Читать книгу The Great Reduction - Jay Trott - Страница 18

Now of course we all know that when God offered to give Solomon his heart’s desire, the one thing he asked for was wisdom, specifically to rule and judge the nation of Israel at a tender age. This indicated that he loved wisdom; he desired it more than any other thing.

Here he says he “gave his heart” to it. He had an inquisitive mind, like Marcus Aurelius or Thomas Jefferson. He had a passion to know about “all things that are done under heaven.” He was curious about nature and how it works, and also about human nature, and the nature of being.

This makes Solomon a very unique king. Plato talks about the philosopher-king, but it does not seem to have been a common type throughout history. Solomon was also a philosopher of the best kind. He understood the true point of philosophy, which is to find the supreme good of happiness.

He wrote a book about it. The purpose of Proverbs was to show us how to make life happy by following the light of Wisdom. It is a completely practical book. There is no hint of academicism or of trying to impress others with one’s capacity for abstract reasoning.

And every word in it is true. All the advice Solomon gives is very good advice. He depicts Wisdom as a woman standing on the street corner and calling out to humanity to come and eat that which is wholesome and sweet, that which can satisfy. Wisdom, in this view, is the key to contentment.

Proverbs is also a deep book. Solomon informs us that “a soft answer turns away wrath” and a “gentle tongue can break a bone.” These observations are true, but they are by no means self-evident. They go against all instinctive wisdom and human nature itself.

Through his proverbs and judgments, Solomon earned a reputation as the wisest man in the world. The Queen of Sheba, laden with riches, came to riddle him because of this shimmering reputation. But this raises a very interesting question.

How is it possible that the wisest man in the world could wind up being so very unhappy?