For this I thank thee, and ask thy forgiveness for much. We have often
misunderstood one another. Indeed it was easier for me to accustom
myself to the Greek modes of thought, than for a Greek to understand our
Egyptian ideas. Thou know'st my love of Greek art,--thou know'st how I
enjoyed the society of thy friend Pythagoras, who was thoroughly
initiated in all that we believe and know, and adopted much from us. He
comprehended the deep wisdom which lies in the doctrines that I reverence
most, and he took care not to speak lightly of truths which our priests
are perhaps too careful to hide from the people; for though the many bow
down before that which they cannot understand, they would be raised and
upheld by those very truths, if explained to them. To a Greek mind our
worship of animals presents the greatest difficulty, but to my own the
worship of the Creator in his creatures seems more just and more worthy
of a human being, than the worship of his likeness in stone. The Greek
deities are moreover subject to every human infirmity; indeed I should
have made my queen very unhappy by living in the same manner as her great
god Zeus."

At these words the king smiled, and then went on: "And what has given
rise to this? The Hellenic love of beauty in form, which, in the eye of
a Greek, is superior to every thing else. He cannot separate the body
from the soul, because he holds it to be the most glorious of formed
things, and indeed, believes that a beautiful spirit must necessarily
inhabit a beautiful body. Their gods, therefore, are only elevated human
beings, but we adore an unseen power working in nature and in ourselves.
The animal takes its place between ourselves and nature; its actions are
guided, not, like our own, by the letter, but by the eternal laws of
nature, which owe their origin to the Deity, while the letter is a
device of man's own mind. And then, too, where amongst ourselves do we
find so earnest a longing and endeavor to gain freedom, the highest good,