King Solomon and Shulamith
The love story of the great King Solomon and a simple girl named Shulamith survived centuries and even millennia. She is so beautiful and touching that she deserves to be the first in this book.
Sulamita. Gustave Moreau
King Solomon is the wisest of the wise whose name is mentioned in the Bible, the ruler of a strong kingdom, an experienced commander who won many wars. It was during the time of King Solomon that the Jerusalem temple and palace were built - the grandest buildings of their time. It would seem that such a person should be subject to everything ... except for an eagle soaring in the sky and a snake in a crevice of rocks.
When Solomon met by chance in the vineyard simple girl named Shulamith, he already knew the love and passion of many women, including the famous Queen of Sheba. According to some sources, Solomon, who was considered not only the smartest, but also the most beautiful man of his time, had three hundred wives and concubines, according to others - seven hundred. But no matter how many beauties there were in the harem of the great king, only one was destined to leave her name next to his name for centuries. And not because, as some say, the forty-five-year-old king by that time was tired of the whims and bright beauty of queens and concubines, but rather because this time it was a real feeling that most people overtake at least once in their lives. And one more thing: all these women knew who Solomon was, and loved in him not so much a man as a ruler endowed with unlimited power, and a king who owned untold riches.
However, the modest girl from the vineyard, before whom Solomon appeared in the guise of a shepherd, needed only him. And she gave him the treasures she owned—her purity, her innocence, her mind, and her body. I gave it away without bargaining, without asking for jewelry or other rewards.
Shulamith was only thirteen years old when they met Solomon, but women in biblical times grew up quickly. And the age at which girls were given in marriage - twelve years - she stepped over. Her brothers were already thinking about whom they should marry their sister, whom hard work in the vineyard had made slender, flexible as a reed and tanned, like most of those who were forced to work all day under the scorching sun of Palestine.
However, Shulamith differed sharply from the peasants and shepherds in her internal appearance - after all, it was not in vain that she attracted the attention of Solomon himself, whose parables of wisdom survived the mortal ashes of both of them. Her mind was alive, and her language was figurative. And by the nature of Shulamith was a match for any king - magnanimous and resolute, dreamy and disinterested. Before her date with Solomon, she traded her only treasure - golden earrings - for incense to rub her body with them and bring joy to her beloved ...
Solomon took Shulamith to the palace, dressed her in the best clothes, surrounded her with unprecedented luxury and care. However, the love of Solomon and the girl from the vineyard did not last long - only seven days ... Seven long and seven short days. Seven nights filled with passion, caresses and mutual vows of fidelity. It would seem that nothing could overshadow the happiness of the king and his young lover, but ... where love takes root, the poisonous flower of jealousy will certainly bloom.
Shulamith was killed on the orders of one of the queens, killed mercilessly, right in front of Solomon. But, before dying, this fearless girl found the strength to smile at her lover and say words of gratitude for everything he did for her. For the love he gave her. For the happiness of being loved. For the joy when the world around suddenly blossomed bright colors. Until death clouded the eyes of his beloved, Solomon, kneeling in the blood of the one he loved more than life, did not let go of her hands from his ...
Shulamith swept through the life of King Solomon, like a dazzling comet, like a shooting star, swept - and melted. After her death, the king lived on long years. However, there were no such bright moments in his life, such a complete unity of hearts and bodies that was between them - the omnipotent king and the young girl from the vineyard.
Solomon mourned, and his heart bled - as hot as that which flowed through his body when he held his dying beloved in his arms. However, grief had to find a way out - and the king, who possessed the gift of not only a commander, but also a poet, wrote the Song of Songs, which has come down to our days and immortalized Shulamith. And up today the image of the girl from the Song of Songs is one of the most tender, deep and beautiful images of the Bible. The poetics of this image is so strong, piercing and sharp that the heart literally shrinks when you read the lines written by Solomon:
The closed garden is my sister, the bride,
imprisoned well, sealed source:
your nurseries are a pomegranate garden,
with excellent fruits, backgammon keepers,
backgammon and saffron, calamus and cinnamon with all sorts of
fragrant trees, myrrh and scarlet
with all the best flavors; garden
the source is a well of living waters and streams from Lebanon.
So briefly, but so selflessly loving him, the girl personified for the king all the best and most precious: incense and spices, then valued at their weight in gold, water in the desert - the source of life, a garden cherished by a diligent gardener ... Shulamith left, and everything lost its value: the garden dried up, the source was lost in the sands, the withering wind dispelled the smell of incense, mixing it with the dust of centuries ... But the Song of Songs remained, and love is alive with it.
