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THE KING AND HIS CHIEF OFFICERS OF STATE AND SUBJECTS. MILITARY SERVICE.
The = King = of Egypt was absolute master of the country, which had been given to him by the gods, and of every man, woman, and child, and of everything in it from one end to the other. He was the son of Ḥeru-ur, _i.e._, Horus the Great, the oldest of all the gods of Egypt, whose attributes were, at a later period, usurped by Rā, the Sun-god, and was declared to be of the very substance and essence of the god. He was believed to be a god, and was worshipped as a god, and his statues and figures were placed among the statues of the gods, and with them received the adoration of men. His word on any subject was final, his authority limitless, in his person he united the intelligence and strength of all beings in heaven and on earth; men lived by his grace only, and at a word from him they were slain. In short, the Egyptians were serfs and bondmen of the king, the counterpart, image and symbol of the god of heaven.