“By the gods, what I’m hearing is amazing,” interjected Djoser. “What was Egypt but a boat filled with sacred traditions, which capsized as a building does when a key brick loosens? Pharaoh is the divinity made flesh. The nobility are his deputies who reflect his light. The civil functionaries serve him and his subjects are the bearers of his message. How could their places be filled by a bunch of peasants, artisans, and fishermen?”
“Yet they did indeed take their positions,” Abnum answered, “proving that they were better than those whom they replaced, and that the gods embody themselves in whoever raises the standard of justices and mercy, regardless of their identity.”
“What impudence!” shouted Djoser.
Osiris swiveled toward him. “I will not suffer any speech that violates courtesy. Apologize.”
“I offer you my apology: I am sorry,” said Djoser.
“The traditions of this court permit you to take part in discussions,” Osiris said to those seated in the gallery of Immortals, “but within the limits of politeness. Remember well that you might in future be addressing persons who belong to other faiths, founded after your own.”
Then, turning toward Abnum, he said, “Your era was one of darkness, yet did you not leave even one monument, nor a single document, behind you?”
“That is the work of historians,” pleaded Abnum. “The peasants set up a government drawn from their own sons. As they ruled the country, security was established while justice spread its reach, along with the shade of compassion. The poor were satisfied; they gained science and knowledge, filling the highest positions. The nation ascended, with no less greatness than the state of King Khufu, yet without wasting money on building pyramids or waging wars. This renaissance was financed through agriculture, industry, and the arts, plus the revival of the villages and towns. And when — after we had gone — Egypt of the pharaohs returned, they burned the papyri that recorded our deeds.”
“The wisdom to build pyramids was lacking among you,” rebuked Khufu.
“Nor did you have the sagacity to declare war in order to raid the lands on your borders,” echoed Djoser.
“We felt it was better to educate a peasant than to throw up a temple,” Abnum rebutted.
“You have spoken blasphemy,” said Ptahhotep.
“The gods do not need places of worship, but the peasants need learning. That is why the gods blessed our rule for a hundred years with peace and prosperity.”
“Then why did your kingdom come to an end?” asked Khufu.
“When our rulers forgot the root that had nurtured them,” explained Abnum. “They dreamed, like those before them, that they were descended from the offspring of Ra. They were afflicted by pride, and darkness crept into them, until they were apprehended by that which overtakes all oppressors.”
“Your wealth dissipated and crimes were committed that know no sanction by any religion, morality, or law,” lamented Osiris.
“I bear witness before your justice that I personally gave no orders for any of that, nor was I ever informed of it,” the leading rebel remonstrated.
“I concede that this is one of the wisest and noblest of my sons,” said Isis. “My country was granted good fortune in his time that she has not tasted before or since. His faith testifies to his truthfulness and piety. As for the sins committed during his revolution, there are always criminals who conceal themselves among the restless masses to launch their malicious acts of mayhem.”
Osiris, after thinking for a moment, uttered his judgment: “Gentlemen, take your seats among the Immortals.”
6
HORUS HAILED, “Amenemhat the First!”
A strongly built man of medium height entered, in the manner of those before him, until he stood before the throne.
Thoth, Scribe of the Gods, began reading aloud, “Leading ruler of the Middle Kingdom. He cleared the country of intruders, while putting a stop to internal quarrels. He presided over the provincial governors with wisdom, and he invaded the land of Nubia.”
Osiris asked him to speak.
“I was one of the provincial potentates,” said Amenemhat I, “when the central government was extremely weak and corrupt. The wars between the chiefs of the nomes did not abate until Bedouin tribes seized some parts of the realm. I was greatly saddened by what had befallen my country, and resolved to save her. Imposing austerity upon myself and my family, I drilled my men for action. Then I invaded the provinces surrounding me, and declared myself king, demanding the loyalty of the governors to me. In doing so, I was content to concede some prerogatives to them, while choosing my personal retinue from among their sons. Then I marched with a mighty army to rid the nation of the foreign interlopers. I set the administration in order, restoring the temples and spreading security and justice throughout the countryside. Following that, I struck into Nubia to set up a house of worship there to the gods that had backed my victory.”
“You were nearly killed in a conspiracy among your courtiers,” remarked Osiris. “How do you explain that?”
“A woman wanted to usurp the throne in favor of her son, and recruited some of the Nubians to help her.”
“Nubia was a poor country, which could not endure the plunder of some of her lands to endow them for a temple,” said Osiris.
“We encountered necessities that we could not avoid,” Amenemhat I asserted.
“It was your duty to return power to the peasants,” admonished Abnum. “But you forgot your own origins, and placed the edifice of the old oppressor back on its foundations, instead.”
“The provincial governors had forgotten their roots, while putting the peasants back in power would have meant civil war!” Amenemhat I protested.
“You restored the sacred heritage of Egypt to her,” said Khufu with approval.
Then Isis added, “He saved Egypt from chaos, and sat her once again on the throne of glory. He was unable to do more good than that.”
“Take your place among the Immortals,” pronounced Osiris.
7
HORUS SHOUTED, “Amenemhat the Second!”
Thoth then read aloud, “He followed his father’s policies.”
Summoned by Osiris to speak, Amenemhat II said, “I was thoroughly versed in all of my father’s ways. Finding no better path, I followed them loyally and to the letter.”
“But not to take a step forward is to take two steps backward,” Abnum protested.
“I deepened Egypt’s ties to Nubia,” Amenemhat II rejoined. “And I forged new bonds with the land of Punt, from which we imported incense and perfumes.”
Abnum asked a question of Osiris. “My Lord,” he said, “shall all the Immortals be equal in the Other World?”
“You must learn, Abnum, that you are no longer a revolutionary,” Osiris said dryly. “But there is no harm if I describe Destiny for you. Be aware that my trial sends souls to three different abodes: Paradise, the Inferno, and that which lies between the two, the Place of the Insignificant — for those who are not guilty, and merit neither Hell nor Heaven. In addition, there are distinct ranks in Heaven, among them kings and servants, according to the kind of work each performed in the world.…”
“For this king’s sake,” interrupted Isis, “take into account that the nation was blessed in his age with that which had graced his father’s — safety and prosperity that could not be denied.”
And so Osiris decreed, “Take your seat among the Immortals.”
8
Horus called out, “Amenemhat the Third!”
A giant came in, walking in his winding sheet until he stood before the throne.