That was the problem with being an absolute monarch – when you were the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government combined, you’d always have people lined up to see you – unless you found a way to strongly discourage frivolous requests.
I imagine King Solomon thinking, “I’ve got to meet the ambassador from Sheba, review the troops, and balance the budget, but I’m stuck here listening to people lying about the parentage of a brat, who probably won’t live to be two anyhow. I need to encourage people to settle things like this themselves… Cut the baby in half!”
“Oops, did I say that aloud?”
He lucked out and was able to make it look like a ploy to find out which woman loved the baby. But I’ll bet that was the last child custody case ever brought to his court.
That was the problem with being an absolute monarch – when you were the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government combined, you’d always have people lined up to see you – unless you found a way to strongly discourage frivolous requests.
I imagine King Solomon thinking, “I’ve got to meet the ambassador from Sheba, review the troops, and balance the budget, but I’m stuck here listening to people lying about the parentage of a brat, who probably won’t live to be two anyhow. I need to encourage people to settle things like this themselves… Cut the baby in half!”
“Oops, did I say that aloud?”
He lucked out and was able to make it look like a ploy to find out which woman loved the baby. But I’ll bet that was the last child custody case ever brought to his court.