One day I questioned Ptah-kefer about the stars, and he said, “There are other worlds like ours, numberless as the drops of water in the river. To try to conceive of such an immensity is foolish: for he that tries to stare the secrets from the sun grows blind and cannot see even what is beneath his hand.”
Then he told me the Legend of Creation.
Long, long ago the Gods of Gods, who dwell so far ahead of us that we cannot conceive a thousandth part of their greatness, sent for their servant Ptah. And they gave him a bowl of Life, which, though he emptied it, was always full; and they told him that he must teach this Life how to gain wisdom, until at last it should become the pure flame of spirit with all experience. And they appointed him the overlord of Earth, a place of insentient sand and lifeless rock.
Then throughout Earth Ptah scattered Life, and the mountains began to feel the sun that scorched their sides, and the valleys knew the deep coldness of a winter night. And the time came when this Life returned to Ptah; and from his bowl he heard a faint voice, which said, “Now we know something of heat and cold. Let us go on.”
Then Ptah clothed the hills with trees, and the valleys he covered with young grass and flowers; and into them he poured his bowl. And Life learned how plants thrust their roots through the ground in search of strength to unfurl their blossoms to the sun; how some clasped the rocks with tendrilled vines, and others threw their shade beside the lake. But all that they gained they shared among themselves, so that a blade of grass knew how great winds stir the branches of a tree, and the fierce cactus shared with the gentle moss its tenderness.
Then once more the bowl was filled by Life returning. Now it spoke with a stronger voice, and said, “We have learned our lessons through the plants; now we want bodies in which we can move and seek our destiny more speedily.”
Then Ptah made animals upon Earth. First, simple ones like worms and snails; and then the bodies of hares and antelopes, of lions and zebras, singing-birds and fish.
Then again Life returned, and said, “Now we are wise; we can cross a desert at night; we can find water and shelter for ourselves; we have wandered far over Earth and learned a great diversity of things. Make us bodies worthy of ourselves.”
And Ptah answered them, and said, “I have sent you forth into rocks, and into plants, and into animals. You have returned to me sharing one another’s memory and experience, and sharing also the friendliness of growing things, which as animals you still have, though long to lose. Now I will make you bodies like my own, and for the first time you shall say, ‘I am’; and in saying this must say, ‘I am alone’. No longer can I lead you on your way. Now you must start upon a long journey, which does not end until you can greet me, not as your creator but as your brother.”
And Life said, “We demand this chance, this right, to journey to your brotherhood.”
Then Ptah created man. And man walked upon Earth, and he rejoiced in it. The grassy valleys were soft beneath his feet; his nostrils delighted in the scent of flowers, and the taste of fruits was pleasant on his tongue. While in hot noons he rested in the shade, gazelles would come and nuzzle in his hand; lions would walk with him beside cool streams; and he would test his fleetness with the deer.
But the words of Ptah kept echoing in his heart, saying “I am; I am alone,” until his loneliness made him afraid. And he left the gentle places of Earth and ran despairingly in search of one to end his solitude, and in his anguish he cried upon the Gods.
And the great Min heard him and came down to Earth. Then he caused man to fall into a sleep, and while he slept, Min said, “No longer shall you walk in loneliness.…Now you are man and woman, and you shall go upon your journey together. And the two of you I give the power, of your own bodies, to make others, which in their turn shall house the Life of Ptah. And when you see your children, you shall cherish them, even as your creator has cherished you.”
And of each animal, also, he made a pair. And now more swiftly did all progress, with young to feed and shelter and protect. For even the plants shared in this godliness, and they thrust their roots deeper beneath the ground in search of water for their ripening seed.
In those early days all living things knew of their kinship, and on a cold night a little hare would lie for warmth against a mighty lion, and men were grateful to the plant? and trees that sheltered them and gave them of their fruits.
For in those vanished days, when Earth was young, none had forgotten their creator.