December 18 1997
- "I shout
for madder music, and I call for stronger wine;
- But when the
moons are swollen and my questing heart seeks more
- The veil
parts and draws me forth beyond my Earthly door
- To trace your
footfalls, Cabot! For the world I seek is thine.
- And Enemies
surround me, but my spirit will not bow
- Nor falter
like the weak who came before;
- And I will
follow, Cabot! In the best way I know how,
- And keep
alive the wonder that is Gor."
Tal,
Goreans!
Many
of the quotes I have for you this week are a collection of
interesting tidbits which I have received via e-mail from various
readers, each such quote pertinent in its own way to the manner
in which things are done on the planet of Gor. There is no single
argument or focus of these quotations; rather, they just serve as
a mish-mash of varied information about the customs, practices,
and mindset of Goreans as found in the Gor books. In addition, I
have used up the rest of my list of slave quotes, notably those
concerning several slave positions and a few references to
manners of service conducted by imbonded females. Henceforth I
shall allow such matters to be discussed in the "Ask the
slaves" column found elsewhere on this site.
I
hope you enjoy this week's selection of Gorean info, and learn a
bit more about Gor by viewing them. I myself learn something new
about Gor every time I pick up one of the books. There is a
staggering amount of information to be gleaned from those hefty
tomes, believe me.
GOR
according to Norman
A
large number of this week's quotes were sent to me by two
persons: Kalun Hail, who also sent me one for last week's column,
and my good friend JaKil. My thanks, friends, but be warned: keep
this up and you'll have people e-mailing you to accuse you of
being obsessed with Gor. I get those e-mails all the time. Of
course, you can always turn on your TV and get obsessed over
something you see there, or buy the latest installment of another
fantasy book series. I'd rather keep on browsing through the Gor
books, though. The Gor series is three times as long as Lord of
the Rings and has cooler swordfights. And some philosophy and
psycho-sexual commentary, to boot. With that combination, how can
you lose?
GOREAN
PRACTICALITY
- "Who
but a fool would not drink when he is thirsty, or eat
when he was hungry?"
- --pg 107,
Fighting Slave of Gor (submitted by JaKil)
NATURAL
MASTERS
- "`But
some men, strong men,' she said, `must enslave their
women.'
- I
nodded. I had known of such cases. Such men, I supposed,
made their own laws."
- --p.108,
Fighting Slave of Gor (submitted by JaKil)
THE
FEAR OF MANHOOD
- "I
feared she might release in me things which I feared to
understand, because I feared she might release in me
something proud and savage, something which would be a
stranger to apologies and pretenses, something
long-forgotten and mighty, something which had been bred
in caves and the hunt, something which might be called
man."
- --p.111,
Fighting Slave of Gor (submitted by JaKil)
EARTH
CIVILIZATION
- "If
one judges a civilization by the joy and satisfaction of
its populations the major civilizations of Earth were
surely failures. It is interesting to note the high
regard in which certain civilizations are held which,
from the human point of view, from the point of view of
human happiness, would appear to be obvious
catastrophes."
- --p.113,
Fighting Slave of Gor (submitted by JaKil)
DISCOVERING
MANHOOD
- "I
was filled then with emotions so powerful, so primitive
and exultant, so ancient, so overwhelming, so mighty and
glorious, that I knew then that I had caught the scent of
the meaning of man, and of a woman. Could I deny my
blood? Could I again repudiate the heritage of my
manhood? How could it be? The meat of the mammoth roasted
then again upon the greenwood spit. Once again, after an
interim of ten thousand years, sparks flew from blue
flint, as heavy, hairy hands shaped the head of the
spear. Once more were heard the love whimpers of the
thonged female, who had been displeasing, begging to be
released that she might lick the thighs of her
master."
- --p.214,
Rogue of Gor (submitted by JaKil)
WAR
AND CRUELTY
- "Also,
it might be noted that most Gorean warfare is carried out
largely by relatively small groups of professional
soldiers, seldom more than a few thousand in the field at
a given time, trained men, who have their own caste.
Total warfare, with its arming of millions of men, and
its broadcast slaughter of hundreds of populations, is
Gorean neither in concept nor in practice. Goreans, often
castigated for their cruelty, would find such
monstrosities unthinkable. Cruelty on Gor, though it
exists, is usually purposeful, as in attempting to bring,
through discipline and privation, a young man to manhood,
or in teaching a female that she is a slave."
- --p.145,
Fighting Slave of Gor
FREE
WOMEN AND THE VEILS
- "Many
Gorean women, in their haughtiness and pride, do not
choose to have their features exposed to the common view.
They are too fine and noble to be looked upon by the
casual rabble. Similarly the robes of concealment worn by
many Gorean women are doubtless dictated by the same
sentiments. On the other hand veiling is a not
impractical modesty in a culture in where capture, and
the chain and the whip are not unknown. One not regarded
as inconsiderable, is that it is supposed to provide
something of a protection against abduction and
predation. Who would wish to risk his life, it is said,
to carry off a woman who might, when roped to a tree and
stripped, turn out to be as ugly as a tharlarion?"
- --p.41, Rogue
of Gor (submitted by Kalun Hail)
LEGAL
POSITION OF THE SLAVE IN GOREAN SOCIETY
- "`In
the eyes of Gorean law you are an animal. You have no
name in your own right. You may be collared and leashed.
You may be bought and sold, whipped, treated as the
master pleases, disposed of as he sees fit. You have no
rights whatsoever. Legally you have no more status than a
tarsk or vulo. Legally, literally, you are an
animal.'"
- --pg 316,
Explorers of Gor (submitted by Kalun Hail)
- [In
regards to the quote below, Kalun Hail writes:"This
passage brings home the fact that John Norman (Lange) has
his Doctorate in Philosophy, And it does relate well to
the books overall. I consider this passage as Jason was
thinking about it, as it relates to the way we live on
Earth, forsaking our own feelings to be politically
correct, going against the feelings that nature has
instilled in us. We all, to a degree, fight this internal
battle on a daily basis." Well said, Kalun.]
- "In
ancient Attica it is said there was a giant, Procrustes.
He would seize upon travelers and tie them upon an iron
bed. If the traveler was too short for the bed, he would
disjoint and break their bodies until they fitted it; if
they were too long for the bed, he would cut their feet
from them, until they, again, fitted the bed. Perhaps the
bed of Procrustes is the truth and men must be broken or
cut to pieces that they may fit it. On the other hand,
clearly there is am alternative, although Procrustes
seemed not to have heard of it. The bed could be made to
fit the guest. Is the bed to conform to the guest, or the
guest to conform to the bed. From my own point of view, I
would prefer a bed which considered the nature of human
beings. I would make the human being the measure by which
I judged the value of the beds. I see little of profit in
making the bed the measure of the human being, and
requiring that we remake, if by torture the mutilation,
the human being until it fits the bed. Besides, we cannot
remake the human being to fit the bed, truly. We do not
make new human beings or better human beings by this
method. All we make by that method is broken or mutilated
human beings."
- --p.107,
Rogue of Gor (submitted by Kalun Hail)
MORE
SLAVE HEAT
- [The
following references were sent to me in response to my
column of last week, in which I asked for quotes
concerning the usage of the term "slave-heat"
in the Gor books:]
- "`Are
you a hot slave?' I asked.
- She
opened her eyes, writhing under my touch. She looked at
me angrily, defiantly. `Yes,' she gasped, `I am a hot
slave!'
- `I
thought so,' I said.
- `How
you shame me!' she wept.
- `A
slave should be proud of her heat,' I said. `You are not
a free woman, permitted to be smug in the icy conceit of
her frigidity.'"
- --p.278,
Beasts of Gor (submitted by nitebabe)
- "Goreans
place few impediments in thw way of the liberation of a
slave female's sexuality. In this phase of the dance,
then, shamelessly the woman dances her need and,
shamelessly, begs for her sexual satisfaction. This phase
of the dance is sometimes known as the Heat of the
Collared She-Sleen...This portion of the dance, the fifth
portion, is sometimes known as the Heat of the Slave
Girl."
