Read Online Before the Throne by Naguib Mahfouz - Free Book Online
Authors: Naguib Mahfouz
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heroism and sincerity.”
Osiris ordered him, “Go to your place among the Immortals.”
28
H ORUS HERALDED , “King Amenmessu, King Siptah, and King Seti the Second!”
The three walked in, wrapped in their winding sheets, until they stood before the throne.
Thoth, the sacred scribe, recited from their record, “They were all preoccupied with contending for the throne. Corruption reigned supreme, as greed rent the unity of the country asunder, and killing, looting, and plunder ran rampant in the land.”
Osiris called upon them to speak, and Amenmessu was the first to respond. “I took the throne by right. Yet I was surrounded by conspiracies, and fell after only one year.”
“I was entitled to rule,” asserted Siptah, “but it was usurped from me in a dispute that arose between myself and Merneptah near the end of his reign. I was distracted from my duties in chasing down malicious plots, until I was forced to give up the throne.”
“I strove to the limits of my strength to be a good ruler,” insisted Seti II. “But the corruption worsened, and the general putrefaction swept us away.”
“How quickly corruption replaces virtue,” lamented the Sage Imhotep, vizier to King Djoser. “See how the weakness of a single ruler is reflected back onto an entire civilization!”
“Perhaps the problem in the end is,” Thutmose III suggested, “how to find the right, powerful man at the right time?”
“There wasn’t any man in the royal family who was powerful enough,” countered Horemheb. “Yet could it be that there was no such man to be found in the land?”
“The law demands that the heir who is present be granted the throne,” said Isis, “not to suffer the difficulties of finding someone else who has the right qualities. These three could only do what they were able to do.”
“Get all ye to Purgatory,” said Osiris imperiously.
29
H ORUS CALLED OUT , “Pharaoh Sethnakht!”
A short, strongly built man entered, covered in his shroud, then strode with dignity to his place before the throne.
Then Thoth read from his holy tome, “He restored the law to its sovereignty!”
Osiris invited him to speak, so he began, “I lived in an age of chaos. I was nearly murdered one day as I sailed on the Nile—and survived by a miracle. I was then but a distant relative of the King Merneptah, but rose to the throne with the aid of the priests. The corrupt provincial governors refused to acknowledge me. While not powerful enough to subjugate them all, I was not lacking in courage. So I crushed the nome of Khnum, where I annihilated the rebels, cutting off the ears and noses of those I captured. From there I marched on Thebes, where the cowards quickly rushed to greet me in submission.
“I put right the army and the forces of order, and labored tirelessly until I returned the law to its place of supremacy. I made the farmer safe on his land, and once again he tilled the soil. But I departed the world before I could make the peoples of our empire feel the might of Egypt once more.”
“Your work, that but a few words could describe, was greater than the building of the Great Pyramid,” marveled Khufu.
“My heart has begun to beat again,” chimed Menes.
“A magnificent son, who has hewn his indomitable will in souls, not in stone,” lauded Isis.
Osiris bid him, “Proceed to your seat among the Immortals.”
30
H ORUS HERALDED , “King Ramesses the Third!”
A lumbering giant of a man came in, and moved in his winding sheet till he loomed before the throne.
Thoth, Recorder of the Sacred Court, then read aloud, “He was victorious over invaders from Asia and the West, and over the Sea Peoples too. The nation dwelt in peace and protection.”
Osiris asked him to address the proceedings.
“Due to the unrest inside Egypt, the Levantine rulers threw off their traces. Meanwhile, the Libyans lusted to conquer our land. Then suddenly we were flooded on our northern coast by peoples coming
Osiris ordered him, “Go to your place among the Immortals.”
28
H ORUS HERALDED , “King Amenmessu, King Siptah, and King Seti the Second!”
The three walked in, wrapped in their winding sheets, until they stood before the throne.
Thoth, the sacred scribe, recited from their record, “They were all preoccupied with contending for the throne. Corruption reigned supreme, as greed rent the unity of the country asunder, and killing, looting, and plunder ran rampant in the land.”
Osiris called upon them to speak, and Amenmessu was the first to respond. “I took the throne by right. Yet I was surrounded by conspiracies, and fell after only one year.”
“I was entitled to rule,” asserted Siptah, “but it was usurped from me in a dispute that arose between myself and Merneptah near the end of his reign. I was distracted from my duties in chasing down malicious plots, until I was forced to give up the throne.”
“I strove to the limits of my strength to be a good ruler,” insisted Seti II. “But the corruption worsened, and the general putrefaction swept us away.”
“How quickly corruption replaces virtue,” lamented the Sage Imhotep, vizier to King Djoser. “See how the weakness of a single ruler is reflected back onto an entire civilization!”
“Perhaps the problem in the end is,” Thutmose III suggested, “how to find the right, powerful man at the right time?”
“There wasn’t any man in the royal family who was powerful enough,” countered Horemheb. “Yet could it be that there was no such man to be found in the land?”
“The law demands that the heir who is present be granted the throne,” said Isis, “not to suffer the difficulties of finding someone else who has the right qualities. These three could only do what they were able to do.”
“Get all ye to Purgatory,” said Osiris imperiously.
29
H ORUS CALLED OUT , “Pharaoh Sethnakht!”
A short, strongly built man entered, covered in his shroud, then strode with dignity to his place before the throne.
Then Thoth read from his holy tome, “He restored the law to its sovereignty!”
Osiris invited him to speak, so he began, “I lived in an age of chaos. I was nearly murdered one day as I sailed on the Nile—and survived by a miracle. I was then but a distant relative of the King Merneptah, but rose to the throne with the aid of the priests. The corrupt provincial governors refused to acknowledge me. While not powerful enough to subjugate them all, I was not lacking in courage. So I crushed the nome of Khnum, where I annihilated the rebels, cutting off the ears and noses of those I captured. From there I marched on Thebes, where the cowards quickly rushed to greet me in submission.
“I put right the army and the forces of order, and labored tirelessly until I returned the law to its place of supremacy. I made the farmer safe on his land, and once again he tilled the soil. But I departed the world before I could make the peoples of our empire feel the might of Egypt once more.”
“Your work, that but a few words could describe, was greater than the building of the Great Pyramid,” marveled Khufu.
“My heart has begun to beat again,” chimed Menes.
“A magnificent son, who has hewn his indomitable will in souls, not in stone,” lauded Isis.
Osiris bid him, “Proceed to your seat among the Immortals.”
30
H ORUS HERALDED , “King Ramesses the Third!”
A lumbering giant of a man came in, and moved in his winding sheet till he loomed before the throne.
Thoth, Recorder of the Sacred Court, then read aloud, “He was victorious over invaders from Asia and the West, and over the Sea Peoples too. The nation dwelt in peace and protection.”
Osiris asked him to address the proceedings.
“Due to the unrest inside Egypt, the Levantine rulers threw off their traces. Meanwhile, the Libyans lusted to conquer our land. Then suddenly we were flooded on our northern coast by peoples coming
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