683 



SOUS, JUAN DIAZ DE. 



SOLOMON. 



of Oropesa, then viceroy of Navarre, and who appointed him his 

 secretary. Solis seems to have taken particular delight in recording 

 the virtues of his Maecenas, whom he highly praises in several of his 

 poems. On the birth of one of his sons he composed an heroic drama 

 called ' Orpheo y Eurydice/ which was acted at Pampeluna during 

 the festivities celebrated by the municipality on that occasion. In 

 1642 Solis was appointed to a lucrative office in the secretary of state's 

 department, and subsequently raised to the honourable post of secre- 

 tary to Philip IV. It was then, and in order to celebrate the birth of 

 a son of this king, that Solis composed one of his best comedies, 

 Triumfos de Amor y Fortuna ' ('Triumphs of Love and Fortune '), 

 which met with the most brilliant success. After the death of Philip, 

 Solis was named to the office of ' cronista de las Indias/ or first histo- 

 riographer of the transactions of the Spaniards in both Indies. In 

 this capacity he wrote his ' Historia de la Conquista de Mexico/ a 

 work which has ranked him among the best prose writers of Spain, 

 and which was greatly esteemed at home and abroad. It contains an 

 account of the conquest of Mexico by Hernando Cortes, written with 

 great spirit and in very elegant style, though it is deficient in the 

 criticism which belongs to a true historical writer. The work is con- 

 sidered by the Spaniards as the last relic of their classic literature. 

 It appeared for the first time at Madrid in 1682, folio, and went 

 subsequently through several editions, of which the principal are : 

 Barcelona, fol., 1691 ; Madrid, 4to, 1777 and 1783; Venice, 4to, 1704 ; 

 London, 2 vols. 8vo, 1808. We have an English version of it by 

 Townsend (London, 1724), and there are besides French and Italian 

 translations. 



Solis is better known out of Spain as an historian than as a dramatic 

 writer, yet he occupies a prominent place among the poets of that 

 nation. His plays do not display so much invention as those of 

 Calderon, but his dramas are more regular than those of that poet, 

 because he was less liable to be led away by the force of his imagina- 

 tion. Among his comedies, ' El Alcazar del Secreto ' (' The Castle of 

 Mystery '), and 'La Gitanilla de Madrid ' ('The Gipsy -girl of Madrid'), 

 which is partly founded on Cervantes's novel of the same title, are 

 justly much valued. His comedy ' Un Bobo haze Cieuto' (' One Fool 

 will make a Hundred ') has, with many others, been imitated by the 

 French dramatic writers. A volume of Solis's plays and dramas, in 

 all fourteen, appeared at Madrid in 1732, 4to. There is also a volume 

 of Lyric Poems written by him on various subjects, ' Varias Poesias 

 de Don Antonio de Solis/ Madrid, 4to, 1682 ; and some letters pub- 

 lished by Mayans in 1732. At the age of fifty six Solis entered into 

 holy orders, and devoted himself almost exclusively to exercises of 

 devotion. He now renounced all profane compositions, and wrote 

 nothing but some dramatic pieces upon sacred subjects. He died 

 April 19, 1686. His friend Juan de Goyeneche wrote an account of 

 his life and writings, which appeared for the first time at Brussels in 

 1704, with the 'History of the Conquest of Mexico,' and has been 

 prefixed to almost every subsequent edition of the same work. 



