"What do you in civilian life?"
"I am a s-sculptor, sire, of good repute."
I flushed and stammered because, as everybody knows, a sculptor works with his bands and, therefore, cannot aspire to be deemed a true gentleman. Ptolemaios' deep-set eyes looked keenly at me from under tlie beetling brows. The king said:
"A reputable trade, O Chares; to quote the Poet:
"An honest business never blush to tell."
"Your statues may outlast the fame of politicians like myself. Do you work in stone or in bronze?"
"Both, O King, but I prefer bronze."
The king clucked. "Then your pieces may not last so long as all that."
"Why, sire? With decent care, bronze —"
He chuckled. "Has it ever occurred to you that the first thing a tyrant thinks of, when pinched for money, is to melt down all the bronze in the land?"
"No, sir, it has not." I took a deep breath. "I hardly dare suggest it, sire, but—"
"Well? But what? Speak up, lad! I have never yet eaten an artilleryman; they are too tough."
"Would you—would you like me to make a statue of you while we are here in Alexandria?"
The Ptolemaios cocked his head. "Mmm. Possibly; the idea bears thinking on. Take it up with Demetrios, and we shall see."
He waddled off to speak to another guest, leaving me atwitter. I knew that in theory one man is much the same as another, and that a king catches cold when he gets his feet wet as readily as a common man. I also knew that it ill becomes a citizen of a free Hellenic city to grovel before any king.
Still, an artisan like me never, in the ordinary course of events, gets a chance to hobnob socially with a king—even though the king be no scion of an ancient royal line but the son of a backwoods baron from the Macedonian hills. The Ptolemaios had progressed from boyhood companion of Alexander, to bodyguard and general in his armies; then, by guile and foresight, he had obtained Egypt for his satrapy at the first division of the Empire. Now he had arrogated the title of royalty unto himself.
Still, legitimate ruler or upstart, wise or foolish, kind or cruel, none can deny that a king is somebody. Withal, the Ptolemaios was a not unattractive monarch: shrewd, genial, and unaffected, with a great deal of canny Macedonian peasant peering out from under his bushy brows. Were I not a stout republican, I could think of worse men to give my loyalty to.
The talk at dinner was mostly concerned with the siege of Rhodes and with the disaster of Cyprus, when the island fell to Demetrios Antigonou. Ptolemaios' brother Menelaos and son Leontiskos had both fallen into the conqueror's hands; but then Demetrios, with one of his sudden gestures of generous gallantry, had sent these royal captives, together with their immediate friends and baggage, back to Egypt scot-free.
I fell into earnest talk with the chief engineer on the relative merits of balls of stone and of brick for stone throwers. When these subjects had been well covered, the king remarked:
"O Python, what sort of voyage had you hither?"
Said Python: "We fell afoul of a westerly storm, O King, which nearly sank us. After we sighted Egypt's shores, however, all went smoothly."
"Had you no further difficulties or delays?"
"None, sire, save for a stop at Tamiathis to have my ship's leaky seams recalked."
"Was that all that held you up?"
Python, looking more and more uncomfortable, said: "Yes, O King, indeed it was."
"That is odd," said the Ptolemaios. "I have a report that this robe, which you were so kind as to bring me, was stolen in Tamiathis; that you sent a party of your men after it; and that they recovered it in Memphis from an archthief, one Tis of Hanes. I am surprised that you did not enliven our feast by telling of these dramatic events."
Python looked as if he wished the earth would open and gulp him down as it did the hero Amphiaraos. He mumbled:
"O King, I thought that so small and sordid a matter would bore you."
The Ptolemaios wagged a finger. "All that occurs in my kingdom interests me, my good Python. Also, I like people who tell me the full and exact truth, even though it make them look something less than demigods." The king turned to me. "Were you in command of this raid, lad?"
"Yes, sire."
"Then tell us about it."
I told the story, enlarging on the battle in the bull-burial chamber but omitting the replacement of the robe and ignoring the venomous glances from Python. My heart was in my mouth lest the king know also of Azarias' part in the drama. However, he merely said:
"That confirms my report. You did well. When the siege of your city is over, if you would seek your fortune here, I think a place could be found for you in my government. I can use shrewd, daring, and conscientious young men."
I said: "Did you catch him, sir?"
"Catch whom?"
"Tis, the robber chief."
"Alas, no! His loot, hidden in the bull sarcophagus, and his house we have, but the man himself slipped through our fingers. No doubt he is hiding somewhere in that Memphite rabbit warren, to reappear anon under another name. It was a most ingenious idea, this international book-stealing ring, for next to precious metals and jewels, books combine the greatest value with the least bulk."
Menelaos put in: "Brother, if you catch this Tis alive, I am sure you can find him useful employment in your Department of Taxation."
I asked the king: "How about the strategos, Alkman?"
I caught a warning frown from Python, as if to say to keep quiet and not stir up unnecessary enmities. However, I could not miss a chance to do an ill turn to one whom I hated so bitterly.
"What about him?" rejoined the Ptolemaios.
"He was in on it, too, sire. He used me in outrageous fashion to keep me from finding the robe—"
Ptolemaios: "Mayhap our good Alkman is not made to withstand the temptations of governing a great city. Yet he has many soldierly virtues, which will be put to better use in chastising a Nubian tribe that has been raiding my subjects across the border."
"Sire, are we safe from the vengeance of Tis and his gang here in Alexandria?"
Up went the shaggy brows. "In my own capital? I should think so!" Then the king laid a finger beside his nose. "But better safe than sorry, eh, lad? Belike you and your comrades had better not wander the town alone o' nights. Demetrios, pass word to the prefect of police to watch for Tis or members of his band, stealing into the city. Now tell me, O Chares, what said the folk you met on your quest about their government? An honest report now: no sweetening or omission to soothe the old man's vanity." He cast an ironic smile at poor Python.
I thought a moment, then said: "I did not meet many Egyptians, sire. But those I talked with frankly expressed resentment that they should be made an inferior class in their own land while all the posts of profit and power go to Hellenes."
Menelaos, the king's brother, broke in: "Let them resent. As Aristoteles has shown, it is nature's law that the strong and brave shall rule the weak and timid: for example, that the Macedonians shall rule the Egyptians. And who are we to go against the will of the gods?"
Demetrios Phalereus said: "It is not quite so simple as that, Lord Menelaos. The Egyptians are neither so weak nor so cowardly as we are wont to believe. According to Xenophon's books, their soldiery had a high repute for valor before the Persians conquered them. Therefore, say I, they are potentially dangerous, and we must be on our guard lest we all awaken some morning with our throats cut."
"Who cares what books say?" snorted Menelaos. "Experience is the only true teacher, and it tells me that the Egyptians are nought but a pack of soft, sly poltroons."
"Do not scorn books, my dear Menelaos," said Demetrios Phalereus. "Many a man who will not say what he thinks to your face will set forth his honest thought in books. For example," he turned to the king, "with the best of intentions the friends of a king seldom give him the exact truth, because they wish to please the king, and they know that kings, like other men, are not pleased by bad news or unwelcome advice. So, say I, a wise king will buy and read all the books dealing with the office of king and ruler, since those things his friends are not rash enough to tell him are set forth in manuscript."