Oh, you are beautiful, my love, you are beautiful!
your eyes are dove.
What is this, if not longing for a dead loved one:
Behold, the winter has already passed; the rain has passed, stopped;
flowers appeared on the ground; it's time to sing
opened their buds and vines,
blooming, emit incense. Get up
my beloved, my beautiful one, come out!
And Shulamith, whose image is alive to this day, and breathes, and speaks from the pages of the Bible, answers her only one:
Oh, you are beautiful, my beloved, and kind!
and our bed is green; the roofs of our houses are cedars,
our ceilings are cypresses.
And the words of Solomon are eternal, and at all times, as long as people love, and suffer, and lose their beloved, they will reread the Song of Songs:
Place me like a seal on your heart like
a ring on your hand: for it is strong as death,
love; fierce, like hell, jealousy; arrows
hers are fiery arrows; She is a very strong flame.
What could be more poetic than these lines? Except for those words that every lover whispers to his beloved ... on that night when he is Solomon for her, and she is Shulamith for him ...
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Quotes from the book Alexander Kuprin - Shulamith:
“Put me like a seal on your heart, like a ring, on your hand, because love is strong as death, and jealousy is cruel as hell: its arrows are fiery arrows.”
"a golden apple in a bowl of transparent sardonyx is like a word spoken skillfully"
“The word is a spark in the movement of the heart,” the king used to say.
“All is vanity of vanities and vexation of the spirit,” says Ecclesiastes.
But then the king did not yet know that God would soon send him such a tender and fiery, devoted and beautiful love, which alone more valuable than wealth, glory and wisdom, which is dearer than life itself, because even she does not value life and is not afraid of death.
“Tell me, is it true that mandrake berries help in love?
No, Shulamith, only love helps in love.”
“But she herself bends her back back onto Solomon's chest. Her lips glow over shining teeth, her eyelids tremble with tormenting desire. Solomon greedily presses his lips to her calling mouth. He feels the flame of her lips, and the slipperiness of her teeth, and the sweet moisture of her tongue, and he burns all over with such intolerable desire as he has never known in his life.
"Love is poor girl from the vineyard and the great king will never pass and will not be forgotten, because love is strong as death, because every woman who loves is a queen, because love is beautiful!
“They stood bright, warm, moonlit nights- sweet nights of love! Shulamith lay naked on a bed of tiger skins, and the king, sitting on the floor at her feet, filled his emerald goblet with golden wine from Mareotis, and drank to the health of his beloved, rejoicing with all his heart, and he told her wise ancient strange tales. And Shulamith's hand rested on his head, stroking his wavy black hair.
“Three things in the world are incomprehensible to me, and the fourth I do not comprehend: the path of an eagle in the sky, a snake on a rock, a ship in the middle of the sea, and the path of a man to a woman's heart. This is not my wisdom, Shulamith, these are the words of Agur, the son of Jakeev, heard from him by the disciples.
“Surrounded, illuminated by the silent light of the moon, they forgot about the time, about the place, and now the hours passed, and they noticed with surprise how a pink dawn peered through the latticed windows of the rest.”
Shulamith eagerly listened to him, and when he fell silent, then in the stillness of the night their lips closed, their hands intertwined, they touched their breasts. And when the morning came, and the body of Sulamith seemed foamy pink, and the weariness of love surrounded her beautiful eyes with blue shadows, she said with a gentle smile:
Refresh me with apples, fortify me with wine, for I am weary of love.”
“- Human life is short, but time is infinite, and matter is immortal. A man dies and fattens the earth with rotting of his body, the earth nourishes the ear, the ear brings grain, the man swallows bread and nourishes his body with it. Darkness and darkness of those centuries pass, everything in the world is repeated - people, animals, stones, plants are repeated. In the diverse cycle of time and matter, we are repeated with you, my beloved. This is just as true as the fact that if you and I fill a large bag to the top with sea gravel and throw in it just one precious sapphire, then, pulling it out of the bag many times, you will still extract the jewel sooner or later. We will meet with you, Shulamith, and we will not recognize each other, but our hearts will strive to meet with longing and delight, because we have already met with you, my meek, my beautiful Shulamith, but we do not remember this.
