Nefretiri Oh, Moses, Moses…
3rd most-quoted character in The Ten Commandments (1956): in 17 of its 94 quotes
Most scenes with: Moses (5), Rameses (5), Ramses II (4)
Does a Pharaoh harden his heart against his son? If you let the Hebrews go, who will build his cities? You told Moses to make bricks without straw. Now he tells you to make cities without bricks. Who is the slave, and who is the Pharaoh? Do you hear laughter, Rameses? Yes. The laughter of kings in Babylon, in Cannan, in Troy, as Egypt surrenders to the god of slaves.
More lines from Nefretiri
4 quotes Nefretiri Nefretiri I cursed you. Each time Rameses took me in his arms, I cursed you, not him, because I loved you.
Nefretiri But I am Egypt.
Nefretiri First friend of the Pharaoh, Keeper of the Royal Seal, Prince of On, Prince of Memphis, Prince of Thebes, Beloved of the Nile god, Conqueror of Ethiopia, General of Generals, Commander of the Egyptian host...a man of mud!
Scenes with Nefretiri
12 scenes
Announcer
The Lord Moses, Prince of Egypt, son of the Pharaoh’s sister, beloved of the Nile god, commander of the Southern Host!
Egyptian 1
Welcome home!
Egyptian 2
Prince Moses!
The blessing of the god Amun-Ra be upon you, Great Prince! He has brought down the pride of Ethiopia. Yes, that is…
Nefretiri I agree with him.
Nefretiri You will be king of Egypt and I will be your footstool!
The man stupid enough to use you as a footstool isn't wise enough to rule Egypt.
Are you quite sure it will be Rameses?
Who else could succeed you?
Nefretiri Moses, of course!
Because of Moses there is no wheat in the temple granaries.
[After Nefretiri kisses Rameses and he shoves her away]
I know you, my sweet. You’re a sharp-clawed, treacherous little peacock. But you’re food for the gods, and I’m going to have all of you.
Nefretiri None of me. Did you think my kiss was a promise of what you’ll have? No, my pompous one, it was to let you know what you will not have. I could never love you.
Does that matter? You will be my wife. You will come to me whenever I call you. And I will enjoy that very much. Whether you enjoy it or not is your own affair. But I think you will.
[Rameses leaves and Nefretiri wipes her lips in disgust]
Nefretiri If you want to help your people, come back to the palace.
And hide the truth from Seti, that I am Hebrew and a slave?
Nefretiri The truth would break his dear old heart, and send Bithiah into exile and death. Think of us and stop hearing the cries of your people.
Their god does not hear their cry.
Nefretiri Will Rameses hear it, if he is made Pharaoh? No, he would grind them into the clay they mold and double their labors. And what about me? Think of me as his wife. Do you want to see me in Rameses' arms?
No!
Nefretiri Then come back with me.
Nefretiri But beauty of the spirit will not free your people, Moses. You will come to me or they will never leave Egypt.
The fate of Israel is not in your hands, Nefretiri.
Nefretiri [Moses turns and walks away, but Nefretiri blocks his exit]
Oh, isn’t it? Who else can soften Pharaoh’s heart? Or harden it?
[Takes hold of her jaw]
Yes. You may be the lovely dust through which God will work His purpose.
Nefretiri You need have no fear of me.
I feared only his memory of you.
Nefretiri You have been able to erase it?
He has forgotten both of us. You lost him when he went to seek his God. I lost him when he found his God.
Nefretiri But I saved your son.
It is not my son who will die, it is...it is the firstborn of Egypt. It is your son, Nefretiri!
Nefretiri You...You would not dare strike Pharaoh's son!
In the hardness of his heart, Pharaoh has mocked God and brings death to his own son!
Nefretiri But he is my son, Moses. You would not harm my son.
By myself, I am nothing. It is the power of God which uses me to work His will.
Nefretiri But I saved your son!
I cannot save yours.
Nefretiri How many more days and nights will you pray? Does he hear you?
Dread Lord of Darkness, I have raised my voice to you, yet life has not come to the body of my son. Hear me!
Nefretiri He cannot hear you. He's nothing but a piece of stone with the head of a bird.
He will hear me. I am Egypt.
