The Learned One

A Parable

Photo by Jonathan Francisca on Unsplash

The library of Alexandria was said to be so vast that a besieging army would not dare torch the city for fear of burning the known world. Its sheer size meant that a small city’s worth of librarians was needed merely for its upkeep.

Amongst these librarians was an old man known as the Learned One who lived deep within the oldest sections of the library. Whereas other librarians dedicated their lives to more practical endeavors in service to the library, the Learned One had spent his entire life simply reading.

It was often said that the day the Learned One furrowed his brow in confusion would be the day that God tore the library asunder. When it came to questions about facts and figures or names and numbers, the people of Alexandria - if they were lucky enough to find the Learned One - would pay him a visit.

One day, whilst the Learned One perused through a more obscure section of the library, he noticed a small clay container on a bookshelf. Upon holding the container, the Learned One heard the soft, supple voice of a young woman.

”How fortunate the world is, oh Learned One, for a human as knowledgable as you to stumble upon me. Three wishes I will grant you upon releasing me from this prison.”

Shocked, the Learned One stumbled backwards nearly knocking over a bookshelf. Then, with the clay container still in hand, the Learned One closed his eyes, calmly combing through all the ink and papyrus that now lived within him. After some time, the Learned One spoke.

“Since time immemorial, the generous have been taken advantage of, the kind trodden upon, and the meek belittled.”

The Learned One, with shaking hands, opened the container and continued.

“I wish for the generous to gain wealth, for the kind to obtain power, and for the meek to achieve renown. Those are my three wishes.”

“Your wishes are granted, Learned One.”

A thin trail of green smoke rose quickly from the now-opened container, winding its way excitedly through the rooftop window of the library.

Over the next few weeks, the Learned One listened eagerly to stories from visitors to the library. A tireless charity worker had found a burlap sack brimming with gold under his bed one morning. A carpenter, widely known for his kind-heartedness, was inexplicably elevated to a high-ranking government position.

But the Learned One soon saw that all was not well. People had caught onto the ways of this newly changed world and were now scrambling to be more virtuous than their neighbors. Now, it was not uncommon to hear people loudly discussing their selfless deeds in the market square in an effort to manifest some good fortune.

The Learned One, saddened to see the upshot of his three wishes, realized that there was still much to learn from this world - particularly from the things not scrolled on papyrus.

The old man then packed his meager belongings and for the first time in his long life ventured out into the frenzied streets of Alexandria.