A. Kuprin and L. Andreev turned to biblical stories almost simultaneously, at the beginning of the twentieth century. "Troubled" time in Russia, granting democratic freedoms to the Russian people, weakening positions Orthodox Church, the spread of the ideas of mysticism allowed these great writers to write non-trivial works of art on biblical and evangelical themes, "remake" canonical stories, which even at the end of the nineteenth century seemed impossible. A. Kuprin “only” completes the great biblical “Song of Songs”, L. Andreev rethinks the act of the greatest of the sinners Judas, encroaches on the ethical foundations of Orthodoxy.
The story "Shulamith" was first published in 1908 in the almanac "Earth". Kuprin himself called it "... either a historical poem, or a legend about the love of Solomon and Shulamith." The basis was the biblical "Song of Songs", which tells about the love of the great Israeli king Solomon, the wisest of people, and Sulamith, the daughter of Israel, a poor girl from the vineyard. The story of this love is included in the annals of world love lyrics, it is rightfully considered one of the most beautiful and significant love stories. Its plot is very simple: King Solomon, the wisest of people, fell in love with a young rural girl from his vineyard in Baal-Gamon, where he liked to retire during the hours of great reflections, the most beautiful of women, and then left her. Suffering Shulamith is looking for her lover, suffers from jealousy and unrequited love, then the lovers are reunited, Solomon takes the girl to his palace. The story of Solomon and Sulamith remains unfinished, unsaid, light, leaves a feeling of mystery, suggests conjecture. From the text of the Song of Songs, it is not clear whether Shulamith remained the beloved of the king, her death, all the more, is not discussed.
The splendor of the biblical text, the most ancient and famous history love, wonderful poetry, enriched literature with eternal metaphors depicting female beauty: “How beautiful you are, my friend, how beautiful you are! Your eyes are doves! Your hair is like a flock of goats that flee from the mountains of Gilead, your teeth are like a flock of shorn sheep that have come out of the pool. Your lips are like a scarlet thread, and your lips are sweet, like pomegranate slices of your whiskey. Your neck is like the tower of David, which everyone admires. Your two breasts are like two deer, like the twins of a gazelle that graze among the lilies. You are all beautiful, my friend, and there is no flaw in you. The words of the “Song of Songs” reveal the full power of love and jealousy: “Put me with a seal on your heart, a seal on your hand, for love is strong as death, as hell is fierce jealousy! Her arrows - arrows of fire - the flame of the Lord! Many waters cannot quench love, and rivers will not flood it." I. Kuprin, a great connoisseur and singer of love, author of " Garnet bracelet"And" Olesya ", could not help but be attracted by the beauty and strength of this story. He faced a difficult task: to create a text that was not inferior in beauty to the biblical one. The story is written in thick, juicy prose, colored with bright details and colors; in his text, Kuprin generously uses biblical verses, introducing them into the dialogues of Sulamith and Solomon, which greatly decorates his work.
Making a story out of a poem, Kuprin had to change the plot, fill it with details, complicate a simple story, dramatize it, finish it. He does this by drawing on other books of the Bible, such as the Proverbs of Solomon, which allowed him to write out the image of the king. Kuprin does not deviate from the biblical assessments in the description of the famous king, clearly follows them, using the biblical text, allows direct borrowing from the books of the bible. He describes his wisdom, his wealth, God's goodwill towards him: “For the fact that you did not ask for a long life for yourself, did not ask for the souls of enemies, did not ask for wealth, but asked for wisdom ... I give you a wise and reasonable heart. So there was no one like you before you, and no one like you will arise after you.” In addition, he uses rich historical material, which allowed him to describe Jerusalem, Solomon's palace, temples, coexisting along with the Jewish others. religious cults. It is known that he collected it for a long time and carefully.
The plot of the Song of Songs turns out to be too simple for prose, so Kuprin decided to make a love tragedy out of the poem. To do this, he makes the story heavier, ends the action with death. main character and introduces a non-existent character into the plot, the Egyptian queen Astis, the priestess of the goddess Isis, the voluptuous villainess, madly in love with Solomon and poisoning Shulamith out of jealousy. Shulamith dies, leaving Solomon in great sorrow. The result is a love tragedy based on a biblical story, unambiguous, complete, fully expressed, despite all the skill of Kuprin, significantly inferior to the original.
One can only guess what made Kuprin take up the rewriting of the Song of Songs. Perhaps the beauty of the latter, which fascinated the writer. Perhaps the desire to popularize the beautiful love story. Or maybe the desire to get some authorial dividends, using such a well-known inimitable text, which allowed the author to decorate his own prose with unique excerpts from the Song of Songs. In any case, his work should be recognized as significant and beautiful.
