Part 3
_Nectoris._ He said, a Golden Hawk has been fashioned by the magicians of Mount Bakhua, and will be hidden by them in a sanctuary. Its capture would bring joy and great knowledge to Egypt. If you, a woman wise with the serpent wisdom, should gain that sanctuary and bring back the amulet, I will give the throne of Egypt to you and to your daughters for ever; that honour may be paid to the woman of splendid courage. And no man shall reign over Egypt, in his own right, from that day.
_The Ka._ So he swore to you. You know what is within this shrine; enter and take the Golden One for your people.
_Nectoris._ The face of the Guardian was terrible when he left me, as though he knew I were tempting the gods to my ruin. Can a mortal look on that hidden brightness and live?
_The Ka._ You are not mortal. The pure essence of the gods, whereof your spirit is made, is but veiled with a gossamer of substance. Have not we, O my sister soul, passed together through the flames which cleanse us from mortality? Have I not stripped you naked of that mortal flesh, which gives terror to the whirl of time and to the immensity of the abyss, when your mortal heart died in you, and your spirit dared greatly in those spaces beyond knowledge?
_Nectoris._ I will cast out trembling from my heart in this hour, and take the strong soul which no passion can shake; that I may enter into the shrine and win the Golden One for my people and the throne of Egypt for myself and my daughters.
_The Ka._ Egypt is great and skilled in august mysteries; and to reign over her and to follow her wisdom is to become equal with the gods; and when the last mysteries are won, even greater than they. Kneel with me, that we may together call the powers forth from their hidingplace, for the great Heru is not without us. We shall find him in ourselves.
(_They kneel._) O thou whose wings cover the earth! cover the body of thy servant, that she may find the living flame within herself, and enter without fear before thee! O Hawk of the North, whose secret places are paved with fire which consumeth time and the substance thereof! bless the feet of thy servant that she may pass unscathed to thy throne. O Heru, whose eye pierces the earth and the heavens, bless the eyes of thy servant that she may look upon thee and live. O Heru, on whose brow lies the weight of wisdom, bless the brow of thy servant, that she may bind upon it the triple crown of glory; and that she may win the wisdom of the Golden Hawk, and give it to her people.
(_Nectoris rises and enters the shrine. The Ka looks after her._)
_The Ka._ The bolts are lifted and the doors turn in their sockets. She kneels, and fear wraps her round as a grey garment. O sister, let the light of Heru pierce you. She rises, and her fear is rent upon her as lightning rends the flesh. She is clothed in the cold fires of the Northern Star. She flings her arms to the air, and a wild joy is in her heart. The spirit and the flesh wrestle for victory, for she has yet some part in what is mortal. She cannot breathe—she speaks at last!
_Nectoris_ (_within_). Let my feet move now in triumph to the music of the worlds beyond space, where thy mighty heart beats out the rhythm, making the worlds to fall and rise in their order, and the stars to follow in their courses! I am drunk with conquest, and I shake the sistrum and dance with my naked feet unscathed upon thy golden floor! And the measures I dance are to me as the movement of a great army which has scaled the awful walls of thy majesty, and taken the fortress of thy wisdom!
_The Ka._ She moves in the dance as one who sees a splendour which is beyond the eye of man. Her limbs shine in the nimbus of the Hawk of Glory. She is more golden than the talisman upon her breast. She is here! (_Dances._) She is around me! (_Dances._) Her substance is not mortal! (_Dances._) She is around me; the flames sweep over me, and the shadows of time pass away! (_Dances._) Nectoris, my sister soul, the victory is won! (_Dances, and passes into the shrine._)
_Gebuel_ (_enters and looks round_). Yet another vigil broken! Heru has chosen his victim. He has called her into the shrine that he may slay her. One more mortal light put out by the light of the gods!
(_Nectoris appears at the door of the shrine, radiant, looking younger and full of exultation. The amulet is on her breast._)
_Gebuel._ You are not slain before the face of Heru?
_Nectoris._ I am not slain!
_Gebuel._ How have you, being unveiled, looked upon his face?
_Nectoris._ I look unharmed upon the face of the god because his eyes are my eyes, and his power is my power, his spirit is my spirit. I am an Egyptian and mistress of the mysteries. I have become one with Heru, for I have eaten of his substance and I have drunk of his spirit, and I am henceforth ruler of the holy places. Whoso is made one with the gods makes their holy places desolate, and himself becomes their sanctuary; and his being is greater than theirs, being made of their own substance. For he has devoured their mystical rites and symbols, he has swallowed their shining forms, he has eaten the power and wisdom of every god, and the period of his life is eternity!
_Gebuel._ Let the presence of Heru seal your blasphemous lips!
