The Egyptian by Mika Waltari

Posted by admin_akashic on Mar 4th, 2022 in Stories

remarkable commodity in that it may be bought and sold before the flood has risen and before the seeds are in the ground, and grain is even more remarkable because its price rises from year to year as by witchcraft so that whoever buys grain can never lose but always makes a profit. For this reason, I do not intend to sell grain but shall continue to buy all grains and store it in my granaries until the price by measure is paid in gold, as is bound to happen if this state of things continues for old grain sellers don’t believe their eyes any more but rent their clothes and weep from grief thinking of all the amounts of grain that they were foolish to sell when refraining from selling would have multiplied their profits.”

Kaptah studied my face and drank more wine as he poured more wine to me and also to Merit and then he became serious and said, “However, no man stakes all the gold he has on a single throw, and so I have spread your profits, my beloved lord, evenly amongst many ventures so as to play as it were with several dice on your behalf. The time is most ripe for that because of Pharaoh, and perhaps I should bless his name because due to his deeds and orders — and not least his taxation — all those who are not wealthy enough, go bankrupt and lose their fortunes and need to sell their houses and possessions at dumped prices. So those who formerly traded with Syria and weighed gold and prided themselves on clothes and jewels, have now been forced to sell their ships and pawn their things, and this way, my beloved lord, you own more houses in Thebes than you can count, though due to taxation you own them under various names, like I already told you. Thus you are very wealthy now, my lord, and I have stolen no more from you than formerly and I do not steal from you even half what I have earned for you by my wisdom; and I hardly steal even a third, so that occasionally I reproach myself for the sake of my softness and great conscientiousness and I thank gods for not having wives or children who would nag and reproach me for not stealing more from you — although I know of no one from whom it would be more rewarding to steal, my beloved and blessed lord Sinuhe.”

Merit leaned back on her mat, smiling, and laughed aloud at my bewildered expression as I sought to grasp all that Kaptah was saying. Kaptah continued his explanations, “You must understand, my lord, that

453

when I speak of your profits and your wealth, I mean net profits and wealth which is left when all taxes are deducted. I have also had to deduct all presents that I had to give to the tax gatherers because of my Syrian bookkeeping and great quantities of wine with which it was needful to ply them to make them squint when they examined my figures, and those amounts were not small, for they are resistant and astute men and become fat by their profession. These are the best of times for tax gatherers, and such times have they never had before so that I’d gladly be a tax gatherer if I weren’t already Kaptah, the father of grain and the friend of poor. From time to time, I have distributed grain to the poor that they might bless my name, since certainty is best, and when times are unsettled, it is well to live in harmony with the poor. But also this I have deducted from your profits, and it is an insurance of sort for the sake of the future to protect your houses — since experience has taught me how fires easily break out in the houses and grain storages of the mean-spirited rich and noble when times are restless. To tell the truth, this distribution of grain is an excellent stroke of business since Pharaoh in his madness allows to deduct all corn distributed to the poor, and when I give one measure of grain to a poor man, I can have him testify with his fingerprint that he got five measures since the poor cannot read and even if they could read, they are grateful for having one measure of grain and bless my name and press their fingers in any clay at the bottom of my papers.”

When Kaptah had delivered himself of all this, he folded his arms and puffed out his chest and awaited my praise. But his words had set my mind to work, and I thought hard for some time and at length asked, “Then we have large stocks of grain?” Kaptah nodded vigorously, still awaiting my commendation, but I said to him, “If such is the case, you must hasten to the settlers who are cultivating the accursed land and distribute the grain amongst them for seed, for they have no seed and what corn they have is speckled as if blood had rained on it. The flood has already fallen, and the time of ploughing and sowing has come, and if I understand anything of these things, and you must go in haste.”

Kaptah regarded me compassionately with a shake of the head, and said, “My beloved lord, you should not vex your valuable head with matters you do not understand, but let me do your thinking for you. The

454