SOLI'S, JUAN DIAZ DE, a Spanish navigator, was born at Lebrixa, 

 the ancient Nebrissa, in the province of Seville. In 1506 he sailed, 

 in company with the celebrated pilot Vicente Yanez Pinzon, on an 

 expedition, the object of which was to endeavour to find the strait or 

 passage supposed by Columbus to lead from the Atlantic to a southern 

 ocean. As no such passage exists, this of course proved unsuccessful, 

 as did also another voyage which was undertaken by them for the same 

 purpose in 1508. They however explored the northern coast of South 

 America, and are supposed to have discovered Yucatau. On their 

 return to Spain, Solis and Pinzon were appointed royal pilots, and 

 again intrusted with the command of an expedition for the discovery 

 of new lands. This time they doubled Cape St. Augustine, and sailing 

 southwards along the coast, reached the 40 of S. lat. However, on 

 their return to Seville in 1509, the court was so much displeased with 

 the unprofitable result of the expedition, that they were both deprived 

 of their offices and emoluments, and Solis was put in prison. In 1512 

 Solis applied for and obtained permission to sail on a voyage of dis- 

 covery ; but as the government would not grant him any assistance, 

 he was obliged to raise among his friends the funds required for the 

 expedition. After touching at Teneriffe, he surveyed Cape St. Roque, 

 then Cape St. Augustine ; continuing his route to the South, he dis- 

 covered Cape Frio, and entered the Bay of Eio Janeiro. Thinking 

 this to be the strait in search of which he had sailed, Solis took pos- 

 Bession of the northern coast in the name of the king of Castile, and 

 gave the name of Mar Fresca (Fresh sea) to that portion of the Atlantic 

 which lay before hin\ Proceeding farther along the coast, he saw 

 several Indians, who told him of a river called Paraguaya, i.e. great 

 water, on the banks of which gold was said to be found in large 

 quantities. Satisfied with this information, Solis returned to Spain, 

 and having obtained the requisite leave to undertake the conquest of 

 the lands watered by that river, he sailed on the 8th of October, 1515, 

 with three caravels, having seventy soldiers on board. On his arrival 

 at Kio Janeiro, Solis left two of his ships behind, and sailed with the 

 third in a south-western direction in search of the Indians with whom 

 he had conversed on his first voyage. He found them ; but scarcely 

 had he landed with the greater part of his crew, when they were 

 surrounded and put to death by the Indians. This catastrophe 

 happened near a small river between Maldonado and Montevideo, 

 which to this day is called ' El Rio de Soils.' 



* SOLLOGUB, COUNT VLADIMIR ALEXANDROVICH, a 

 Russian writer of reputation, was born at St. Petersburg about 1815, 

 the son of the master of the ceremonies at the imperial court, who 

 was the descendant of an old Lithuanian family. After having passed 

 some years as an attache" to the Russian embassy at Vienna, Count 

 Sollogub, returning to St. Petersburg, made his first appearance as an 

 author in 1841, and in 1845 wrote a novel which produced a stron? 

 impression on the Russian public, and has been translated into several 

 languages. This novel entitled ' Tarantas,' from the name of a peculiar 

 Russian travelling-carriage, chiefly consists of a series of conversa- 

 tions between two characters who are the representatives of ancient 

 and modern Russia, and its principal intention seems to be to raise the 

 country in the opinion of its natives. The book may have owed some 

 of its reputation to its pictorial illustrations which were comic and 

 characteristic, and some of which are reproduced in the English trans- 

 lation by Rosenstrauch, ' The Tarantas, Travelling impressions of 

 young Russia, with eight illustrations/ London, 1850. It must be 

 observed however that while the original consists of twenty chapters, 

 the English translation contains only sixteen, four having been uncere- 

 moniously retrenched, apparently with the sole view of shortening the 

 volume. A complete translation in German is" given in Lippert's 

 ' Nordisches Novellenbuch.' Sollogub wrote also some other novels, 

 edited a collection of poems and essays entitled ' Vchera i Segodnia ' 

 ('Yesterday and to-day'), and produced some plays, one of them 'Bieda 

 od niezhnago Serdtsa' (' The Sorrows of a Soft Heart'), in 1850. In 

 the same year he received an appointment as State Counsellor in the 

 government of Transcaucasia under Count Vorontsov or Woronzow, 

 and has since resided at Tiflis, where he has communicated some 

 articles of value to the Transactions of the Caucasian branch of the 

 St. Petersburg Geographical Society. With some spirit and liveliness 

 Count Sollogub's best works do not rise above the level of the clever 

 fashionable novel. 



