PROVERBES
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PROVERBS
Proverbs
"It is said, in a Gorean proverb, that a man, in his heart, desires freedom, and that a woman, in her belly, yearns for love. The collar, in its way, answers both needs. The man is most free, owning the slave. He may do what he wishes with her. The woman, on the other hand, being owned, is institutionally and helplessly subject, in her status as slave, to the submissions of love."
"Slave Girl of Gor" page 180"There is a Gorean proverb that a man who is returning to his city is not to be detained."
"Outlaw of Gor" page 37"�More real than the law is the heart,� said the girl, quoting a proverb of the Tahari."
"Tribesmen of Gor" page 146"The sword must drink until its thirst is satisfied," said Callimachus. It was a Gorean proverb."
"Guardsman of Gor" page 17"Scavengers come to feast on the bodies of wounded tarnsmen." It was a Gorean proverb.".
"Tarnsman of Gor" page 116"Beware the sleen that seems to sleep," is a Gorean proverb."
"Guardsman of Gor" page 50
"Indeed, there is a saying on Gor, a saying whose origin is lost in the past of this strange planet, that one who speaks of Home Stones should stand, for matters of honor are here involved, and honor is respected in the barbaric codes of Gor."
"Tarnsman of Gor" page 27
Life
"But the Goreans have a saying, which came to me in the darkness, in the hall, �Do not ask the stones or the trees how to live; they cannot tell you; they do not have tongues; do not ask the wise man how to live, for, if he knows, he will know he cannot tell you; if you would learn how to live, do not ask the question; its answer is not in the question but in the answer, which is not in words; do not ask how to live, but, instead, proceed to do so.�"
"Marauders of Gor page 9"Tonight," she said, "let us drink wine." It was a Gorean expression, a fatalistic maxim in which the events of the morrow were cast into the laps of the Priest-Kings."
"Tarnsman of Gor" page 132""Before the feast, go hungry." So say the Goreans."
"Guardsman of Gor" page 175"There is a saying on Gor, "Gold has no caste." It is a saying of which the merchants are fond."
"Nomads of Gor" page 84"Do you not remember what he said in his insulae," I asked Marcus, "that it would be no more than a sneeze?" "Yes," said Marcus. That is a Gorean expression, incidentally, that something would be no more than a sneeze."
"Magicians of Gor" page 404/5
Supertitions
"It is said that only the heart of the mountain larl brings more luck than that of the vicious and cunning sleen."
Outlaw of Gor" page 37
Warriors "I had been taught, long ago, by Kamchak of the Tuchuks, at a banquet in Turia, that where weapons may not be carried, it is well to carry weapons."
"Marauders of Gor" page 41"There is a time and a place for speaking, as there is a time and a place for steel." It is a saying of the warriors."
"Slave Girl of Gor" page 269
Travellers "This was a paraphrase of a saying common on Gor, given by passing strangers to those through whose territories they would travel: Only the span of the wings of my tarn, only the girth of my tharlarion, only the width of my body, and no more, and that but for the time it takes to pass."
"Raiders of Gor" page 11
Free Women "There is a Gorean saying that free women, raised gently in the high cylinders, in their robes of concealment, unarmed, untrained in weapons, may, by the slaver, be plucked like flowers. There is no such saying pertaining to panther girls."
"Hunters of Gor" page 118"A Gorean saying came to mind, that the free woman is a riddle, the answer to which is the collar."
"Magicians of Gor" page 50"No man respects a woman who knows what else to do with her," she said. "It is a Gorean saying," I said."
"Beasts of Gor" page 434"�Beautiful enough to be collared� is a Gorean compliment, though perhaps a rather rude one, and one that one would not be likely to hear addressed openly and to the face of a free woman. �She has legs pretty enough to be those of a slave girl� is another such compliment."
"Guardsman of Gor" page 210
Slaves
"The Goreans have a saying, �There are only two kinds of women, slaves, and slaves.�"
"Kajira of Gor" page 137"It is said," she remarked, her eyes mischievous, "that any man who frees a slave girl is a fool."
"Nomads of Gor" page 285"No master, it is said, who has not denied his girl food knows her."
"Tribesmen of Gor" page 48"Only in a collar can a woman be truly free," I said. It was a Gorean saying.
"Tribesmen of Gor" page 75"Slave girls relish compliments. Indeed there is a Gorean saying to the effect that any woman who relishes a compliment is in her heart a slave girl. She wants to please. Most Gorean men would not think twice about collaring a girl who responds, smiling, to compliments. A desire to please her Master. When she is complimented she knows she has pleased him."
"Beasts of Gor" page 17"No man respects a woman who knows what else to do with her," she said. "It is a Gorean saying," I said."
"Beasts of Gor" page 434"It is said that he whose lips have never touched those of a slave girl does not know, truly, what it is to hold a woman in his arms."
"Beasts of Gor" page 438"Buy me, Master," begged Beverly.
I then made her respond to me, and she began to moan. "I want to be bought," she moaned.
To beg to be purchased is a slave's act. That is a saying of Goreans. I think it is true. In this, then, Miss Henderson provided further confirmation of the rightness of the collar upon her throat, that she was a natural and true slave."
"Rogue of Gor" page 221"He who ties a woman owns her," is a Gorean saying."
"Guardsman of Gor" page 267"There is a Gorean saying that only a fool buys a woman clothed."
