Naguib Mahfouz - Before the Throne

“No,” Ramesses II said. “These were the chariots of love, clad with pure gold, exuding the sumptuous aromas of women.”

“Your life, O King, mixed both seriousness in all its senses, and play with all its caprices,” jibed Abnum. “Perhaps the final judgment upon you should combine both indulgence and restraint!”

Osiris stared at Abnum sternly. “This proceeding has no need either for your guidance or your opinions, except to ignite a new revolution in the world of Eternity,” he berated him. “Do not exceed your proper place — apologize!”

Abnum acquiesced, “I beg your pardon, Great Lord!”

Isis summarized, “This son returned Egypt to her former glory, while material comfort during his time spread from palace to house to reed hut alike. If we counted all his faults through all of his life, they would seem insignificant.”

And so Osiris turned to Ramesses II, “Go take your seat among the Immortals.”

HORUS CALLED OUT, “King Merneptah!”

A tall man of middling years came in, marching with his familiar bearing until he took his place before the throne.

Thoth, Recorder of the Divine Court, then read aloud, “He expended his entire ten years of rule in defense of the empire, and did no wrong to anyone.”

Osiris invited him to speak.

“My father lived so long that he did not leave any of his sons even the least hope of assuming the throne,” recounted Merneptah. “Dozens of my siblings died between youth and middle age, until I became the designated heir — then the ruler at age sixty. When the great king vanished, the chieftains of sedition began to stir — so I got up to sling my sword, despite my advanced age. I overcame the upstarts in Asia and totally destroyed an invasion from the West. I took hold of the country’s reins with a firm hand in domestic affairs, and as peace spread at home, security prevailed.”

“You attacked older monuments to erect palaces and temples,” remarked Akhenaten, “engraving upon them the story of your father’s deeds!”

“All my time was absorbed in warfare — I never had time to do any building,” Merneptah replied.

“I can say you are a brilliant commander,” said Thutmose III.

“Thank you, my son,” Isis addressed Merenptah, “for your heroism and sincerity.”

Osiris ordered him, “Go to your place among the Immortals.”

HORUS 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.

HORUS 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.”

HORUS 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 with their whole families, who set up colonies inside the country. In the event, I launched into ruthless combat, driving the Libyans from our soil. I exterminated the Sea Peoples, making captives of their women and young. Next I commanded a campaign in Asia, decimating them without mercy. During my time, Egypt was graced with security and stability, as I erected multitudes of palaces and temples.

“But from sheer bad fortune, in my old age, a conspiracy hatched in my harem aimed to seize the throne by force. I created a tribunal to try those responsible, and ordered that justice be served, with no criminal acquitted and no innocent condemned. Yet tragically, two of the judges succumbed to the allure of the women accused, and took their own lives when their lapse was exposed.”

“Your record reveals you are a most extraordinary leader,” said Thutmose III.

“I followed your footsteps in my conquest of Asia,” replied Ramesses III.

“Your treatment of the conspirators is to your credit,” added Akhenaten. “Your putting them forward for trial rather than striking them down on the spot, your prompt setting up of the court in order to carry out an investigation to arrive at justice — all this bears witness to your reverence for the law, and your passion for the noble deeds of morality. It’s as though you were among the worshipers of the One and Only God.”