Nefretiri Egypt? You are nothing. You let Moses kill my son. No god can bring him back. What have you done to Moses? How did he die? Did he cry for mercy when you tortured him? Bring me to his body! I want to see it, Rameses! I want to see it!
This is my son. He would have been Pharaoh. He would have ruled the world. Who mourns him now? Not even you. All you can think of is Moses. You will not see his body. I drove him out of Egypt. I cannot fight the power of his God.
Nefretiri His God? The priests say that Pharaoh is a god. But you are not a god. You are even less than a man! Listen to me, Rameses. You thought I was evil when I went to Moses. And you were right. Shall I tell you what happened, Rameses? He spurned me like a strumpet in the street. I, Nefretiri, Queen of Egypt! All that you wanted from me he would not even take! Do you hear laughter, Pharaoh? Not the laughter of kings, but the laughter of slaves on the desert!
Laughter? Laughter?! [Shoves her aside and rings the gong] My son, I shall build your tomb upon their crushed bodies. If any escape me, their seed shall be spattered and accursed forever. [To the arriving servant] My armor! War crown![To Nefretiri] Laughter... I will turn the laughter of these slaves into wails of torment! They shall remember the name of Moses! Only that he died under my chariot wheels!
Nefretiri Kill him with your own hands.
Nefretiri [Bringing Rameses his sword]
Bring it back to me, stained with his blood.
I will. [Takes the sword and sheathes it] To mingle with your own!
Nefretiri [Walking into the throne room, Rameses lifts his sword to kill Nefretiri]
Before you strike, show me his blood on your sword.
Nefretiri [Lowering his arm, Rameses tosses the sword down and sits]
You couldn’t even kill him.
His god…is God!
Great Pharaoh...I stand in the shadow of your justice.
Whose work is this?
I warned you of his treason, my father. Judge now if I spoke truly. The evil star foretold him as the destroyer of Egypt and deliverer of slaves.
It is not possible. A prince of Egypt?
He is not a prince of Egypt. He is not the son of your sister. He is the son of Hebrew slaves. [The crowd is shocked]
Speak...my son.
I am the son of Amram and Yochabel, Hebrew slaves. [The crowd is shocked again]
My brother, it was I who deceived you, not Moses. He was only a child.
Leave me. I shall not see your face again. [Rameses orders Pentaur to take Bithiah away from him; to Moses] Moses...come to me. [Moses approaches him] I do not care who you are or what you are or what they may say about you, but I want to hear from your own lips that you are not a traitor, that you would not lead these people in revolt against me. Tell me, Moses. I will believe you.
I am not this deliverer you fear. It would take more than a man to lead the slaves from bondage. It would take a god. But if I could free them, I would.
What has turned you against me? From the time my sister brought you to the court, I loved you, reared you, set you before my own son, because I saw in you a worth and a greatness above other men.
No son could have more love for you than I.
Then why are you forcing me to destroy you? What evil has done this to you?
The evil that men should turn their brothers into beasts of burden, to slave and suffer in dumb anguish, to be stripped of spirit and hope and faith - only because they are of another race, another creed. If there is a God, He did not mean this to be so. What I have done...I was compelled to do.
So be it. What I do now, I am compelled to do.
Nefretiri No. No.
[grabs Nefretiri]
Rameses...Egypt shall be yours. Hear what I say, Rameses. When I cross the River of Death, you will be...Pharaoh in Egypt. Harden yourself against subordinates. Put no faith in a brother. Have no friend. Trust no woman. I protected the helpless. I nourished the orphan.
Nefretiri Great One! [hugs Seti]
But he who ate my bread and called me father would make rebellion against me.
What manner of death do you decree for him? [Some people in the crowd say "death" as a possible answer]
I cannot speak it. Let it be as you will.
Nefretiri I will not live if you must die! [hugs Moses's leg and sobs]
[takes Nefretiri away from Moses]
The feet of a Hebrew slave is not the right place for the next queen of Egypt. [to guards] Take him away. [The guards lead the arrested Moses away towards the exit]
Let the name of Moses be stricken from every book and tablet. Stricken from all pylons and obelisks, stricken from every monument of Egypt. Let the name of...Moses be unheard and unspoken, erased from the memory of men...for all time.
