Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 18.djvu/384

* SOLMIZATION. 330 SOLOMON. ■nliifli liiiil this peculiarity, that the first syllable ot each line (with the exception of the last) was sung to a note one degree higher than the first syllable of the line that preceded, so as to present the type of a scale. These syllables are said to have been first made use of by Guido of Arezzo in the eleventh cen- tury. As Guido employed a hexachord, six syl- lables were sufficient. But when the importance of the leading tone was recognized the hepta- chord superseded the old hexachord. Then Le Jlaire, a French musician of the seventeenth cen- tury, added to them si, for the seventh of the scale. Wheri applied to the key of C, their equivalents, in the ordinary musical nomencla- ture, are: Do re mi fa sol la si do CDEF G ABC. These syllables may, however, be applied to other keys, with do always as the key-note, so as to express, not the absolute pitch of a note, but its relation to the key-note. SOLMONA, sol-mf/na, or STJLMONA, sool- mo'na. A city in the Province of Aquila, Italy (Jlap: Italy H 5). Solmona manufactures wine, paper, cloth, and strings for musical instruments. Population (commune), in 1901, 17,988. SOLMS-LATJBACH, zolms lou'biiG. Her- mann, Count (184-2 — ). A German botanist, born near Giessen and educated there and at Ber- lin. Freiburg, and (ieneva. He became professor extraordinary at Strassburg in 1872 and prdfes- sor of botany and director of the Botanical Gar- den at Gilttingen in 1879, and was called to a similar jmsition at Strassburg in 1888. His publications include : Velier den Ban und die Ent- imckelung der Ernahrungsorqane parasitischer Phanerogamen (1867-68); Cornllina (Naples, 1881) ; Berkunft, Domcstikation iind Verbreitiing des gcwohnJichen Feigenbauiiis (1882); Die Oe- schlechtcrdifferemieriing bei den Feigenbiiumen (188.5); and EinleiUing in die PaUophytologie (1887). SOLO (It., alone). In music, a piece or passage for a single voice or instrument. In orchestral compositions 'solo' indicates that one instrument is to take the leading part. SOL'OMON (Heb. fthHonwh, peaceable). A son of David and Bathsheba (II. Sam. xii. 24), successor of David on the throne of Israel. The date of his reign may be stated approximately as B.C. 977-937. The biblical account of Solomon is found in I. Kings, chapters i.-xi., and its parallel II. Chronicles, chapters i.-ix. The facts furnished by these passages may be briefly summarized as follows: When David" was old, his son Adonijah set himself up as a pretender to the throne, but Bathsheba interceded for Solomon. David granted her request and Solomon became King. One by one the new King had his enemies, Adoni- jah. .foab, and Shimei, put to death, so that he rested securely on his throne. He took to wife a daughter of Pharaoh and at the time of his mar- riage he worshiped in the 'high places.' Solomon divided Israel into twelve parts for admini- strative purposes, and we are told that his terri- tory extended from the river (Kuphrates) unto the land of the Philistines, and unto the border of Egypt, and that he made bondsmen of the Canaanites who remained in the land. He made an alliance with Hiram, King of Tyre, and, in re- turn for food, furnished him with timber; the ships of the allies went out trading together. The temple was built in great splendor with Hiram's aid and dedicated with much magnifi- cence. The King also built a house for his Egyp- tian wife and a palace in the Lebanon. The temple took from the fourth to the eleventh year of Solomon's reign for its completion; the palace in the Lebanon from the seventh to the twentieth year. Several cities also were built by the King. IMany strange women were in his household, who are said to have influenced him to worship alien gods; and for this sin the historian assigns as a punishment Solomon's troubles at the hands of eucmies in his lifetime, and the division of the kingdom between Eehoboam and .Jeroboam after his death. (See .Jeroboam I. ; Rehoboam.) Al- most all other details about Solomon are ampli- fications either of his wisdom or his splendor. We are told that the Lord appeared to him in a dream and asked him to choose a gift, whereupon Solomon chose neither riches nor power, but wis- dom, and as a reward was given both what he chose and what he resigned. A proof of his wis- dom immediately follows (I. Kings iii. 16-25), and it is never lost sight of afterwards (cf. I. Kings iv. 29 et seq., where he is said to be "wiser than all men;" v. 7-12; x. 1-3, where Solomon answers the 'hard questions' propounded by the Queen of Sheba, and x. 24). The entire narrative is a recital of the magnificence of the King, es- pecially the description of his building opera- tions (L Kings iv. 22-28: ix. 26-29; x. 1-13. the story of the Queen of Sheba, who voluntarily pays the King tribute ; II. Chron. ix. 9). The narrative in Kings concerning Solomon is based upon earlier documents, such as the "Book of the Acts of Solomon" (I. Kings xi. 41). .-- though the main facts are authentic in the opinion of many Bible critics, they are so entwined with legendary lore and colored by a traditional view of Solomon belonging to a period many centuries later, that it is difficult to determine the exact position to be assigned to him in Hebrew history. This traditional view is still more consistently carried oiit in the narrative in Chronicles, which has no independent historical value. In the Book of Kings there are still traces of a conception of Solomon which did not hold him up in a favora- ble light. The extension of power is made re- sponsible for the introduction of foreign religious customs, and the blame for the rebellion immedi- ately following upon the death of Solomon is in part, at least, put upon the King. In Chronicles, however, all these unfavorable features are sup- pressed and the King is held up as a marvel of piety and wisdom, as well as a great ruler under whom the kingdom rose to its highest point of glory- Solomon's distinguishing quality was as an ad- ministrator. He kept the confederacy of the Hebrew tribes intact during his reign, though not in such a condition that his successor could continue his policy. An important step was his strengthening the fortifications ot the country, and no less significant was his foreign policy, which involved alliances with surrounding na- tions such as the Phoenicians. He kept the Egyp- tian power at bay by becoming the vassal of the Egyptian King. Through this international in- tercourse, an impetus was given to commerce in Solomon's days, which prompted the tale of Sol-