Surprisingly, both the “left” and “right” reacted sharply negatively to the story, which only developed a well-known biblical story. Consistent Christians saw excessive eroticism in Kuprin's work, attempts to "ground" theological symbols, according to which Solomon is the image of Divine wisdom, Shulamith is identical to the human principle, and their marriage means the unity of God and people. Liberals and socialists, on the contrary, reproached Kuprin for spreading orthodox Christian ideas. The story remained "in the second echelon" of Kuprin's prose and is still not very popular. Afanasyeva Vera
And there was the seventh night of the great love of Solomon. Strangely quiet and deeply tender were the caresses of the king and Shulamith that night. It was as if some thoughtful sadness, cautious bashfulness, a distant premonition shrouded their words, kisses and embraces in a light shadow. Looking out the window at the sky, where the night was already conquering the dying evening, Shulamith fixed her eyes on a bright bluish star, which trembled meekly and tenderly. “What is the name of this star, my beloved?” she asked. “This is the star Sopdit,” the king replied. “It's a sacred star. Assyrian magicians tell us that the souls of all people live on it after the death of the body. Do you believe this, king? Solomon didn't answer. Right hand he was under Sulamith's head, and with his left he embraced her, and she felt his fragrant breath on her, on her hair, on her temple. “Perhaps we will see you there, king, after we die?” Shulamith asked anxiously. The king was silent again. “Answer me something, beloved,” Shulamith asked timidly. Then the king said: — Human life is short, but time is infinite, and matter is immortal. A man dies and fattens the earth with rotting of his body, the earth nourishes the ear, the ear brings grain, the man swallows bread and nourishes his body with it. Darkness and darkness of those ages pass, everything in the world is repeated - people, animals, stones, plants are repeated. In the diverse cycle of time and matter, we are repeated with you, my beloved. This is just as true as the fact that if you and I fill a large bag to the top with sea gravel and throw in it just one precious sapphire, then, pulling it out of the bag many times, you will still extract the jewel sooner or later. We will meet with you, Shulamith, and we will not recognize each other, but with longing and delight our hearts will strive to meet you, because we have already met with you, my meek, my beautiful Shulamith, but we do not remember this. No, king, no! I remember. When you stood under the window of my house and called me: “My beautiful one, come out, my hair is full of night dew!” - I recognized you, I remembered you, and joy and fear took possession of my heart. Tell me, my king, tell me, Solomon: behold, if I die tomorrow, will you remember your swarthy girl from the vineyard, your Shulamith? And, pressing her to his chest, the king whispered, excited: “Don't ever say that... Don't say that, O Shulamith! You are chosen by God, you are real, you are the queen of my soul... Death will not touch you... A sharp brassy sound suddenly swept over Jerusalem. He trembled mournfully and wavered in the air for a long time, and when he fell silent, his trembling echoes floated for a long time. “It was in the temple of Isis that the sacrament ended,” said the king. - I'm scared, my beautiful! Shulamith whispered. “A dark horror has penetrated my soul... I don’t want death... I haven’t had time to enjoy your embrace yet... Embrace me... Hold me tighter... Place me like a seal on your heart, like a seal on your muscle! .. - Do not be afraid of death, Shulamith! As strong as death is love... Drive away sad thoughts... Do you want me to tell you about David's wars, about the feasts and hunts of Pharaoh Sussakim? Do you want to hear one of those tales that are taking shape in the land of Ophir?.. Do you want me to tell you about the miracles of Vakramaditya? Yes, my king. You yourself know that when I listen to you, my heart grows with joy! But I want to ask you something... - Oh Shulamith - whatever you want! Ask me for my life - I will gladly give it to you. I will only regret that I paid too little for your love. Then Shulamith smiled in the darkness with happiness and, wrapping her arms around the king, whispered in his ear: “I beg you, when the morning comes, let’s go together there... to the vineyard... There, where there is greenery, and cypresses, and cedars, where near the stone wall you took my soul with your hands... I ask you about this, beloved.. There again I will show you my caresses ... In rapture, the king kissed his dear lips. But Shulamith suddenly stood up on her bed and listened. - What is the matter with you, my child? .. What frightened you? Solomon asked. “Wait, my dear… they’re coming here… Yes… I hear footsteps…” She fell silent. And it was so quiet that they could hear the beating of their hearts. A slight rustle was heard behind the door, and suddenly it swung open quickly and silently. - Who's there? Solomon exclaimed. But Shulamith had already jumped off the bed, with one movement rushed towards the dark figure of a man with a brilliant sword in his hand. And immediately, struck through and through by a short, quick blow, she fell to the floor with a faint, as if surprised cry. Solomon broke the carnelian screen with his hand, blocking the light of the night lamp. He saw Eliav standing at the door, leaning slightly over the girl's body, staggering as if drunk. The young warrior, under the gaze of Solomon, raised his head and, meeting his eyes