<P> It was also used in 1852, in a retelling of fable, entitled "Solomon's Seal", by the English poet Edward Fitzgerald . In it, a sultan requests of King Solomon a sentence that would always be true in good times or bad; Solomon responds, "This too will pass away". On September 30, 1859, Abraham Lincoln recounted a similar story: </P> <P> It is said an Eastern monarch once charged his wise men to invent him a sentence, to be ever in view, and which should be true and appropriate in all times and situations . They presented him the words: "And this, too, shall pass away ." How much it expresses! How chastening in the hour of pride! How consoling in the depths of affliction! </P> <P> The fable retold by Fitzgerald can be traced to the first half of the 19th century, appearing in American papers by at least as early as 1839 . It usually involved a nameless "Eastern monarch". Its origin has been traced to the works of Persian Sufi poets, such as Sanai and Attar of Nishapur . Attar records the fable of a powerful king who asks assembled wise men to create a ring that will make him happy when he is sad . After deliberation the sages hand him a simple ring with the words "This too will pass" etched on it, which has the desired effect to make him happy when he is sad . It also, however, became a curse for whenever he is happy . </P> <P> Many versions of comparable stories have been recorded by the Israel Folklore Archive at the University of Haifa . Jewish folklore often casts Solomon as either the king humbled by the adage, or as the one who delivers it to another . </P>

Where does the phrase this too shall pass come from