- --p.186,
Rogue of Gor (submitted by nitebabe)
- [It
seems as if the quotes above use the term purely in
reference to a slave's sexual responsiveness and sexual
arousal, rather than referring to any part of her
physical anatomy.]
CAPTURE
RIGHTS
- "I
recalled hearing now, in the house, of 'capture rights',
respected in law. I had originally thought these rights
referred to the acquisition of free women but I had later
realized they must pertain, more generally, to the
acquisition of properties in general, including slaves...
(as a slave) theft, or capture, if you prefer, conferred
rights over me. I would belong to, and must fully serve,
anyone into whose effective possession I came, even if it
had been by theft. The original master, of course, has
the right to try to recover his property, which remains
technically his for a period of one week. If I were to
flee the thief, however, after he had consolidated his
hold on me, for example, kept me for even a night, I
could, actually in Gorean law, be counted as a runaway
slave, from him, even though he did not technically own
me yet, and punished accordingly...Strictures of this
sort, of course, do not apply to free persons, such as
free women. A free woman is entitled to to try to escape
her captor as best she can, and without penalty, even
after her first night in his bonds, if she still chooses
to do so. If she is enslaved, of course, then she is
subject to, and covered by, the same customs, practices
and laws as any other slave... After the slave has been
in the possession of the thief, or captor, for one week,
she counts as being legally his."
- --p.95-96,
Dancer of Gor
- "She
belonged to Samos, of course. It had been within the
context of his capture rights that she had, as a free
woman, of her own free will, pronounced upon herself a
formula of enslavement. Automatically then, in virtue of
the context,, she became his. The law is clear on this.
The matter is more subtle when the woman is not within a
context of capture rights. Here the matter differs from
city to city. In some cities, a woman may not, with legal
recognition, submit herself to a specific man as a slave,
for in those cities that is interpreted as placing at
least a temporary qualification on the condition of
slavery which condition, once entered into, all cities
agree, is absolute. In such cities, then, the woman makes
herself a slave, unconditionally. It is then up to the
man in question whether or not he will accept her as his
slave. In his matter he will do as he pleases. In any
event, she is by then a slave, and only that.
- In
other cities, and in most cities, on the other hand, a
free woman may, with legal tolerance, submit herself as a
slave to a specific man. If he refuses her, she is then
still free. If he accepts her, she is, then,
categorically a slave, and he may do with her as he
pleases, even selling her or giving her away, or slaying
her, if he wishes."
- --p.21,
Players of Gor
SLAVE
POSITIONS
- "`Standard
binding position,' he said. I was prone. When a girl is
prone, the standard binding position is to cross the
wrists behind the back and to cross the ankles."
- --p.125,
Slave Girl of Gor
- "I
went to Targo, trembling, and knelt at his feet... I
crossed my wrists beneath me and touched my head to the
floor, exposing the bow of my back. It is the submissive
posture of a slave girl who is to be punished. It is
called Kneeling to the Whip."
- --p.200,
Captive of Gor
- "I
knelt before the guest, putting the palms of my hands on
the floor and my head to the tiles."
- --p.305,
Kajira of Gor (submitted by feiqua{MAR})
- "The
position of the Tower Slave, in which Vika knelt, differs
from that of a free woman only in the position of the
wrists which are held before her and, when not occupied,
crossed as though for binding...The position of the
Pleasure Slave, incidentally, differs from the position
of both the free woman and the Tower Slave. The hands of
a Pleasure Slave normally rest on her thighs but, in some
cities, for example, Thentis, I believe, they are crossed
behind her. More significantly, for the free woman's
hands may also rest on her thighs, there is a difference
in the placement of the knees. In all these kneeling
positions, incidentally, even that of the Pleasure Slave,
the Gorean woman carries herself well; her back is
straight and her chin is high. She tends to be vital and
beautiful to look upon."
- --p.46-47,
Priest Kings of Gor
- "`Bracelets,'
he snapped.
- She
put her head in the air and placed her hands behind her
back."
