Zu-n-Nun of Egypt used a parable to illustrate how he was able to decipher the meaning of Egyptian inscriptions.
In one place there was a statue of a man pointing his finger at something. The statue stood on a massive stone with the inscription carved on it: “Strike here to take possession of the treasure.” The origin of the statue was lost in ancient times. From generation to generation, people beat on the stone marked with the inscription, but the stone was such a hard rock that even the strongest blows did not leave a single scratch on it, and no one could solve this mystery.
One day, it was at noon, Zu-n-Nun, thinking about the statue, noticed that the shadow of the pointing finger of the stone man (no one had noticed this for centuries) lay on one of the pavement slabs that served as the base of the ancient statue. He marked this place, then got the necessary tools and lifted the slab; The entrance to the dungeon opened in front of him, in which there were wonderful works of art. Having examined them, he discovered the science of their manufacture, long forgotten by people, and thus mastered the treasures of ancient knowledge and the material creations that embody this knowledge.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru