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 Codes - Caste of PeasantsThese are relevant references from the Books where Codes are mentioned as they pertain to the Caste of Peasants. I make no pronouncements on these matters, but report them as I find them. Arrive at your own conclusions. I wish you well, Fogaban "Surely you know, Bran Loort," said Thurnus, "it is the duty of a slave girl to be fully and completely pleasing to men. Were she not so she would be subject to severe punishment, including even torture and death, should it be the master's wish." "We took her without your permission," said Bran Loort. "In this," said Thurnus, "you have committed a breach of code." "It does not matter to me," said Bran Loort. "Neither a plow, nor a bosk, nor a girl may one man take from another, saving with the owner's saying of it," quoted Thurnus. "I do not care," said Bran Loort. "What is it, Bran Loort, that separates men from sleen and larls?" asked Thurnus. "I do not know," said Bran Loort. "It is the codes," said Thurnus. "The codes are meaningless noises, taught to boys," said Bran Loort. "The codes are the wall," said Thurnus. "I do not understand," said Bran Loort. "It is the codes which separate men from sleen and larls," said Thurnus. "They are the difference. They are the wall." Slave Girl of Gor Book 11 Pages 226 - 227 I sensed that the codes were to be invoked. What Bran Loort and his fellows had done exceeded the normal rights of custom, the leniencies and tacit permissions of a peasant community; commonly the codes are invisible; they exist not to control human life, but to make it possible. The rapes of Verr Tail and Radish, interestingly, had not counted as code breaches, though in neither case had explicit permission for their conquest been granted by Thurnus; such permission, in such cases, was implicit in the customs of the community; it did not constitute a "taking from" but a brief use of, an "enjoyment of," without the intent to do injury to the honor of the master; "taking from," in the sense of the code is not, strictly, theft, though theft would be "taking from." "Taking from," in the sense of the codes, implies the feature of being done against the presumed will of the master, of infringing his rights, more significantly, of offending his honor. In what Bran Loort had done, insult had been intended. The Gorean peasant, like Goreans in general, has a fierce sense of honor. Bran Loort had known exactly what he had been doing. Slave Girl of Gor Book 11 Page 228 Too, the Gorean peasant tends to be a master of the "peasant bow," a weapon of unusual accuracy, rapidity of fire, and striking force. Usually, as it is their caste policy, the farmers or villagers seek new land, usually farther away, to start again. They seldom attempt to enter the cities, where they might eventually contribute to the formation of a discontented urban proletariat. Their caste codes discourage it. Also, of course, they would generally not be citizens of the city and in the city there would be little opportunity for them to practice their caste crafts. Dancer of Gor Book 22 Page 303 The caste of Peasants, usually ensconced in remote, isolated settlements, tends to be wary and suspicious of other castes, commonly suspecting them of an impressive variety of ill doings, ranging from subtle deceit to outright chicanery, particularly in the spheres of fraudulent bookkeeping and dishonest weights. I always found this ironic as the average peasant, like the average Tuchuk, is commonly a bargainer whose sense of business shrewdness is not far removed from that of a practiced, marauding pirate. On the other hand, interestingly, a peasant is likely to trust another peasant, even from a remote village. That has something to do with the codes. "Peasants," I said, "have their codes, like other castes. Commonly they do not inform on one another." |       
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