Excerpt from The University of Man by Henry Dumas:

“Is it not true that without tools one’s knowledge can become useless?”

“Perhaps it is true.”

“Then what does one get at the university?”

Tyros thought again. “Knowledge and how to use it.”

“And then after you have gained the knowledge from the Universities of the East, West, North, and South, what will you do?”

“I do not know.”

“There is one more university. And the tools of its knowledge are learned all through the flow of one’s years.”

“What is the name of this university?”

“It has no name. It is a mystery.”

“What happens to those who graduate from this university?”

“Very few ever finish…. The weight of the tool is usually too heavy.”

Tyros reflected. “What is the tool? I would like to attend it someday. Where might I find it?”

“If one’s own weight is not too heavy a burden, if you can bear to look into the mirror of the river, you are very close to it, then. The greatest tool of education is the soul. The truly educated man is like a giant stylus etching in the sands of the earth. As he walks, words and songs flow behind him.”

“Who might be writing with the stylus?” asked Tyros.

“Who can name the source of a river?”

“It is a mystery,” said Tyros.

“Who can name the source of a canal?”

“Any man with knowledge of where it begins and ends.”

“With the knowledge gained at the university with no name, one does one’s work and there is no end to it. Knowledge flows as time flows.”