SOLOMON, the eon of David and Bathsheba, was born iu the 

 year B.C. 1033, and was named by God, through the prophet 

 Nathan, *' Jedidiah," that is, " beloved of the Lord." (2 Sam., xii. 

 24, 25.) In the old age of David, his son Ad on ij ah attempted to 

 seize the kingdom, upon which David bad Solomon proclaimed and 

 anointed king, B.C. 1015. (1 Kings, i. ; 1 Chron., xxiii.) In the same 

 year David died, after giving certain charges to Solomon. (1 Kings, 

 ii.) The first acts of Solomon were to punish the enemies of David, 

 especially Adonijah and his adherents. He then contracted a close 

 alliance with Pharaoh, king of Egypt, whose daughter he married. 

 Being thus strengthened iu his kingdom, he assembled all the congre- 

 gation of Israel at Gibeon, where the Tabernacle stood, and offered 

 burnt offerings to God. In the same night God appeared to him, and 

 commanded him to ask what he would. Solomon asked for wisdom 

 and knowledge, that he might judge the people. God was pleased 

 with the request, and promised him not only the wisdom which he 

 asked, but also riches and long life, and power over his enemies. 

 Solomon's wisdom was soon displayed in his decision of a singular 

 case which came before him for trial. (1 Kings, iii. ; 2 Cbron. i.) 



The kingdom of Israel was now at its highest pitch of prosperity 

 and extent. It reached from Egypt and the borders of the Philistines 

 to the Euphrates, and southward as far as the head of the Red Sea. 

 With the neighbouring kings of Egypt and Tyre, which city then held 

 the supremacy of Phoenicia, Solomon was in close alliance. The 

 people of Israel were very numerous and prosperous, and enjoyed 

 profound peace ; and the court of Solomon was maintained on a scale 

 of the greatest splendour, which was supported by the encouragement 

 he gave to commerce, by which " he made silver and gold as stones, 

 and cedar-trees made he as the sycamore-trees that are iu the vale for 

 abundance." The fame of his wisdom spread abroad, and people and 

 kings came from all countries to hear it, for " he spake three thou- 

 sand proverbs, and his songs were a thousand and five. And he spake 

 of trees, from the cedar-tree that is in Lebanon even unto the hyssop 

 that springeth out of the wall : he spake also of beasts and of fowl, 

 and of creeping things, and of fishes." (1 Kings, iv., x. ; 2 Chron. ii. 

 13-17 ; ix.) 



In the fourth year of Solomon's reign, having secured the co- 

 operation of Hiram, king of Tyre, he began to build the Temple of 

 God at Jerusalem, for which David had already formed a plan and 

 collected treasures, but which he had not been allowed to build 

 because he was a man of blood. (1 Chron., xxii., xxviii.) In seven 

 years (B.C. 1005) the building was finished and dedicated to God. (1 

 Kings, v., viii. ; 2 Chron., ii.-vii.) On this occasion God appeared to 

 Solomon in a vision the second time, and promised that if he con- 

 tinued in piety and uprightness, his family should be established on 

 the throne; but that if he or his children should fall into idolatry, 

 Israel should be cut off out of their land, and both they and the 

 Temple itself should be made a proverb and by-word among all 

 people. (1 Kings, ix. 1-9; 2 Chron., vii. 12-22.) 



Josephus (' Antiq.,' viii. 2, 8) states that copies of the letters which 

 passed between Solomon and Hiram concerning the building of the 

 Temple were preserved in his day amoog the archives of Tyre. 



Solomon adorned Jerusalem with other magnificent buildings. He 

 built a palace for himself, which took thirteen years to complete ; and 

 another palace, which was called the House of the Forest of Lebanon, 

 probably on account of the quantity of cedar used in it, with porti- 



