Uarda : a Romance of Ancient Egypt — Volume 02 by Georg Ebers
page 16 of 86 (18%)
page 16 of 86 (18%)
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It seemed to Pentaur that he could see the souls of these two, floating above the youthful creature in holy union as they joined their hands; and again he thought of his parents' house, of the hour when his sweet, only sister died. His mother had thrown herself weeping on the pale form, but his father had stamped his foot and had thrown back his head, sobbing and striking his forehead with his fist. "How piously submissive and thankful are these unclean ones!" thought Pentaur; and repugnance for the old laws began to take root in his heart. "Maternal love may exist in the hyaena, but to seek and find God pertains only to man, who has a noble aim. Up to the limits of eternity--and God is eternal!--thought is denied to animals; they cannot even smile. Even men cannot smile at first, for only physical life--an animal soul--dwells in them; but soon a share of the world's soul--beaming intelligence-- works within them, and first shows itself in the smile of a child, which is as pure as the light and the truth from which it comes. The child of the paraschites smiles like any other creature born of woman, but how few aged men there are, even among the initiated, who can smile as innocently and brightly as this woman who has grown grey under open ill-treatment." Deep sympathy began to fill his heart, and he knelt down by the side of the poor child, raised her arm, and prayed fervently to that One who had created the heavens and who rules the world--to that One, whom the mysteries of faith forbade him to name; and not to the innumerable gods, whom the people worshipped, and who to him were nothing but incarnations of the attributes of the One and only God of the initiated--of whom he was one--who was thus brought down to the comprehension of the laity. He raised his soul to God in passionate emotion; but he prayed, not for |
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