_Nectoris._ Yes, you are in the presence of the Flame of Life. I, a woman of Egypt, have been chosen to pierce this mystery, and have entered into the shrine of the Golden One, and his fires have not burned, neither has his eye wounded me. The wise sister of my spirit enfolded me in safety, and gathered about me the shining garment of Heru. Enter in, O magician, and look upon the place of flame. Enter into the empty shrine which has yielded its treasure to me. The Golden Hawk is on my breast as a sign. Heru has put his finger upon me and marked me for his own, and I am Egypt. I go to my own country that I may sit on the throne and give wisdom and exultation of heart to my people.
_Gebuel._ Desolation has fallen upon me! I am myself the victim of Heru. Verily it is true, “In his shining I have seen darkness, and the light of mine eyes has been put out.” You are stronger than I; the amulet of the god lies upon your heart and does not strike you dead. You have won it; let your triumph be enough. Give me back my Golden Hawk, which I have made of the imperishable substance of the earth!
_Nectoris._ I carry the Golden Hawk to my father, wise and beautiful Zozer, builder of the pyramid of six heights and four sides, that he may place it in the secret sanctuary under the bolt of granite that will answer to the touch of his finger, but takes the strength of a hundred men to lift.
_Gebuel._ Daughter of Zozer, wise and beautiful, let the spirit of your victory remain with you, and give me back my image of the god; that I, who am less than you, may see and worship with mine eyes, which may only look upon the god in his semblance.
_Nectoris._ You can follow Heru into Egypt, O magician, and so long the secret lord of this place! Your day is darkened. Come with your god into Egypt, and serve him in that new land which is thirsty for him; you shall see the dawn again when his light rises in a great country, and you shall teach his wisdom.
_Gebuel._ And if I follow you, will it be to forsake this shrine which I have made of precious stones and metals, each stone with its own secret?—in chrysoprase the secret of vision, in amethyst the inner fire of the soul, in chrysolyte the secret of seership, in lapis lazuli the hidden wisdom, and in cornelian the secret of ritual.
_Nectoris._ Bring the dwellingplace of Heru with you, for it is sacred; and you are the master of these things. And my people shall hold you in high honour, and your works shall live after you, wrought in amethyst and in cornelian, in chrysoprase and in chrysolyte, and in lapis lazuli. Bring the shrine of Heru, for his spirit goes before. And put chains on the necks of your priests, and bend their wills to the will of the great one who rules in Egypt, that there may be no more floods or famines in the land.
_Gebuel._ O wearer of the Golden Hawk! Daughter of Zozer of whom prophecy has spoken! Daughter of Zozer, builder of the pyramid of which the six heights are the steps of wisdom, I follow you, and my priests shall follow you; we are the victims upon his altar. Is not the dwelling of Heru my dwelling? and shall not the shrine of Heru be the eternal resting-place of my spirit? I follow you, O great among women, for you are the will of Heru made manifest.
_Chorus of Priests._ Immovable in heaven, we adore thee. Heru, Hawk of Gold, we adore thee.
CURTAIN.
NOTE.—It is interesting to point out that the final ecstasy of Nectoris is quoted thought for thought from the earliest Egyptian texts which have yet been discovered. Just as the Modern World has come to think of Heaven as a state rather than as a place, so we learn from these texts that the wise men of the Ancient World had gone a step farther, and knew the gods to be states and not persons.
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[Illustration: Logo for F. F., printer, Croydon]
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Transcriber’s Notes
This file uses _underscores_ to indicate italic text, except on the title page, where quotation marks were used for improved readability.
The text uses the terms “Yeoiret” and “Yeioret” once each. These are likely supposed to be the same, but since it was not clear which was correct, they have been left as printed.
Itemized changes from the original text:
In _The Beloved of Hathor_:
• Changed “Mout” to “Maut” in line: Maut, the Vulture-Mother • Adjusted final punctuation in stage direction: (_re-enters, muttering_). • Supplied missing opening parentheses in stage direction: (_The chant continues._) • Added period after stage direction: _Aahmes_ (_cries_). • Added period after stage direction: (_As he goes voices outside._) • Added period after stage direction: _Ranoutet_ (_prays_).
In _The Shrine of the Golden Hawk_:
• Supplied missing opening parentheses in stage direction: (_The Priest of Harvests brings corn...._ • “Priests” changed to “Priest” in line: Let the Priest of the Harvest and the Famine do homage before Heru! • “_Priest of the Harvests._” changed to “_The Priest of Harvests._” to match other occurrences before line: So long as Heru in the form of the Golden Hawk.... • “_Priest of the Waters._” changed to “_The Priest of Waters._” to match other occurrences before line: The Golden Hawk is hidden within the shrine.... • Adjusted final punctuation in stage direction: (_She salutes him in the Egyptian manner._)