king by Nathan the prophet, and by Zadok the priest. After that, Joab being slain, and Shimei, and Adonijah his brother, Solomon, having received wisdom from God after a sacrifice which he offered, began to build a temple to the Lord at Jerusalem, in the fourth year of his reign, and the five hundred and second year after the Exodus of Israel from Egypt ; on the thousand and twentieth1 year of the arrival of Abraham in the land of Canaan from Mesopotamia in Syria, and the fourteen hundredth year after the flood. In these days also, Leyl, king of the Britons, who was mentioned in the last chapter, built a city and called it after his own name Carlisle, that is to say, the city of Leyl. He reigned twenty-five years. After him, his son Rudhudibras took the kingdom ; lie founded Caerceynt, that is, Canterbury, and Caerguyent, that is, Winchester, and the town of Mount Paladin, which is now called Septonia.3 Solomon the son of David was the son of Bathsheba, and born in Jérusalem. And before he was born it was pronounced that he should be the wisest of men. He dedicated the temple of the Lord ; he was prosperous in his empire, though not so warlike a king as his father : he was beloved by God, discreet in judgment, just in giving sentence, pacific in his administration, one who begged for wisdom and gained it to such a degree as to know the entire arrangement of the world, the virtues of the elements, the power of the different minerals and herbs, the nature of all animals and the thoughts of men. His beginning was good, and his end evil. For after wonderful glory on account of his virtues, he became corrupted by his love for women, and lost the wisdom that he had received, and sank in the deepest idolatry, which was his ruin. He reigned forty years and lived fifty-two.3 Then he ended his life and his reign ; and he was buried in Bethlehem, in the city of his father. 1 These dates are not quite correct, or quite consistent. The flood took place u.c. 2349. The call of Abraham, 1921. The Exodus, 1491. The distance of time between the call of Abraham and the departure from Egypt being 430 years, not 518. 3 Now Shaftesbury. 8 This is not quite correct. Solomon was born B.C. 1033 ; David died 1015 ; Solomon died 975, 60 that he was fifty-eight years old, not fifty, two.