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a freshly appearing divinity — and they naturally felt themselves 
above all laws, human or divine. This we see exemplified in 
the Ilnd Ramses, the great oppressor (as it is supposed) of the 
Israelites. Not only is the boasting of this tyrant intolerable, 
and his oppression of his captives extravagant, but he himself 
records how he espoused at the same time a princess and her 
mother, in order to absorb into his own line all the rights of 
these princesses derived by way of succession. The Poem of 
Pentaour, a writer of the XIXth Dynasty, is devoted to the 
celebration of the exploits of this Pharaoh in his campaign 
against the Khetas (probably the Hittites), in w'hich Ramses 
ran the most imminent risk of losing his whole army, and the 
shattered fortunes of the day were retrieved by his own personal 
prowess. This poem was greatly celebrated, and its scenes 
were inscribed on the walls of the temples of Luqsor and of 
Karnak.* 
The account given by Herodotus of another Pharaoh pre- 
sents the reverse side of the picture, showing a nice sense of 
justice and morality. The priests, in answer to his inquiries on 
the subject of the abduction of Helen, informed him of the 
particulars of the voyage, and how in the end the king, Proteus, 
was called to give judgment in the case, which he summed up 
as follows, addressing Alexander : — <( Did I not regard it as a 
matter of the utmost consequence that no stranger driven to 
my country by adverse winds should ever be put to death ; I 
would certainly have avenged the Greek by slaying thee. 
Thou basest of men — after accepting hospitality to do so wicked 
a deed. . . . Now then, as I think it of the greatest importance 
to put no stranger to death, I suffer thee to depart, but the 
woman and the treasures I shall not permit to be carried away. 
Here they must stay till the Greek stranger comes in person 
and takes them back with him. For thyself and thy com- 
panions, I command thee to be gone from my land within the 
space of three days; and I warn you that, otherwise, at the end 
of that time you will be treated as enemies.” 
All that we read in the Bible concerning both the Pharaohs 
and the order of their palaces and officers comports well with 
the information derived from native sources. The title itself 
is now said to be very frequent in the hieroglyphic form, and 
to read Per-ao with a meaning very much analogous to “ the 
sublime Porte ” of our day, veiling the person of the monarch 
under the notion of his illustrious house. For his subjects he 
was “a divine person” and “the master” pre-eminently, and 
* Pentaour, in Did. Picrret. 
