He stood on the steps and waved. He nodded to those cheering to him from below, and took a deep breath as if to soak up their praise.

And he deserved it. He had taken a good thing and made it better. Much better. He had created an empire like no one had ever seen, or would see again. He had the touch. He always seemed to know exactly the right thing to do and the right time to do it. It was more than shrewdness, it was wisdom. Like that time he traded those 10 old cities up north to King Hiram of Tyre for $3,600,000 and another fortune in cedars of Lebanon, delivered. Hiram had floated those trees all the way down the coast before he visited the cities and saw their real value. By then it was too late. If he only had the wisdom.

The trees were used to build a palace and a great temple, overl…