with the angry, terrible eyes of the king, turned pale and groaned. An expression of despair and horror distorted his features. And suddenly, bending over, hiding his head in his cloak, he timidly, like a frightened jackal, began to crawl out of the room. But the king stopped him, saying only three words: Who forced you? All trembling and snapping his teeth, with his eyes white with fear, the young warrior dropped muffledly: - Queen Astis... “Get out,” Solomon ordered. “Tell another guard to watch you. Soon people with lights were running through the countless rooms of the palace. All rooms were lit up. Doctors came, military leaders and friends of the king gathered. The senior doctor said: “Tsar, now neither science nor God will help. When we remove the sword left in her chest, she will immediately die. But at this time Shulamith woke up and said with a calm smile:- I'm thirsty. And when she had drunk, she fixed her eyes on the king with a tender, beautiful smile and no longer took them away; and he knelt before her bed, all naked, like her, not noticing that his knees were bathed in her blood and that his hands were stained with scarlet blood. Thus, looking at her beloved and smiling meekly, the beautiful Shulamith spoke with difficulty: “I thank you, my king, for everything: for your love, for your beauty, for your wisdom, to which you allowed me to cling to my lips like a sweet spring. Let me kiss your hands, don't take them away from my mouth until the last breath leaves me. There has never been and never will be a woman happier than me. Thank you, my king, my beloved, my beautiful. Remember from time to time about your slave, about your sun-burnt Sulamith. And the king answered her in a deep, slow voice: “As long as people love each other, as long as the beauty of soul and body is the best and sweetest dream in the world, until then, I swear to you, Shulamith, your name for many centuries will be pronounced with tenderness and gratitude. By morning Sulamith was gone. Then the king got up, ordered to be allowed to wash himself and put on the most luxurious purple tunic embroidered with golden scarabs, and placed a crown of blood-red rubies on his head. After that, he called Vanya to him and said calmly: “Vanea, you will go and kill Eliav. But the old man covered his face with his hands and fell on his face before the king. “King, Eliav is my grandson!” — Did you hear me, Vanya? - King, forgive me, do not threaten me with your anger, order someone else to do it. Eliab, leaving the palace, ran to the temple and grabbed the horns of the altar. I am old, my death is near, I dare not take this double crime upon my soul. But the king objected: “However, when I instructed you to kill my brother Adonijah, who also grabbed the sacred horns of the altar, did you disobey me, Vanea? - I'm sorry! Spare me, king! - Raise your face Solomon ordered. And when Vanea raised his head and saw the eyes of the king, he quickly got up from the floor and obediently headed for the exit. Then, turning to Ahissar, the chief and caretaker of the palace, he ordered: “I don’t want to put the queen to death, let her live as she wants and die where she wants. But she will never see my face again. Today, Akhissar, you will equip a caravan and escort the queen to the harbor in Jaffa, and from there to Egypt, to Pharaoh Sussakim. Now let everyone come out. And, left alone face to face with the body of Sulamith, he looked for a long time at her beautiful features. Her face was white, and it had never been so beautiful in her lifetime. The half-open lips that Solomon had kissed just an hour ago smiled mysteriously and blissfully, and the teeth, still wet, gleamed a little from under them. The king looked at his dead beloved for a long time, then quietly touched his forehead with his finger, which had already begun to lose the warmth of life, and with slow steps left the rest. The high priest Azarias, the son of Zadokia, was waiting for him outside the door. Approaching the king, he asked: What should we do with this woman's body? Now Saturday. And the king remembered how many years ago his father had died, and lay on the sand, and already began to quickly decompose. Dogs, attracted by the smell of carrion, were already roaming around him with eyes burning with hunger and greed. And, as now, the high priest, the father of Azaria, a decrepit old man, asked him: “Here lies your father, the dogs can tear his corpse apart… What shall we do?” Should you honor the king and profane the Sabbath, or keep the Sabbath but leave your father's corpse to be eaten by dogs? Then Solomon answered: - Leave. A live dog is better than a dead lion. And when now, after the words of the high priest, he remembered this, his heart sank from sorrow and fear. Without answering the high priest, he went on into the courtroom. As always in the mornings, his two scribes, Elichopher and Ahijah, were already lying on mats on either side of the throne, holding bundles of papyrus, reeds and ink at the ready. At the entrance of the king, they stood up and bowed to him to the ground. The king sat on his ivory throne with gold ornaments, leaned his elbow on the back of a golden lion and, bowing his head on his palm, ordered:— Write! “Put me like a seal on your heart, like a ring, on your hand, because love is strong as death and jealousy is cruel as hell: its arrows are arrows of fire.” And after a silence so long that the scribes held their breath in alarm, he said: - Leave me alone. And all day, until the first evening shadows, the king remained alone with his thoughts, and no one dared to enter the huge, empty courtroom.
