*The Four Cornerstones*

 

 

~First Cornerstone~

Courage:

The mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear or difficulty.

 

~Second Cornerstone~

Temperance:

Habitual moderation in the indulgence of the appetites or passions.

 

~Third Cornerstone~

Wisdom:

Accumulated philosophic learning, a wise attitude or course of action of the teachings of the ancient wise men.

 

~Fourth Cornerstone~

Virtue:

Conformity to a standard of right, a particular moral excellence.....Manly strength or courage which is a commendable quality or trait.

 

 

* THE 100 APHORISMS OF THE GOREAN WARRIOR CODES *

 

 

(Though the wording of these aphorisms varies slightly from city to city, their content is, for the most part, identical in all the caste scrolls of the Warrior Caste throughout Gorean culture)

 

-1st Aphorism of the Codes-

A dull blade does not cut. A weak spear does not pierce. A rent shield does not defend. A soft heart does not conquer. A slow mind does not win.

 

-2nd Aphorism of the Codes-

If a weapon is too large for your use, yet use it you must, it is well to utilize both hands to wield it. So it is with all things.

 

-3rd Aphorism of the Codes-

The softest of things in the world penetrates swiftly the hardest. Insubstantial, it enters in where no room is, and conquers.

 

-4th Aphorism of the Codes-

In matters of stealth, let you be as soft as the wind, as silent as the shadows, and as still as the calm before the storm.

 

-5th Aphorism of the Codes-

When you would hunt, hunt as the sleen hunts. Tenacious, silent, and without mercy.

 

-6th Aphorism of the Codes-

A careless mind betrays, and the body whispers its secrets. In combat, see into your opponent's mind thus and you will conquer.

 

-7th Aphorism of the Codes-

To act without resistance; to move without hesitation; to strive without effort; to fight without the interference of unwieldy thought: that is the goal of all goals, the inner victory which brings outer triumph.

 

-8th Aphorism of the Codes-

At the instant your foe decides to strike, strike. At the instant he decides to retreat, advance. There is no more powerful ally than the interrupted thoughts of your opponent, which tangle his wit and open the gate to Victory.

 

-9th Aphorism of the Codes-

Q: What is a Warrior's greatest enemy?

A: That foe which slips in undetected, poisoning him: an undecided mind.

 

-10th Aphorism of the Codes-

It is perilous to detain a Warrior en route to his City.

 

-11th Aphorism of the Codes-

Within the circle of his own steel, every man is Ubar.

 

-12th Aphorism of the Codes-

Learn to strike from the position of no position. Learn to fight in the stance of no stance. Learn to make war in the formation of no formation. In this way, you are always prepared to do what must be done.

 

-13th Aphorism of the Codes-

Who can make war who is not free? Who has worth who would not keep his freedom?

 

-14th Aphorism of the Codes-

A Warrior accepts his fate readily, nor does he seek to live beyond his freedom and usefulness. He will not suffer the chains of degradation, lest he bring dishonor to his city and Home Stone. Should he do so, let his name be forgotten by those of his caste.

 

-15th Aphorism of the Codes-

There are no pleasant endings to things, even in victory and triumph; for nothing ever ends, as long as Tor-tu-Gor burns.

 

-16th Aphorism of the Codes-

Do not fix your concentration upon a single object, action or goal. Be as expansive as the wind, as flexible as the reed, as fluid as Thassa. To be otherwise is to limit oneself to dire predictability.

 

-17th Aphorism of the Codes-

There is a time for Ubars, and there is a time when Ubars must also bow. Let no Ubar stand longer than his city has need of him.

 

-18th Aphorism of the Codes-

Only a clean weapon can kill cleanly. Only a calm mind can act swiftly.

 

-19th Aphorism of the Codes-

A Ubar displayed his city's Home Stone to a peasant, who in return displayed the Home Stone of his hut. Which was more beautiful?

 

-20th Aphorism of the Codes-

No Warrior can be of the Warriors who lives not the Codes of his caste.

 

-21st Aphorism of the Codes-

To touch a Warrior without his permission is canjellne. To draw a weapon against a Warrior is canjellne. To misuse the property of a Warrior without recompense is canjellne. Canjellne is the Rite of Challenge. Woe be it to any who so challenges a Warrior!

 

-22nd Aphorism of the Codes-

A Warrior meets the challenges of those who do not share his caste in the manner he sees fit. Such a challenge may be so met in any fashion, provided it is not ignored.

 

-23rd Aphorism of the Codes-

A Warrior may respond to the rightful challenge of another Warrior in one of two ways: He may yield all, or he may answer with steel. Woe be it to any who yields all! A collar of iron awaits him one day.

 

-24th Aphorism of the Codes-

Q: What are the Codes of a Warrior?

