some things a scribe is called upon to do demand he be as strong of back and thew as in mentality ; and when we must decide between some dullard we can trust and one of greater subtlety , who may be prone to dropping ballast on his way , our clear-cut choice for tribal scribe is he with strength to bear the weight of history -- a lot of which ( before we learned the trick of using scrolls ) was graved on stone or brick .