Who is she, Shulamith? Who is this girl, about whom poets, philosophers and artists of different generations were hopelessly sad?
In his story " Shulamith”, Kuprin A.I. represents her as a poor girl who was sent to guard the grapes. It was in the vineyards that the fateful meeting of the poor Sunameth woman and the powerful King Solomon who loved her with all his heart, forgetting all his former favorites. The end of the work is the tragic death of a beautiful girl who became a victim of rival jealousy. Sulamith's death broke my heart King Solomon…
In a biblical context, the first mention of Shulamith falls on last years reign David- Father of Solomon (1005-965 BC).
The name of King David, who lived a long and bright life, the Israelis associate with the era of prosperity and greatness of Israel. Many wars fell to the lot of the king, as a result of which he managed to expand the boundaries of his possessions. The king was distinguished by excellent physical strength and was considered the so-called Israeli hero.
Also famous David as a connoisseur female beauty. The Israelites noted that because of passion and jealousy, David was able to commit vile deeds and even crimes.
There is a case when, one day, he saw the naked wife of his warrior Uriah, he was so inflamed with the desire to possess this woman that he sent him to certain death. And later, he married Bathsheba, that was the name of the widow of the deceased. It was this beauty who bore him a son, Solomon.
Lust, which accompanied the king all his life, did not give him rest even at the end of his years. When David's body weakened, he came up with good way to improve his health - he ordered that a “living heating pad” be brought to him, which was supposed to warm his cold body at night with its warmth. Beautiful commoners were invited as such heating pads. According to the biblical stories, of all the beauties, the king liked the “girl from the vineyard” the most.
But one day, son of the king, Solomon, saw this girl and lost his head from the beauty of a commoner, just like once David lost his peace from the mother of Solomon. What happened between father and son is not exactly known. But after the imminent death of David, Solomon managed to take the throne against all the rules (he had older brothers). Now nothing prevented Solomon from pouring all his love on this simple girl. In honor of this love, he left behind a great lyrical monument called "Song of Songs", whose lines are permeated with penetrating and passionate confessions addressed to a woman.
An excerpt from the Song of Songs. The song "Shulamith" from the album "Book of Songs" by Irina Bogushevskaya.
The Bibleists believe that the name of the king's bride is rather a derivative of his name - Shulamith. But who this girl really is, we can only speculate. Someone believes that the image of the bride of the king does not belong to a real woman, that this is just the personification of the "church" ...
But, it could hardly be so. After all, the most intelligent and richest monarch in the history of the world, the author of several hundred parables and thousands of songs, is also credited with the glory of a powerful magician, who also left behind a book of pentacles, which describes all kinds of rituals. And also, indulging the pagan wives who corrupted his heart, he built the temple of Moloch on the Mount of Olives, where the Israelites shed the innocent blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to demons.
All this does not correspond in any way with the doctrine of monotheism.
And his famous lyric, "Song of Songs", where he sincerely admires the beauty female body, for the possession of which he is able to kill, he undoubtedly dedicated to the EARTH WOMAN.
Radio play "Shulamith"
For you, I downloaded a wonderful audio performance "Shulamith". You can listen to it or download it to your page.
Audio performance "Shulamith"
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"Shulamith", a poor village woman from the vineyard, with whom the king of Israel, considered the wisest of men, falls in love.
