Seven Roses For the Princess

by ~recursive-j

Seven Roses For the Princess

Once upon a time...

There was a princess of a fantastical kingdom.  She had been raised as the darling of the court; she knew everything about her kingdom was perfect.  She knew her parents were perfectly just and kind, she knew the advisors were perfectly wise and thoughtful, she knew even the peasants were perfectly humble and hardworking.  And of course the most perfect part of the kingdom was her.

Being perfect, she knew she needed a perfect husband.  This was a source of vexation for her parents, the king and queen, for they were slightly more pragmatic.  Suitors came from far and wide, but the princess rejected them all.  Each had some flaw, some shortcoming, some imperfection.  The king and queen despaired of ever continuing their bloodline.

Finally the princess deigned to compromise.  "I shall marry whichever suitor," she proclaimed, "that will bring me one perfect rose."

When the knights, princes and adventurers heard this proclamation, they despaired.  Any man strong and brave could present himself in court, knowing in his heart that he was perfect, and brush off any claims to the contrary.  But to find a perfect rose, whatever that might be, was a task few could even comprehend, much less undertake.  The suitors trickled away, and the court was quiet.

But a handful of suitors found the quest not fearful, but inspirational...

One man went on a journey around the world.  He explored all the known lands, he ventured into unknown territories.  He questioned sages, scribes and hermits in every locale.  He amassed legends and lore from the world over, fulfilling quests in every land, until he learned of a flower with beauty unsurpassed.  The discovery of this delicate, blushing rose was the culmination of an entire life of adventure and learning.

One man ventured forth to offer his services to those in need the world over.  He jousted with evil nobles, he slew vicious monsters.  He organized relief efforts to help those victimized by storms.  He made himself a symbol of morality, nobility and fellowship, until all the countries of the world recognized his service.  And finally the very Emperor of the world bestowed upon him a heraldic symbol that none else could claim...a single rose.  The receiving of this honor was the culmination of an entire life of humility and service.

One man, hearing of the exploits of the others, offered his services as a cartographer.  He traveled the world and recorded all that was known about the land, filling books with his charts and maps.  Then he dedicated himself to spreading that knowledge among the people, letting all he met realize the wonder and vastness of the world.  His masterwork was a great map inscribed in stone, in the main hall of a university, in the center of a great city of learning.  And in the center of this perfect map was a compass rose, pointing the way to any destination one might desire.  The creation of this map was the culmination of an entire life of learning and teaching.

One man delved into the arts of botany and farming, learning the ways of plants.  He mastered every method of growing and breeding flowers, from the simplest farmer's plow to the most arcane potions of shadowy wizards.  With his knowledge he helped plants grow, crops to feed hungry peoples and flowers of a million dazzling colors.  Finally, one day he grew a single rose that was hardy and beautiful, to bring color and joy to the most desolate of wastes.  The growth of this bush was the culmination of a lifetime of dedication and experimentation.

One man followed a more worldly path and learned from the company of winemakers.  He studied all the ways to create drinks to relax the mind and soothe the soul, made from all manner of plants; fruits, grains, potatoes...but mostly grapes, maturing over years to yield the finest of wines.  He labored for years to study the fruits of the vine, how they breathed with the storms and zephyrs of the year, how they fermented in hidden casks to evolve each particular flavor.  And one year his winery brought forth a vintage that all in the world called perfect, pressed forth and fermented from the most delicate of rosy grapes.  The creation of this wine was the culmination of a lifetime of the pursuit of epicurean pleasure.

One man heeded the call of his own artistic impulses.  He honed his eye, his hand and his mind; he learned to understand his sight and reproduce his vision upon a canvas.  He learned from great masters of painting, not just the strokes of the brush or the recording of impressions, but also the grinding of pigments and even the pressing of paper to attain exactly the colors desired.  One night he worked for hours beneath the moon to perfect his paints, and when the dawn came he captured its perfect rosy color for all time.  This one painting of subtle majesty was the culmination of a lifetime of devotion to art.

And the last man followed a path that was perhaps the strangest of all.  He journeyed into the realm of shapes and numbers.  While he spent most of his time in a simple library, he explored unseen realms of abstraction and representation; he learned that counting, mapping and enumeration were all aspects of the same ideal.  After years of labor, he summarized all his knowledge in one folio, a perfect analysis of intricate circular curves that the mathematicians had termed 'roses'.  This paper was the culmination of a lifetime seeking knowledge for its own sake.

Seven men had found seven roses; each had found something that was perfect for him, and each had, in turn, made himself perfect in the way he felt was best.  Each had created a life for himself which was perfectly fulfilling.

And the perfect princess was left perfectly alone.

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John Evans 2009