I realized that wisdom is preferable to folly, just as light is preferable to darkness:

What benefit can a worker gain from his toil?

What benefit do people get from all the effort which they expend on earth?

The produce of the land is seized by all of them, even the king is served by the fields.

For wisdom provides protection, just as money provides protection. But the advantage of knowledge is this: Wisdom preserves the life of its owner.

If an iron axhead is blunt and a workman does not sharpen its edge, he must exert a great deal of effort; so wisdom has the advantage of giving success.

If the snake should bite before it is charmed, the snake charmer is in trouble.

Yet when I reflected on everything I had accomplished and on all the effort that I had expended to accomplish it, I concluded: “All these achievements and possessions are ultimately profitless – like chasing the wind! There is nothing gained from them on earth.”

This is another misfortune: Just as he came, so will he go. What did he gain from toiling for the wind?