Pharaoh went ashore and dedicated the land to Aton in order to found on it a new city; this future city he named Akhetaton, the City of the Heavens.

Ship after ship followed, and he gathered together his master builders and architects and showed them where the main streets were to run, where his golden palace and the temple of Aton were to stand. As his followers joined him he pointed out to each the site of his house. The builders drove away the herdsmen and their sheep, tore down their reed huts, and built quays along the shore. For these builders Pharaoh allotted space for their own town outside the city where, before starting the work commanded of them, they were allowed to build mud houses for themselves. Five streets ran north and south, five east and west; the houses that lined them were all of identical height and each contained two similar rooms. The roasting pit was in the same place in every house, as was every mat and pitcher. Pharaoh bore good will to all his workmen and wished them to share the same benefits, that they might dwell happily in their own place outside Pharaoh’s city and bless the name of Aton.

Then came winter and the season of flood. Pharaoh did not return to Thebes as was his custom but remained aboard his ship which was now the seat of government. As stone was laid upon stone and column after column was erected, he rejoiced greatly. Often he would break into malicious laughter when he beheld the beautiful, delicate timber houses rising along the streets, for the thought of Thebes corroded his mind like poison. On this city of Akhetaton he spent all the money he had won from Ammon, and he divided Ammon’s land among the very poor.

I had much work to do, for although Pharaoh himself improved in health and spirits as he beheld his city blossom from the soil on its colored pillars, yet sickness raged among the workmen before the ground had been drained; also there were many building accidents because of the haste imposed upon the men.

As soon as the river had fallen, Horemheb landed at Akhetaton in company with members of the court, though he did not intend to stay longer than was needful to persuade Pharaoh to change his mind about disbanding the army. Pharaoh had commanded him to release the Nubians and Shardanas from his service and send them home, but Horemheb had delayed fulfillment of the order on all manner of pretexts, having reason to fear that revolt would soon break out in Syria and being minded to lead the troops into that country.

But Pharaoh Akhnaton was unshakable in his resolve and Horemheb but wasted his time in Akhetaton. Every day their conversations were the same.

Horemheb said, “There is serious unrest in Syria and the Egyptian colonies there are feeble. King Aziru is fomenting hatred toward Egypt. I have no doubt that when the time is ripe he will start open revolt.”

Pharaoh Akhnaton said, “Have you seen the floors in my palace on which artists are just now creating reed swamps and swimming ducks in the Cretan manner? As to a revolt in Syria, I think it unlikely, for I have sent to all its princes the cross of life. King Aziru in particular is my friend, having received the cross of life from me and raised a temple to Aton in the land of Amurru. No doubt you have already seen the colonnaded hall of Aton beside my palace here. It is worth seeing, although the pillars are of brick only, to save time—moreover the thought of slaves toiling in the quarries is repugnant to me. But to return to Aziru—you have no grounds to doubt his loyalty; I have received from him countless clay tablets in which he seeks eagerly to learn new things of Aton. If you wish, my scribes can show you these tablets as soon as our archives are in order.”

Horemheb answered, “I spit on his clay tablets—they are as foul and as false as himself. But if it is your firm resolve to disband the army, let me at least reinforce the frontier troops, for already the tribes of the south are driving their herds within our boundary stones, to the grazing grounds in the land of Kush and in Syria. They are burning the villages of our black allies, which is no hard task since they are built of straw.”

Akhnaton said, “I believe it is not ill will that drives them but poverty. Our allies must share their grazing with the southern tribes, and I will also send them the cross of life. Nor do I believe they fire the villages through set purpose. As you say, these are easily kindled, and one should not condemn whole tribes for the sake of a few villages. But if you will, then by all means strengthen the frontier guards in the land of Kush and in Syria since you are answerable for the safety of the realm—but see to it that they are guards only and not a standing army.”

Horemheb said, “Akhnaton, my mad friend, you must let me reform the garrison troops all over the country, for the disbanded men are robbing right and left in their poverty and stealing the tribute hides of the peasants, whom they beat with sticks.”

Pharaoh Akhnaton said, as one pointing a moral, “See what came of your refusal to listen to me! Had you spoken more of Aton to these men, they would not now be acting thus, but their hearts are darkened, the scars of your whip lash burn their backs, and they know not what they do. And by the by, have you noticed that both my daughters can now walk? Meritaton takes care of the younger one, and they have an enchanting little gazelle for a playfellow. Well there is nothing to prevent your hiring the disbanded men as guards up and down the country, provided they remain guards and are not embodied into a standing army for war. And to my mind it would be well to break up all the chariots, for suspicion breeds suspicion, and we have to convince our neighbors that whatever happens Egypt will never have recourse to war.”