_Son._ I see clearly now from what you told in your last speech that the judgments were lenient in David’s case, because he regretted the sins into which he fell, but more severe in Saul’s case, because he was less disposed to do penance for his misdeeds. Now there are certain other matters which I am much interested in and which I shall ask about with your permission, namely those events that occurred after David’s death. Once when two women came before King Solomon, quarreling about a child, the king ordered the child to be hewn in pieces and half given to each of them:[334] now I wish to ask whether, if neither of the women had spoken up, the king would have hewn the child asunder or not. Footnote 334: See _I Kings_, iii, 16-28. _Father._ The king ordered the child to be divided because he knew of a surety that the one who was the mother would not be willing to have the child divided. _Son._ I asked whether the king would have divided the child if the mother had kept silence. _Father._ If the mother had been so void of mercy that she would not ask him to spare the child, the king would have divided it between them. _Son._ Would it not look to you like plain murder, if he had slain an innocent child, seeing that it was not for punishment? _Father._ It would indeed have been murder if he had killed the child; still, the guilt would not have been with the king but with the mother, if she had failed to beg mercy for her child, when she heard the king render a fair judgment in their case, which she realized would mean the child’s death; therefore the guilt would be hers if she withheld the motherly pity which could save the child. _Son._ What do you think about the death of Joab and Adonijah, whom King Solomon slew? Was that a righteous judgment or not? And why did King Solomon cause Shimei to be slain for cursing his father David, seeing that David had already forgiven Shimei this offence? _Father._ If King Solomon had done this except as lawful punishment, God would have visited him with a worthy penalty as for murder. But after he had done all this, God revealed Himself to him in a dream and bade him choose whatever gift he might wish. But Solomon asked God to give him wisdom and insight into righteous judgments. Then God answered him in this wise: “If this choice were given to the multitude, there would be many who would choose riches and power, or a long life, or peace, or success in warfare. But because thou hast chosen this thing, thou shalt receive what thou hast chosen and likewise all the other gifts that I have enumerated.” From this you will observe how well God is pleased with righteousness in judgments; for God gave Solomon all the supreme gifts, because he chose equity as his part. And you will understand that, if he had slain those others unjustly, God would not have given him such excellent gifts as He did give him. ------------------------------------------------------------------------