Before the Throne

18

HORUS BELLOWED, “King Amenhotep the Second!”

A gigantic man entered, inspiring awe with this height and broad build, marching in his shroud until he loomed before the throne.

“The throne has never known a man of his portly power,” recited Thoth, Recorder of the Sacred Court. “His age was one of peace, as he devoted himself to building and public works.”

Osiris asked Amenhotep II to speak.

“I was strong, so all those near me were afraid of me,” he began. “I held them all to their duty, as though my eye followed their every move. I had a bow that only I could draw and shoot. Yet the well-established stability called for me to center my mission on building and construction — and so I did.”

“What was your view regarding the grandeur of your forebears?” asked the Sage Ptahhotep.

“They were my highest example,” answered Amenhotep II. “Yet I sometimes felt inadequate in comparison with them, and a great depression would seize me.”

“In any case,” said Isis, “you ruled and you built, while your times did not demand anything more than what you offered.”

“Take your seat among the Immortals,” Osiris told him.