University of Virginia Library

3. LETTER III.
REMESES-MOSES TO AARON.

I have been here now one year. The venerable
prince honors me as a son, and I repay him, so far as I
can, by instructing him in the history of Egypt, and
other knowledge; for, so great is his wisdom, he seeks
ever to know more. In astrology, physics, geometry,
and all arts, he is deeply learned. But above all, is his
knowledge of the Almighty. This man has the mysteries
of God in his heart, and to the eyes of his divine
piety, the Most High is visible as He is. He hath spoken
to the Lord of heaven face to face, and he communicates
with Him as a servant with his lord.

When I came hither, after visiting Baal-Phegor and
other places, he received me with affection, and gave
me rooms in his palace, and servants, and a place at his
table. I found him dwelling in a city he himself had
builded, and reigning the wealthiest, wisest, and yet humblest
prince in all the East. Around it lay the cities of
Shuh, Teman, and Naamath, the lesser princes of which
are his bosom friends, and once a week meet at his hospitable
board. They hang upon the words of his lips,
and reverence him as a father. He also possesses vast
herds of cattle and oxen, which cover his plains; fourteen
thousand sheep are on his mountains; six thousand

camels; and stores of silver and gold. He has seven
sons, who are princes of as many provinces, and three
daughters, the youngest of whom, Keren-happuch, is
married to the Lord of Midian; for when the Prince of
Uz, three years ago, travelled down into Egypt with a
large caravan of his merchants, he passed through Midian,
having this daughter in company, who, being
comely in person, was admired by the prince of that
land, and by him asked in marriage of her father. Of
the two daughters who remain, no women in all the
land are found so fair. Such is the prosperity and
power of this mighty and wise prince.

Now, at length, my dear brother, I have written the
book of the life of this venerable man; not as I began
it in Egypt, with imperfect ideas of the God of
heaven, whose servant he is, but from his own lips have
I received the narrative which I inclose to you. When
you have read it, you will arrive at the knowledge of
the Almighty, whose name, and glory, and being, and
goodness, and justice, and love, are recognized in every
page. As you read, reflect that the God of the Prince
of Uz is also my God, and the God worshipped by our
fathers when they were in Syria. Away, O Aaron! with
all the gods of Egypt! They are brazen and golden
lies, all! The myth of Osiris and Isis is an invention of
the priests. The whole system of their mythology is
hostile to true religion and the adorers of idols are the
worshippers of Satan—for this is the name of that spirit
of evil, antagonistic to the true God, hitherto represented
to us under the title of Typhon.

It would take a score of papyri for me to convey to
you the course of divine and sage instruction by which

I arrived at that clear, luminous, and just notion of the
Lord God of heaven and earth, which I now hold; the
possession of which fills my soul with repose, my intellect
with satisfaction, my heart with joy, peace, and love
to God and man. With this certain knowledge of the
Almighty that has entered into my soul, is an apprehension
of His omnipresence, His truth, holiness, majesty,
and benevolence; and a consciousness that I have received
his Divine Spirit, which last is, as it were, a witness
vouchsafed of Himself to me. By the light of this
new spirit within me I behold His glory, and recognize
that He is my God, my Creator, my Benefactor, and
Lawgiver. I feel that in Him I live, move, and have
my being, and that besides Him there is no God. The
realization of these majestic truths, O my brother, is a
source to me of the profoundest happiness. Before their
light the dark clouds of the myths of Egypt dissolve
and fade away forever!

When I speak of Him I find new language rise to my
lips: when I write of Him my words seem to clothe
themselves with sublimity and majesty. Henceforth,
like the holy Prince of Uz, I am a worshipper of One
God, whose name is the Almighty, and the Holy One.

To Sesostris I have written of these great things, and
to you also I will send a treatise, that you may, without
obscurity, behold His unity and glory as they were
known to our fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, before
the false worship of Egypt corrupted our hereditary
faith. With this knowledge, O Aaron, our people, even
in bondage, are superior to Pharaoh on his throne.