Rose has been the emblem of Feminine;
as the cross symbolized in the same way, in antique Egyptian rites, the strength of man and the sun in its highest potency
the union of the two symbols, the cross and the rose,
represented a kind and discrete emblem of regeneration
and universal reproduction.
Furthermore, the cross, whose arms indicate the four cardinal
points, was also a figurative expression of immortality,
and the rose, as an image of goodwill and discretion,
symbolized silence, so that it became a common saying
“to be sub rosa”.

Rose, the most delicate and gentle of the symbols of masonry,
was adopted by the Templars, by the Rosa-Croce institution,
by the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulcher as an ornament
of their armature, but already the Trojan heroes carried
an engraved rose on their helmet;
Achilles had one at the centre of his shield.

From Circle to Wheel, symbol of eternity, new symbolic
meanings of the divine opus and of the evolving cryptic translation of alchemy were assigned to the Rose.   
The Rose, who’s petals recall a metal or a planet,
was similar to the lapis philosophum, the philosophical stone,
and their treaties were named
Philosopher’s Rose garden, Rosarius or Rosarium.

Islam, too, contributed to the mystical elevation of the rose garden: for Muslims The Garden of Roses symbolized
the garden of contemplation, it was in the
“…Rose filled with its perfume, the secret of all”.
Around the year one thousand a Persian poet said: 
If you have two coins, you should use one of them to buy some bread and the other one to buy roses for your spirit.
The rose acquired a special meaning for Muslims:
tradition wants it to be born from a drop of Mohamed’s
sweat during his journey to heaven.

Look to the Rose that blows about us – “Lo”
”Laughing” she says “into the world I blow:
At once the silken Tassel of my Purse”
”Tear and its Treasure on the Garden
throw.”

And in Far East roses played the role of a queen.
In year ‘500 the Chinese Emperor already owned about 600 books dedicated to roses and the rose ointment was used
uniquely by the Mandarins in sign of distinction.

Literature is spread with rose petals.
Roses of any colour mark and embellish the verses of poets
and writers of anywhere and any time.
The rose adorns tender love verses and dyes strong passions red. The rose returns unfailingly in writing as absolute symbol
of Beauty, Feminine, Passion, Love, Purity,
Strength, Vigor and Faith.

[…] Roses have thorns, and silver fountains mud;
Clouds and eclipses stain both moon and sun,
And loathsome canker leaves in sweetest bud.
All men make faults, and even I inthis,
Authorizing thy trespasswith compare, […]

                                                           Shakespeare’s Sonnets, XXXV

Symbolical image of women, source of life and regeneration,
symbol of Eternal Feminine that blossoms in a closed garden,
ideal dame that the knight desires to seize with ardour,
the rose that inspired poets and artists in the name of courtly love is a recurrent theme in the subjects of English
pre-Raphaelite movement of the XIXth century, that was inspired to the sensitivity of Italian painters before Raffaello.

The Rose is a quiet force.
Flower among flowers, it is a metaphor of the most
high-minded and harmonious thoughts that man has known
or been able to express and transmit, since ever and for ever.

…it continues in The Grace of Roses, oeuvre in two
volumes in a precious slipcase.