on, riches, glory, victory
over his enemies; and, in the first place, understanding and wisdom, and
this in such a degree as no other mortal man, neither kings nor ordinary
persons, ever had. He also promised to preserve the kingdom to his
posterity for a very long time, if he continued righteous and obedient
to him, and imitated his father in those things wherein he excelled.
When Solomon heard this from God, he presently leaped out of his bed;
and when he had worshipped him, he returned to Jerusalem; and after he
had offered great sacrifices before the tabernacle, he feasted all his
own family.

2. In these days a hard cause came before him in judgment, which it was
very difficult to find any end of; and I think it necessary to explain
the fact about which the contest was, that such as light upon my
writings may know what a difficult cause Solomon was to determine, and
those that are concerned in such matters may take this sagacity of the
king for a pattern, that they may the more easily give sentence about
such questions. There were two women, who were harlots in the course
of their lives, that came to him; of whom she that seemed to be injured
began to speak first, and said, "O king, I and this other woman dwell
together in one room. Now it came to pass that we both bore a son at the
same hour of the same day; and on the third day this woman overlaid her
son, and killed it, and then took my son out of my bosom, and removed
him to herself, and as I was asleep she laid her dead son in my arms.
Now, when in the morning I was desirous to give the breast to the child,
I did not find my own, but saw the woman's dead child lying by me; for
I considered it exactly, and found it so to be. Hence it was that I
demanded my son, and when I could not obtain him, I have recourse, my
lord, to thy assistance; for since we were alone, and there was nobody
there that could convict her, she cares for nothing, but perseveres in
the stout denial of the fact." When this woman had told this her story,
the king asked the other woman what she had to say in contradiction to
that story. But when she denied that she had done what was charged upon
her, and said that it was her child that was living, and that it was
her antagonist's child that was dead, and when no one could devise
what judgment could be given, and the whole court were blind in their
understanding, and could not tell how to find out this riddle, the king
alone invented the follow