A: They are golden threads which bind him to the honor of his Home Stone.

 

-25th Aphorism of the Codes-

When one strikes at his enemy, let him shout out the war cry of his city, that all may know and fear the Home Stone for which he fights. In all such conflicts let him focus his thoughts in such a way, even if he cries out only in his heart.

 

-26th Aphorism of the Codes-

If a Warrior draws the life blood of an enemy Warrior, and that blood is foul with cowardice, let him grind it into the dust! Any foe who has shed his blood upon your steel and yet lives, but whose blood nobly brightens your blade without sullying it, is your brother...Let a sword-bond exist between you henceforth.

 

-27th Aphorism of the Codes-

A sword-brother is no less a brother than the other sons of your father.

 

-28th Aphorism of the Codes-

If a sword-brother betrays, let steel avenge.

 

-29th Aphorism of the Codes-

A fool is not brave; he is a fool. Pride is not honor. Let the true Warrior be wise enough to know the truth of this.

 

-30th Aphorism of the Codes-

Do not seek to fight with another man's sword.

Do not seek to ride another's tarn.

Do not seek to discuss another's faults.

Do not seek to interfere in another's purpose.

 

-31st Aphorism of the Codes-

A skilled soldier is not quick to violence; an able fighter does not rage; a mighty conqueror does not give battle; the greatest Ubar is a humble man. The Warrior is all of these things...armed with a healthy mind and a humble spirit, he sees things as they are, and conquers all.

 

-32nd Aphorism of the Codes-

Q: The sword, the spear, the scimitar, the quiva, the lance? Which is best?

A: None are deadly in the hands of he who does not know them. All are lethal in the hands of an expert. Therefore, all are the same. So it is with all things.

 

-33rd Aphorism of the Codes-

What is gold, when compared to the honor of your city and caste? A Warrior does not allow the baubles of wealth to glitter so brightly that they obscure the truth.

 

-34th Aphorism of the Codes-

In battle, it is sometimes wise to allow your enemy access to a bridge, which can be easily gained, and which seems to offer both profit and succor. No enemy will press easily forward when such a bridge can be crossed to rearward. Let any such bridge be clothed in glittering jewels, that it may not be easily ignored. Be warned! The wise man does not cross such a bridge swiftly or unwarily.

 

-35th Aphorism of the Codes-

The gentlest of streams can halt an army. The tiniest of osts can fell a man. In the humblest of things there is worth, and the simplest of things may conquer.

 

-36th Aphorism of the Codes-

If a free woman should kneel before you in submission, let you claim her life. This done, let you keep her as slave, or slay her that she not live in shame evermore.

 

-37th Aphorism of the Codes-

Let the Free Companion of the Warrior who has dishonored himself be locked in a collar of slavery by he who has conquered, that all may see and know that the honor of the fallen is as naught. The Companion of the dishonored is the property of his destroyer, and may be used as he sees fit.

 

-38th Aphorism of the Codes-

Who shall cage the larl? Who shall halt the Bosk? Who shall elude the sleen? When you would be caged, be as the larl. When you would be halted, be as the Bosk. When you would be eluded, be as the sleen.

 

-39th Aphorism of the Codes-

The sword which can be bought is not worth owning.

 

-40th Aphorism of the Codes-

Each Warrior is a weapon unto himself. Those who would praise a weapon for the beauty of its hilt and pommel are seldom wise enough to appreciate the value of a well-tempered blade.

 

-41st Aphorism of the Codes-

It is wisdom to know others; it is Mastery to know oneself. The Master of men is powerful; the Master of himself is greater. Endurance is to live long and die; Mastery is to die and not perish.

 

-42nd Aphorism of the Codes-

Those who know, speak not! Those who speak, know not.

 

-43rd Aphorism of the Codes-

Watch. Observe. See. Know. Understand. Act.

 

-44th Aphorism of the Codes-

Victory is a state of being, which begins as a state of mind. The one cannot help but follow the other.

 

-45th Aphorism of the Codes-

Alive, a warrior is supple and flexible. In death, he becomes unbending and stiff. So too do all things which live. To become inflexible is to die.

 

-46th Aphorism of the Codes-

A Warrior is not a Warrior who does not honor his fellow Warriors. Let all those who are of the scarlet caste do honor to one another. In honoring your fellow, you honor yourself.

 

-47th Aphorism of the Codes-

When you challenge a Warrior, you challenge his steel. Give him his steel or do not challenge him.

 

-48th Aphorism of the Codes-

The concerns of Warriors are not for the ears of slaves.

 

-49th Aphorism of the Codes-

His hands move, his lips speak, his eyes blaze! Look upon him! He is an island of strength...he is Master of his own destiny.

 

-50th Aphorism of the Codes-

A Warrior is not quick to anger...nor does he take advantage of those who are not fortunate enough to be of his caste.

 

-51st Aphorism of the Codes-

Let a Warrior cast his spear mightily, that it might fly far from him, and let him witness how far away from him it lands. Mark that distance well...for within it lies all that he may truly control, while beyond it lies the dominion of others.

 

-52nd Aphorism of the Codes-

The poisoner sniffs his own cup often. The assassin fears a knife lurking behind every tree. The loudest accuser sleeps in fear lest his own crime be discovered.

 

-53rd Aphorism of the Codes-

Behind every great fortune can be found a crime against someone.

 

-54th Aphorism of the Codes-

The larl does not drink from the same pool as the urt.

 

-55th Aphorism of the Codes-

Thirty spokes will converge at the hub of a wheel... but the use of the cart depends upon the empty spaces between the spokes. A clay bowl is bounded by a wall all around... but the use of the bowl will depend upon the empty space within. Build a cylinder to the sky...walls 1000 feet high! But the use of the structure will depend upon the empty space within! So advantage is to be had from the solidity of things... but their usefulness must depend upon the spaces within, and what things they contain.

 

-56th Aphorism of the Codes-

Sleep as the sleen sleeps...one eye open, claws extended.

 

-57th Aphorism of the Codes-

A silent enemy is to be feared.

 

-58th Aphorism of the Codes-

A Warrior and an Initiate approached a stream, where they saw a lowly peasant child, who had been gathering tarsk dung for his family's cook fire. The child could not cross the stream, as rain had swollen it. Without a word the Warrior lifted the child and carried him across the stream, then set him down and continued upon his way. After the two travelers had walked for half an ahn, and gone over a pasang, the Initiate spoke: "How could you, a noble Warrior, carry a filthy unwashed peasant in your arms? He stank of dung."

 

To which the Warrior replied: "Are you still carrying that peasant child? I myself set him down beside the stream, over half an ahn ago."

 

-59th Aphorism of the Codes-

Only a fool seeks fire and looks for it with a lighted torch.

 

-60th Aphorism of the Codes-

Q: What is the most valuable thing upon Gor?

A: The courage of a Warrior, for no one can name its price.

 

-61st Aphorism of the Codes-

A young Warrior sought out a great fencing teacher in Tor, but was disappointed when he was given a wooden spoon instead of a sword and ordered to cook for the teacher's family. Then one day the teacher approached him silently and struck him with a wooden practice sword as he cooked. The young student was never allowed to lift a weapon, and every day for many years the young warrior was struck, until in desperation he began to parry the sword away from him with the wooden spoon. At last the day came when he was so skilled he could no longer be struck, or taken unawares. He was then given a real sword, and discovered that he was first sword of Tor.

 

-62nd Aphorism of the Codes-

How will your steel serve you if you do not keep it clean and sharp? How will your limbs serve you if you do not keep them clean and strong? How will your honor serve you if you do not keep it clean and pure? For each effort you expend to maintain these things, you shall reap the benefit ten-fold! A Warrior knows well this truth.

 

-63rd Aphorism of the Codes-

It is unwise to argue with another about the codes of his caste.

 

-64th Aphorism of the Codes-

My mind and my steel are of the same accord.

 

-65th Aphorism of the Codes-

The tarn flies. The sleen hunts. The parsit swims. The warrior fights. To each his own purpose and dominion; a thing must be that which it is.

 

-66th Aphorism of the Codes-

To live well, to fight well, to die well, and to honor his caste and Home Stone. These are the only concerns of the True Warrior.

 

-67th Aphorism of the Codes-

The body knows what the mind cannot... the true Warrior allows his body to function under stress without the hindrances of interfering thought. His is the state of mind that is mind, yet no mind... the blade flashes, the spirit knows, the body reacts. Let the mind float free, that it may consider such things as tactics and strategy. To do otherwise is to suffer defeat.

 

-68th Aphorism of the Codes-

A tarn which is hobbled may not fly free; that which is free, and cannot be free, will surely die.

 

-69th Aphorism of the Codes-

In all dealings, let this be the question you contemplate: Who is the Master? Who is the slave? Know these things and react accordingly. Know them not and be enslaved by slaves.

 

-70th Aphorism of the Codes-

The true warrior does not seek to enslave that which is by its nature free. That which lives free shall die free. That which is not free will suffer the chains of its own slavery.

 

-71st Aphorism of the Codes-

Let honorable service to your Home Stone be cheerfully rendered.

 

-72nd Aphorism of the Codes-

The true Warrior shall choose his cause wisely; this done, he shall then discharge his duty honorably.