- --p.146,
Hunters of Gor
- "The
auctioneer did not strike her with his whip. He merely
took her arms and lifted them, so that the position
chain, attached to each side of the sales collar, lay
across her upper arms. Then he had her clasp her hands
behind the back of her neck, so that the chain, on each
side of the collar, was in the crook of her arms, and she
was exposed in such a way that she could be properly
exhibited."
- --p.36,
Explorers of Gor
- "`Lesha,"
snapped the second officer to the blond girl.
- She
spun from facing him, and lifted her chain, turning her
head to the left, placing her wrists behind her, as
though for snapping them into slave bracelets.
- `Nadu!'
he snapped.
- She
swiftly turned, facing him, and dropped to her knees. She
knelt back on her heels, her back straight, her hands on
her thighs, her head up, her knees wide.
- It
was the position of the pleasure slave.
- `Sula,
Kajira!' said the man.
- She
slid her legs from under her and lay on her back, her
hands at her sides, palms up, legs open.
- `Bara,
Kajira!' he said.
- She
rolled quickly to her stomach, placing her wrists behind
her, crossed, and crossing her ankles, ready to be
bound."
- --p.77,
Explorers of Gor
SLAVES
AND KAISSA
- "Do
you play?" I asked.
- "I
am a slave," she said. "I cannot so much as
touch the pieces of the game without permission without
risking having my hands cut off, or being killed, no more
than weapons."
- --p.235,
Players of Gor
GOREAN
WINE SERVICE
- "`Wine,
Master?' she asked.
- `Yes,
Slave,' he said.
- Then
she knelt before him, back on her heels, head down,
lifting the goblet to him, proffering it to the master
with both hands."
- --p.405,
Slave Girl of Gor
QUESTIONS
AND ANSWERS
- Q: Is
Ka-la-na served with ice in the books?
- (submitted by
theena{Kk})
A: Nowhere
in the Gor books have I seen any reference to an iced beverage,
whether served with ice cubes, ice "chips," or shaved
ice of any kind. This seems to be the result of the fact that
mechanized refrigeration, such as we are accustomed to in modern
Earth society, is virtually nonexistent upon Gor. Norman informs
us of this in book 16, Guardsman of Gor:
- "My
house, incidentally, like most Gorean houses, had no ice
chest. There is little cold storage on Gor. Generally
food is preserved by being dried or salted. Some cold
storage, of course, does exist. Ice is cut from ponds in
the winter, and then stored in ice houses, under sawdust.
One may go to the ice houses for it, or have it delivered
in ice wagons. Most Goreans, of course, cannot afford the
luxury of ice in the summer."
- --p.295,
Guardsman of Gor
It
seems that effective chemical cooling agents like freon gas,
which make possible such articles as refrigerators and air
conditioners, have yet to be developed by the Gorean caste of
Builders, or if they have been they are so rare that they are not
in use by the general public. Therefore the usage of cold storage
and refrigeration by Goreans is limited to similar practices to
those in use upon Earth in the last half of the 19th century,
when ice had to be shipped and stored, not created on site. With
no way to manufacture ice from water cheaply and efficiently,
Goreans just work around this, storing things underground, as is
the case with the Amphora, a storage vessel for liquids designed
to be partially buried to keep its contents cool. No doubt most
houses have an underground cellar for cool storage as well. In
such a case, "ice boxes" are literally that: insulated
boxes in which purchased ice is kept, along with such easily
perishable items such as dairy products. The usage of ice in
individual beverages seems a bit excessive when ice is a highly
expensive luxury purchased by the pound; one would be more likely
to buy it in big blocks which wouldn't melt as quickly, as was
commonly done on Earth before the modern freezer came into use.
Also,
since ice cannot be produced from a clean water source on demand,
the ice one would get might tend to be somewhat dirty and gritty,
not to mention covered with sawdust. If your local tavern
purposely serves you ice in your drinks then they must be very
expensive drinks indeed, and might be less fit for consumption
than one might prefer. On the other hand, if one was drinking,
say, iced paga (blecch) then one might not notice a little dirt
or sawdust in it.
