rt filled with wisdom, of which Thou
art the servant. But consider what I say Thou knowest why his holiness
sent me hither."

"He sent thee, prince, to become familiar with the wealth of the
country and its institutions," said Mentezufis.

"I am obeying. I examine the nomarchs, I look at the country and the
people. I listen to reports of scribes, but I understand nothing; this
poisons my life and astounds me.

"When I have to do with the army, I know everything, how many soldiers
there are, how many horses, chariots, which officers drink or neglect
their service, and which do their duty, I know, too, what to do with an
army. When on a plain there is a hostile corps, I must take two corps
to beat it. If the enemy is in a defensive position, I should not move
without three corps. When the enemy is undisciplined and fights in
unordered crowds against a thousand, I send five hundred of our
soldiers and beat him. When the opposing side has a thousand men with
axes, and I a thousand, I rush at them and finish those troops, if I
have a hundred men with slings in addition.

"In the army, holy father," continued Ramses, "everything is as visible
as the fingers on my hand, and to every question an answer is ready
which my mind comprehends. Meanwhile in the management of a province I
not only see nothing, but there is such confusion in my head that more
than once I forget the object of my journey.

"Answer me, therefore, sincerely, as a priest and an officer: What does
this mean? Are the nomarchs deceiving me, or am I incompetent?"

The holy prophet fell to thinking.

"Whether they attempt to deceive thee, worthiness," answered he, "I
know not, for I have not examined their acts. It seems to me, however,
that they explain nothing, because they themselves comprehend nothing.
The nomarchs and their scribes," continued the priest, "are like
decurions in an army; each one knows his ten men and reports on them.
Each commands those under him. But the decurion knows not the general
plan made by leaders of the army. The nomarchs and the scribes write
down everything that happens in their province, and lay those reports
at the feet of the pharaoh. But only the supreme council extracts from
them the honey of wisdom."

"But that honey is just what I need," said the prince. "Why do I not
get it?"

Mentezufis shook his head.

"Wisdom of the state," said he, "belongs to the priesthood; therefore
only the man who is devoted to the g