The Egyptian by Mika Waltari

Posted by admin_akashic on Mar 4th, 2022 in Stories

The King laughed till tears ran from his eyes, but then he remembered his pain and moaned and put his hand to a cheek so swollen that one eye was half closed. He frowned, and the old man looked at him and hastened to say, “Here is that stubborn Egyptian who would not come when you summoned him. Say but the word, and the guards shall slit his liver with spears.”

But the King kicked at him with his foot and said, “This is no time to talk nonsense but for him to heal me at once for my pain is terrible, and I fear that I may die since I have not slept for many nights nor eaten anything but hot soup.”

Then the old man lamented and stroked his head against the floor and said. “Lord of the four quarters of the world, we have done all we might to heal you, and we have offered jaws and teeth in the temple to drive out the evil spirit that is lodged in your jaw, and we have beaten the drums and blown the horns and danced in red clothes in front of you to drive out the demon, but more we have not been able to do because you would not let us touch your sacred jaw. Nor do I think this dirty stranger can do better than we.”

But I said, “I am Sinuhe, the Egyptian, He Who Is Alone, Son of the Wild Ass, and I do not need to examine you to see that a tooth has caused your cheek to swell because you did not have it cleansed or drawn out in time as your physicians must surely have counselled you to do. Such pains are for children and the cowards and not for the lord of the four quarters of the world, before whom the very lions tremble and bow their heads as I see with my own eyes. Nevertheless, I know your pain is great, and I therefore will help you.”

The King held his hand to his face and said, “You speak boldly, and were I well, I should have your impudent tongue cut out and your liver slit, but there is no time for that now so cure me quickly, and your reward shall be great. But if you cause me pain, I will have you slain without delay.”

I said to him, “Be it as you say. I have with me a small but remarkably powerful god, thanks to whom I did not come yesterday for if I had, it would have been to no purpose. But now I can see that today the evil has ripened sufficiently for me to treat it, and this I shall do if you wish, but not even a King can the gods preserve from pain. However, I assure you that your relief when it is over will be so great that the pain will be forgotten and that I will make it as slight as any man with all his skill can make it.”

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The King hesitated for a while with his hand to his cheek and looked at me frowning. He was a handsome boy when well, though very self-conscious, and I knew that I liked him. Feeling my eyes upon him, at last he said irritably, “What you have to do, do quickly.”

The old man started lamenting and struck his head against the floor, but I paid him no heed and ordered wine to be warmed, and with this I mixed a narcotic and let the King drink it, so that after a time he brightened a little and said, “The pain is leaving me, and you need not plague me with your knives and forceps.”

But my will was stronger than his will, and tucking his head firmly into my armpit, I made him open his mouth, then lanced the boil on his jaw with a knife purified in the fire Kaptah had brought with him. The fire was not, however, the holy fire of Amun for Kaptah had carelessly allowed this to go out on the journey down the river, but kindled by Kaptah with a fire drill in my room at the inn, believing in his madness that the scarab was as potent as Amun.

The King uttered loud cries when he felt the knife, and the lion with blazing eyes rose up and roared, lashing its tail to and fro. But the King was busy spitting the pus coming from his boil, and his relief was sweet, and I helped him by pressing lightly on his cheek. He spat and wept for joy and spat again and said, “Sinuhe the Egyptian, you are a blessed man although you hurt me.” And he spat on unceasingly.

But the old man said, “I could have done that as well as he, and better, if only you had permitted me to touch your sacred jaw. And your dentist would have done it best of all.” He was astonished when I said, “This old man says truly, for he could have done it as well as I, and your dentist would have done it best. But their wills were not as strong as mine, and so they could not free you from your pain. For a physician must venture to cause pain — even to a King when it is unavoidable — without fearing for himself. These feared, but I do not fear for all is indifferent to me, and your soldiers are welcome to slit my liver when I have cured you.”

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