170 The Legends of the Jews
acquaintance of former days, this time a poor man, who nevertheless entreated Solomon to do him the honor and break bread under his roof. All that the poor man could offer his distinguished guest was a meagre dish of greens. But he tried in every way to assuage the grief that oppressed Solomon. He said : " O my lord and king, God hath sworn unto David He would never let the royal dignity depart from his house, but it is the way of God to reprove those He loves if they sin. Rest assured, He will restore thee in good time to thy kingdom." These words of his poor host were more grateful to Solomon's bruised heart than the banquet the rich man had prepared for him. It was to the contrast between the consolations of the two men that he applied the verse in Proverbs : " Better is a dinner of herbs where love is, than a stalled ox and hatred therewith."
5 For three long years Solomon journeyed about, begging his way from city to city, and from country to country, atoning for the three w sins of his life by which he had set aside the commandment laid upon kings in Deuteronomy — not to multiply horses, and wives, and silver and gold. At the end of that time, God took mercy upon him for the sake of his father David, and for the sake of the pious princess Naamah, the daughter of the Ammonite king, des- tined by God to be the ancestress of the Messiah. The time was approaching when she was to become the wife of Solo- mon w and reign as queen in Jerusalem. God therefore led the royal wanderer to the capital city of Ammon.90 Solomon took service as an underling with the cook in the royal house- hold, and he proved himself so proficient in the culinary art