History of creation
Alexander Kuprin wrote the story "Shulamith" in 1907. The plot is borrowed by the author from the "Song of Songs" of King Solomon - a text that is part of the Old Testament. Judging by Kuprin's letters, in September and October 1907 the author was still busy selecting material to work on the story. Kuprin studied the Bible and a number of research work dedicated to the plot of "Song of Songs".
The writer himself informed respondents in letters that he was writing “either a historical poem, or a legend about love” and was planning to introduce “a lot of bright passion and a naked body” into the plot of the work. The story was first published in 1908 in the collection "Earth".
The story of Shulamith
In Kuprin's story, Shulamith is a poor girl from a vineyard, with whom King Solomon is in love. The hero has a thousand wives, concubines, dancers and other women whom he can use, the king shared a bed with the Queen of Sheba, but most of all he loves poor Shulamith. The heroine works in the royal vineyard, and Solomon once finds that tying vine. The heroine sings a certain melody, is busy with work and does not notice the king watching her. Solomon approaches the girl and asks her to show her face.
Sulamith has a young slender body, dark skin, thick and curly dark red hair falls on the girl's back. The king himself is also young and beautiful, and the girl falls in love with him. Solomon asks the heroine to sit next to him and tell him who she is. The heroine gives her name and admits that she helps the brothers to take care of the royal vineyards. Solomon kisses the girl and makes an appointment the next night at Shulamith's house. The king lies about himself, that he is the king's cook.
Sulamith is thirteen years old, but the girl has already become adept at the art of seduction. The heroine goes to the city in the evening and sells her only silver earrings there to raise money. Instead of earrings, the girl buys sweet myrrh, with which she is going to anoint her own body before a date, so that it smells of incense.
At night, the heroine waits for the appearance of her lover, he does not come for a long time, and when the hero’s steps are nevertheless heard outside the door, the girl is frightened and does not dare to open it for a long time. In the end, Shulamith looks out the door, but does not find anyone there. The heroine is looking for her lover on the streets of the night city, and then goes to the vineyard - the place of their first meeting. There, the girl finds Solomon, an erotic scene takes place between the characters, after which Solomon confesses who he really is.
The king takes his beloved to the palace, where she bathes in a whole pool of incense, then decorates her hair with pearls and dresses in clothes made of the lightest Egyptian fabrics. A week passes, during which the king and Shulamith “enjoy love,” and Solomon showers the girl with precious stones and gifts.
Meanwhile, the queen Astis, the high priestess of the temple of Isis, whom Solomon left at one time, plotted against the heroine. Astis feels black jealousy for Shulamith and incites the head of the royal guard Eliab to kill new sweetheart king. In exchange, Astiz promises to surrender to him.
The head of the guard hides at the door of the royal bedroom, where the main characters are, and waits for the right moment. Shulamith, meanwhile, is tormented by bad forebodings, and the girl tells the king that death is lurking nearby. At this moment, the killer bursts into the bedroom and pierces Shulamith with a sword. On this short biography heroine ends. King Solomon orders to kill the head of the guard, and send Queen Astis to Egypt.
Shulamith in the Bible
“Shulamith”, “Shulamita” - this is the word in the Bible called the beloved of King Solomon, and this name is associated with the place where the girl comes from. This word occurs twice in the text of the Bible and in Hebrew it sounds like “hash-shulamit”, which means “a woman from the village of Shulem (or Sunam)”. It turns out that "Shulamith" is a common noun, not a proper one.
Queen of Sheba Some researchers believe that Shulamith is the same character as the Queen of Sheba, or they identify the heroine with a certain daughter of the pharaoh, Solomon's wife. Other researchers believe that the name "Shulamita" - female form the name "Solomon", and both of these names serve as a symbolic designation of the bride and groom during the wedding ceremony.
It is assumed that the images of Sulamith and Solomon are used to describe some ideal relationship between the groom and the bride, who have not yet had time to enter into a legal marriage. The texts of the Song of Songs of Solomon speak of the inadmissibility of meetings in private, describe the chaste communication of Shulamita with her beloved, etc.
Quotes
"A man can love a thousand times, but he loves only once."
“But then the king did not yet know that God would soon send him such a tender and fiery, devoted and beautiful love, which alone is more precious than wealth, fame and wisdom, which is more precious than life itself, because even life she does not value and is not afraid of death.
“The love of a poor girl from a vineyard and a great king will never pass away and will never be forgotten, because love is strong as death, because every woman who loves is a queen, because love is beautiful!”