 

-73rd Aphorism of the Codes-

What are the noblest virtues of the Warrior? Courage to stand and boldness to strike, in obedience to the dictates of honor.

 

-74th Aphorism of the Codes-

The true Warrior renders respect for all peers and equals.

 

-75th Aphorism of the Codes-

Let there be honor for your Ubar in war!

 

-76th Aphorism of the Codes-

Let there be obedience to the Administrator of your city in peace!

 

-77th Aphorism of the Codes-

The Warrior defends his Home Stone unto Death.

 

-78th Aphorism of the Codes-

A Warrior demands absolute obedience and respect from all those who do not possess the strength to be free.

 

-79th Aphorism of the Codes-

A Warrior demands respect from those of lower caste.

 

-80th Aphorism of the Codes-

There is no greater accomplishment than that wrought by your own prowess, nobly exercised in service to your city.

 

-81st Aphorism of the Codes-

Warfare is the strictest proving ground of my honor.

 

-82nd Aphorism of the Codes-

Personal combat is the ultimate test of my freedom.

 

-83rd Aphorism of the Codes-

Battle is as a blood red cloud wherein hides glory and dishonor. Let the true Warrior emerge from it cloaked in the first, and unstained by the second.

 

-84th Aphorism of the Codes-

A Warrior's word is not to be questioned.

 

-85th Aphorism of the Codes-

Let all who oppose my Home Stone fall to ruin by my hand.

 

-86th Aphorism of the Codes-

In all things, let the true Warrior do what he must, confined in action only by the bonds of honor. Only in such a way can his Home Stone be served.

 

-87th Aphorism of the Codes-

A Warrior surrenders by publicly setting aside his weapons and shield, the straps of which have been cut, rendering it worthless. The Warrior parleys by setting aside his weapons in a similar manner, but his shield remains whole, that his enemy might see and respect his pledge to fight on should the parley fail.

 

-88th Aphorism of the Codes-

A Warrior may pledge to defend or to avenge. Guard your charge well lest one become the other.

 

-89th Aphorism of the Codes-

In combat, as when marching, a Warrior will tread with both of his feet evenly, never favoring the one above the other. He will strike with both of his hands with equal force, never favoring the one above the other. He will see equally well with both of his eyes, never favoring the one above the other. Is it not folly to waste one-half of that which makes you a Warrior?

 

-90th Aphorism of the Codes-

There is no defense strong enough to resist a decided mind. There is no attack powerful enough to defeat an indomitable will.

 

-91st Aphorism of the Codes-

Look upon the world as a tarn looks; you will swiftly see that the boundaries of the territories of men are as nothing to one who dares to see beyond them.

 

-92nd Aphorism of the Codes-

A Warrior treats his properties and chattels with care, lest they fall fallow due to lack of his attentions.

 

-93rd Aphorism of the Codes-

When the retreat looks the same as does the advance, the clearest road is often the darkest.

 

-94th Aphorism of the Codes-

Be aware of your masculine nature; but by understanding the feminine way, you shall be to the world like a deep pool, wherein strength forever abides.

 

-95th Aphorism of the Codes-

Be aware of your glory and honor; but in freely admitting all shame that comes to you, you shall be to the world as a valley, wherein virtue forever purifies you.

 

-96th Aphorism of the Codes-

A young Warrior asked one who was wiser than he whether or not the Cities of Dust existed, and where might be found the gate to Victory. The wise Warrior told him he was foolish to ask such a thing. The younger one angrily drew his sword, crying "Here opens the gate to the Cities of Dust!"

 

The older Warrior calmly and smoothly snatched the sword from his angry grasp and resheathed it before the other could strike him, saying: "And here opens the Gate to Victory."

 

-97th Aphorism of the Codes-

 

Q: What is invisible yet more beautiful than diamonds?

A: That which is silent yet deafens thunder, that which depresses no scale yet is weightier than gold... Honor.

 

-98th Aphorism of the Codes-

Let those who would be of the Warriors strive to understand this, the sum of all things:

 

Lightning flashes,

Sparks shower!

In one blink of an eye

You have missed seeing.

To tread the sharp edge of a sword,

To run on smooth-frozen ice

One needs no footsteps to follow.

Walk over the cliff with hands free.

To a true Warrior,

All is nothing, nothing is all.

 

-99th Aphorism of the Codes-

Let none who are not of the scarlet caste know of these things. The Codes are as the dust of diamonds in a hidden vault, which, exposed to the winds, will be scattered and trodden beneath the sandals of men and the hooves of beasts...worthless forevermore.

 

-100th Aphorism of the Codes-

Let this be the secret greeting of Warriors, that all who are of the scarlet caste may see and know: Lo Rarius Civitatii Gor. (I am of the Warriors of the cities of the Home Stone)