Before the Throne

3

“KING KHUFU!” Horus exclaimed.

The king came in, powerfully built and rather tall, bareheaded and barefoot though wound in his shroud, until he stood obediently before the throne.

Then Thoth began to read aloud, “King Khufu: chief monarch of the Fourth Dynasty; he of the Great Pyramid. He organized the state’s administration with a rigor not seen either before or since. In his time, the land was abundant with goods and the markets were full, while agriculture, industry, and the arts reached their highest degree of refinement. Meanwhile, the pious awe of Pharaoh burst outward on the horizons like the sun, cowing the troublesome desert tribes, so that peace prevailed in every district and in every soul.”

Asked to speak by Osiris, Khufu recounted, “From infancy I was enchanted by order and precision. All activities must have their rules and time-honored methods. In this, there is no difference between police work and sculpture, or architecture and marital relations. My personality reached into each village as an example to civil servants, the guardians of public order, and to those in the temples. Egypt became an assembly of heavenly traditions and precise administrative systems. This is what aided me in erecting the most monumental building known to man. Many thousands harmoniously took part in building it for over twenty years, a period unmarred by neglect and unrest. Not one of the laborers went without due care or protection, nor was there ever wanting a watchful, wakeful eye. And so my people boldly embarked upon a unique experiment with exemplary success, demonstrating beyond doubt their transcendent ability in the service of the God, and in gaining His satisfaction and His blessings.”

“Did you exploit your nation in building your tomb?” Osiris questioned him caustically.

“If I had merely wanted a tomb for myself, then I would have had it dug out in the mountains, far beyond the sight of any covetous eye,” said Khufu. “Instead, I built a symbol of divine immortality caching within it all the secrets hidden from the mind of man. The people were so keen to build it that they created a complete city — happy and holy in itself — where they labored to the utmost for the sake of the God alone. This was the work of free men — not of slaves!”

Osiris turned to his right toward that happy few who had attained eternal life in the Other World. “Let whoever wishes, speak!”

“A majestic accomplishment,” lauded Menes, “that reminds me of the building of mighty Memphis, which age did not permit me to finish.”

“It would have been more propitious,” Djoser chided, “to direct the power at your disposal toward raids to secure the nation’s borders.”

“The goods of neighboring countries came to me without combat,” objected Khufu. “My concern for the lives of my subjects was no less than my zeal for glory and immortality.”

“Yet you took an innocent life when a man prophesied to you that a child other than your own would inherit your throne,” Osiris reminded him.

“The king is obliged to protect his throne in order to defend the unity of his country,” said Khufu. “And in doing so, he is bound to be right sometimes — and wrong at others.”

“Were you not, in this case, defying the will of the God?”

“We do what we think duty demands, and the God does what He wills.”

“Word spread that your eldest daughter fell into debauchery,” Osiris told Khufu.

In a wounded tone, Khufu replied, “Sometimes the honor of even the noblest is injured without their knowledge.”

“But it was said that you blessed her lewdness in order to wrench yourself from a painful predicament.”

“That is pure calumny!” Khufu fumed. “Deceit has no place in this hallowed hall!”

Granted permission to speak, Isis said, “This enlightened king is like a sun in the sky of sovereign thrones. And how many vanished empires have left behind them such a towering pyramid as his? All the while, his greatness is a source of envy for the weak and incapable, both abroad, and among his own people.”

At this, Osiris commanded Khufu, “Take your seat, O King, among the Immortals.”