SOLOMON. This celeorated monarch was the son of David by Bathsheba, thrown whose influence he inherited he Jewish throne, in preference to his elder brothers. During his long and peaceful reign—from B. c. 1015 to 975- the Hebrews enjoyed their golden age. His remarkable judicial decisions, and his completion of the political insti tutions of David, showoo a superiority of genius which gained him the respect t the people. By building the Temple, which plays so Jr,00rtant a role in the symbolism of Freemasonry, exceeding as it did, in splendor and beauty, all former works of architecture, he gave to the Hebrew worship a magnificence that bound the people more closely to the national rites. He was truly a great ruler; but, while the Jews were naturally proud, of the glory which his great qualities reflected on the nation, his enlarged and liberal views with regard to intercourse with foreign peoples deeply offended the national bigotry. The decorations of the Temple were thought by many to be pagan emblems, and, finally, they accused him openly of idolatry. Solo mon is often styled "the first Grand Master of Masons."' This cannot be true. He might have been, and probably was, the first Grand Master of Masons in Judea; for Masonry was not known in that country until it was introduced by the Masons of Tyre and Sidon, who built the Temple. Solo
mon must have been made a Mason at that time, unless he had been previously admitted into the society at Tyre or Sidon. To Solomon, however, belongs the honor of having brought the Masonic institution to the knowledge of the Hebrews, through the agency of the Tyrian architects. Yet the society seems not to have made much progress among that people, and even Solomon's great name and patronage could not secure it from misrepresentation and persecution. And this is not strange. A Jew of that age could not com prehend, much less appreciate, the cosmopolitan character and liberal spirit of such an institution. Consequently, the Masons—called, in the Scriptures, Sidonians—were often the objects of bitter persecution. Of the writings ascribed to Solomon, the "Proverbs," and the book entitled the "Wisdom of Solomon," are the best. The latter Protestants have unwisely pronounced apocryphal; for, in a purely reli gious point of view, it is the most instructive and valuable book in the Old Testament series.