The Greater Key of Solomon

...to hold the body together. While Solomon remained free from sin, his prayers were granted for his own sake. But when he departed from the righteous way, the Lord said to him, “For the sake of David, my servant, I will not take the kingdom from you in your lifetime.”

Solomon said, “Vanity of vanities; vanity, even as a shadow.” What kind of shadow? The shadow of a tower or a tree remains a shadow for a while and then is lost, but the shadow of a bird flies away, and there is neither bird nor shadow. David said, “Our days are like a passing shadow,” and Rabbi Huna said, “Our days pass quickly from us, even as the shadow of a flying bird.”

With the word "vanity," Solomon expresses seven stages of a man’s life.

The infant he compares to a king, riding in his little carriage original: "coach" and being kissed, admired, and praised by all. The child of three or four years he compares to a pig, fond of dirt and soiling itself with its food. The child of ten is fond of dress; the youth adorns himself and seeks a wife; the married man is as bold as a dog in seeking a livelihood for himself and his family; and the old man he likens to an ape.

When Solomon was preparing to build the Temple, he applied to the King of Egypt for men to help him in the work. Pharaoh, consulting his astrologers, selected those men who were destined to die within the year. When they arrived at Jerusalem, the wise Solomon sent them back at once. With each man, he sent a burial shroud original: "shroud" and directed them to say to their master, “If Egypt is too poor to supply shrouds for her dead, and for that purpose sends them to me, look—here they are: the men and the shrouds together. Take them and bury your dead.”

He was wiser than all other men, wiser even than Adam, who gave names to all the animals of the world and even to himself, saying, “From the dust of the ground I was formed, and therefore shall my name be Adam.” The name Adam is related to the Hebrew word adamah, meaning "ground" or "earth." Rabbi Tanchum said, “Where is your wisdom and your understanding, O King Solomon? Your words not only contradict themselves but also the words of David, your father. He said, ‘The dead cannot praise the Lord’ (Psalm 115:17), yet you said, ‘Thereupon I praised the dead who are already dead, more than the living who are still alive’ (Ecclesiastes 4:2). And you also said, ‘For a living dog fares better than a dead lion.’” (Ecclesiastes 9:4).

These seeming contradictions, however, may be readily explained. David said, “The dead cannot praise the Lord,” meaning that we should study God’s law during life, as after its end original: "cessation" it would be impossible. Solomon said, “Thereupon I praised the dead who are already dead.” When the children of Israel sinned in the wilderness, Moses prayed for them for their own sakes, and his prayer was unanswered; but when he said, “Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants,” he met with a prompt reply. Therefore, did Solomon not speak well in saying—