¹³ Here is another thing that has made a deep impression on me as I have watched human affairs: ¹⁴ There was a small city with only a few people living in it, and a great king came with his army and besieged it. ¹⁵ There was in the city a wise man, very poor, and he knew what to do to save the city, and so it was rescued. But afterwards no one thought any more about him. ¹⁶ Then I realized that though wisdom is better than strength, nevertheless, if the wise man is poor, he will be despised, and what he says will not be appreciated. ¹⁷ But even so, the quiet words of a wise man are better than the shout of a king of fools. ¹⁸ Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one rotten apple can spoil a barrelful.