“Rule number one of scholarship”

Simon Darcourt is unhappy.

Robertson Davies, The Lyre of Orpheus (1988).

Any academic who’s emptied their office before retiring can attest to what Rev. Darcourt says — if, of course, that academic is a true scholar.

But wait — true scholars don’t empty their offices. They keep their offices or just move everything to a new location.

The Lyre of Orpheus is the third novel of The Cornish Trilogy.

Related reading
All OCA Robertson Davies posts (Pinboard)

[True scholar, or no? Only the janitor knows for sure.]