QUOTES
OF INTEREST
- "Civilization
may be predicated upon the denial of human nature; it may
also be predicated upon its fulfillment. The first word
that an Earth baby learns is usually, `No.' The first
word that a Gorean baby learns is commonly, `Yes.' The
machine and the flower, I suspect, will never understand
one another."
- --p.37,
Explorers of Gor
- "He
looked down at the board. `Perhaps it is stupid, or
absurd, or foolish, that men should concern themselves
with such things.'
`Kaissa?' I asked.
- `Yes,'
he said.
- `Now,'
I said, `you are being truly foolish.'
- `Perhaps
that is all it is, after all,' he said, `the meaningless
movement of bits of wood on a checkered surface.'
- `And
love,' I said, `is only a disturbance in the glands and
music only a stirring in the air.'
- `And
yet it is all I know,' he said.
- `Kaissa,
like love and music, is its own justification,' I said.
`It requires no other.'"
- --p.236,
Players of Gor
- "Goreans,
in their simplistic fashion, often contend,
categorically, that man is naturally free and woman is
naturally slave. But even for them the issues are far
more complex than these simple formulations would
suggest. For example, there is no higher person, nor one
more respected, than the Gorean free woman... Goreans do
believe, however, that every woman has a natural master
or set of masters, with respect to whom she could not
help but be a complete and passionate slave girl. These
men occur in her dreams and fantasies. She lives in
terror that she might meet one in real life."
- --p.311,
Hunters of Gor
- "I
sensed that in Gor there was a youth and openness which
had long been missing from my old world. In Gor I sensed
an ambition, a freshness and hope, and sparkle, that had
perhaps not been felt on Earth since the Parthenon was
new. Doubtless there is much on Gor to be deplored, but I
cannot bring myself to deplore it. Doubtless Gor is
impatient, cruel and heartless, but yet, I think, too, it
is innocent. It is like the lion, impatient, cruel,
heartless and innocent. It is its nature. Gor was a
strong-thewed world, a new world, a world in which men
might again lift their heads to the sun and laugh, a
world in which they might again, sensibly, begin long
journeys. It was a world of which Homer might have sung,
singing of the clashing of the metals of men and the
sweetness of the wine-dark sea."
- --p.89,
Fighting Slave of Gor
- "Few
women, despite propaganda, really desire weak feminine
men. Such men, at any rate, are not those who figure in
their sexual fantasies."
- --p.312,
Hunters of Gor
- "`Women
dream not of equals,' she said, `but of masters.'"
- --p. 116,
Fighting Slave of Gor
- "`On
Gor,' she said, `we would not even break our male slaves
as the men of Earth are broken.'"
- --p.73,
Fighting Slave of Gor
- My Quote for
the Week:
- "More
real than the law is the heart."
- --Tahari
Proverb, p.146, Tribesmen of Gor
Well,
that's it for this week. I'll close by saying that, several weeks
ago, I received a question from Kuril in which he asked if there
were any specific references to slaves handling
"weapons" such as carving knives, etc., during the
preparation of foods. While such does undoubtedly occur, I have
not yet found any particular reference to it. Hang in there,
Kuril, I'm still looking. If anyone else out there finds such a
reference, e-mail it over and I'll display it here.
As
the holiday approaches, I'm going to ease off the books a bit and
get revved up for my annual pilgrimage south for Christmas with
friends and family. Fortunately, I just happen to have a back
copy of Marauders of Gor gathering dust on a bookshelf at my
parents' house, which will take the place of the copy I loaned
out last summer and lost. For all those who wrote and offered to
send me a replacement copy, my warmest thanks. But perish the
thought that, if caught with an incomplete set of the Gor books,
Marcus of Ar would not have an emergency back-up plan.
- Until next week... I wish you
well!
- _Marcus_
Questions? Comments? Suggestions?
If you have any of the above, have queries regarding the source
books, or have a quote or brief passage from the books which you
would share here, feel free to e-mail me through the link below.
- This page brought to you by
- courtesy of the Gorean Daily
Times
- (When you're bored with the
First and Second Knowledge, you're ready for the Third.)
Previous
Main