When they ordered him to rise, the prince said,
"How couldst Thou commit such a grievous sin, and raise thy hand against the kingdom of the gods? Has thy former wisdom deserted thee?"
"Lord," answered the wily Libyan, "sorrow disturbed the reason of the disbanded warriors of his holiness, so they ran to their own destruction, drawing me and mine after them. And the gods alone know how long this dreadful war might have lasted if at the head of the army of the ever living pharaoh, Amon himself had not appeared in thy semblance. Thou didst fall on us like a storm wind of the desert, when Thou wert not expected, where Thou wert not expected, and as a bull breaks a reed so didst Thou crush thy blinded opponent. All people then understood that even the terrible regiments of Libya had value only while thy hand sent them forward."
"Thou speakest wisely, Musawasa," said the viceroy, "and Thou hast done still better to meet thus the army of the divine pharaoh, instead of waiting till it came to thee. But I should be glad to know how sincere thy obedience is."
"Let thy countenance be radiant, great potentate of Egypt," [An inscription on the monument of Horem-Hep, 1470 years B. c.] answered Musawasa. "We come to thee as subjects, may thy name be great in Libya, be Thou our sun, as Thou art the sun of nine nations. Only command thy subordinates to be just to us the conquered people who are joined to thy power. Let thy officials govern us justly and with conscience, and not according to their own evil wishes, reporting falsely concerning our people, and rousing thy disfavor against us and our children. Command them, O viceroy of the victorious pharaoh, to govern according to thy will, sparing our freedom, our property, our language, and the customs of our ancestors and fathers.
"Let thy laws be equal for all subjects, let not thy officials favor some too much and be too harsh toward others; let their sentences be of the same kind for all. Let them collect the tribute predestined for thy needs and for thy use, but let them not take secretly other tributes which never go into thy treasury, and enrich only thy servants and the servants of those servants.
"Command them to govern without injustice to us and our children, for Thou art to us a deity and a ruler forever. Imitate the sun, which sends his light to all and gives life and strength to them. We, thy Libyan subjects, implore thy favor and fall on our faces before thee, O heir of the great and mighty pharaoh."
So spoke the crafty Libyan prince, Musawasa, and after he had finished speaking he prostrated himself again. But when the pharaoh's heir heard these wise words his eyes glittered, and his nostrils dilated like those of a young stallion which after good feeding runs to a field where mares are at pasture.
"Rise, Musawasa, and listen to what I tell thee. Thy fate and that of thy people depend not on me, but on that gracious lord who towers above us all, as the sky above the earth. I advise thee, then, to go and to take Libyan elders hence to Memphis, and, falling on thy face before the leader and the god in this world, to repeat the humble prayer, which I have heard here from thee.
"I know not what the effect of thy prayer will be; but since the gods never turn from him who implores and is repentant, I have a feeling that Thou wilt not meet a bad reception.