The eighth planet was quite large and six times larger than that of the Little Prince, but still a little smaller than the geographer's. It was inhabited by a very old man, older than all the other adults he had met.
- Here is a student! he cried when he saw the Little Prince. Come, sit down, I will teach you and you will learn, you will teach and I will learn.
However, the Little Prince said to himself:
This adult is quite interesting, more so than the others, though he reasons a bit like my geographer. He is not as aloof or reserved.
- What do you do here?" he said to the man, whom he had found settling down mumbling to himself in front of a very large collection of huge books and a blackboard covered with mathematical equations and hypotheses.
- I am a scholar or a teacher, but also a student, the man replied. I am and know many things.
- What does scholar mean? Why are you a teacher, but also a student? How do you know that I am a student? And what are you doing?" the Little Prince rambles.
- All men are students; all their lives. A teacher is simply a person who devotes his life to the search for new knowledge and the transmission of old knowledge, replied the professor. Their role is to transmit knowledge and preserve and organize the wisdom of past generations.
- But what does scholar mean?" interrupted the Little Prince.
- Exactly so, he says, a professor is a scholar, but a scholar may not always be a professor, replies the professor.
- I like your attitude, you know, all teachers like students who like to learn. It is our role not to be like other grown-ups. Indeed, it is not growing up that is the problem, but forgetting. Therefore, here's a secret: Never stop learning, for knowledge is the compass that guides us. In learning, you will teach. In teaching, you will learn.
- In learning, you shall teach. In teaching, you will learn," repeated the little prince, so that he would remember.
And the little prince went away.
At least it is an adult is not so strange, at least his work and work the lamplighter has a meaning. I would have liked to stay and be his friend, but it is also my role to spread knowledge., he said to himself, during his journey.