"Magicians of Gor" page 76"A Gorean saying has it that only a fool would buy a woman clothed."
"Captive of Gor" page 62"As it is said, masters do not much interfere with the squabbles of slaves."
"Captive of Gor" page 61
Priest Kings "I laughed. �By the Priest-Kings!� I roared, the rather blasphemous Gorean oath slipping out, somehow incongruously considering my present location and predicament. Neither Priest-King however seemed in the least disturbed by this oath which might have brought tears to the eyes of a member of the Caste of Initiates."
"Priest-Kings of Gor" page 95"Too, from time to time, lightning shattered across the sky, suddenly bathing the road and countryside in flashes of wild, white light, this coupled almost momentarily, sometimes a little sooner, sometimes a little later, with a grinding and explosion of thunder. �It seems the Priest-Kings are grinding flour,� laughed a man near me."
"Renegades of Gor" page 17
Songs "As it is said, �No one knows from where songs come.�"
"Beasts of Gor" page 263
Interesting quotes by book
"Good land is protected only by the swords of the strongest owners in the vicinity."
"Tarnsman of Gor" page 27 "There is no justice without the sword." "First the sword-then government-then law-then justice."
"Tarnsman of Gor" page 155/6
"A man who is returning to his city is not to be detained."
"Outlaw of Gor" page 37
"all wisdom and truth does not lie in my own codes."
"Priest Kings of Gor" page 14
"When gold will not do, only steel can meet steel."
"Assassin of Gor" page 21"a good sword is a good investment"
"Assassin of Gor" page 44
"There is only gold, and power, and the bodies of women, and steel."
"Raiders of Gor" page 90
"Most alone are those whom love has once touched, and left."
"Captive of Gor" page 369
"Generosity is the prerogative of the free man."
"Hunters of Gor" page 17
"But the Goreans have a saying, which came to me in the darkness, in the hall, "Do not ask the stones or the trees how to live; they cannot tell you; they do not have tongues; do not ask the wise man how to live, for, if he knows, he will know he cannot tell you; if you would learn how to live, do not ask the question; its answer is not in the question but in the answer, which is not in words; do not ask how to live, but, instead, proceed to do so."
"Marauders of Gor" page 10"but to take truth for granted is not to know it. Truth not won is not possessed. We are not entitled to truths for which we have not fought."
"Marauders of Gor" page 7
"Perhaps we cannot see truth. Perhaps nature has denied us this gift. Perhaps we can sense only its presence. Perhaps we can sense only its heat. Perhaps to stand occasionally in its presence is sufficient."
Tribesmen of Gor" page 256/7"Beware of a silent enemy."
"Tribesmen of Gor" page 8
"Invisible chains are those which weigh the most heavily."
"Tribesmen of Gor" page 9
"We are bred hunters; we are made farmers."
"Tribesmen of Gor" page 165"A creature who had not known hatred, lust and terror, I suspected, would be ill-fitted to understand the Kur, or men."
"Tribesmen of Gor" page 218"One must turn one's back in time upon the impenetrable wall."
"Tribesmen of Gor" page 258"Wisdom decrees that the tree of thought must not be planted where it cannot bear fruit. A man may starve trying to feed on the illusion of nourishment."
"Tribesmen of Gor" page 258
"And one may be rational, perhaps, without being weak. Indeed, is not weakness the ultimate irrationality?"
"Beasts of Gor" page 8"You may judge and scorn the Goreans if you wish. Know as well, however, that they judge and scorn you. They fulfill themselves as you do not. Hate them for their pride and power. They will pity you for your shame and weakness."
"Beasts of Gor" page 11"Perhaps the world only speaks to those who are prepared to listen."
"Beasts of Gor" page 29"Civilized men, the small and pale, the righteous, the learned, the smug, the supercilious, the weak-stomached and contemptuous, stand upon the shoulders of forgotten, bloody giants."
"Beasts of Gor" page 31"The meaning of history lies not in the future. It is like a range of mountains with many summits. Great deeds are the meaning of history. There are many meanings and many summits. One may climb different mountains at different times, but each mountain glows in the same sun."
"Beasts of Gor" page 33"the world cannot be lonely where there are two people who are friends. (...) "Where there is beauty and friendship what more could one ask of a world. How grand and significant is such a place. What more justification could it require?"
"Beasts of Gor" page 289"One does not know, truly, what it is to stand, until one has fallen. Once one has fallen, then one knows, you see, what it is to stand."
"Beasts of Gor" page 340
"How can one know the answer to a question which one fears to ask?"
"Explorers of Gor" page 11"When a man has once eaten of the meat of gods he will never again chew on the straws of fools"
"Explorers of Gor" page 12"Logic is as neutral as a knife..."
"Explorers of Gor" page 223"Fairness is a central thesis of sound governance."
"Explorers of Gor" page 230"How hard it is for two who do not share caste to understand one another,"
"Explorers of Gor" page 431"There are brave men in all castes,"
"Explorers of Gor" page 433"I think it is better to build than it is to destroy." "Even though one's work may fall into ruin?" "Yes, even though one's work may fall into ruin."
"Explorers of Gor" page 448
"But who is stronger, truly, I asked myself, he who continues to wound and bleed himself to please others, or he who refuses any longer to do so?"
"Fighting Slave of Gor" page 94"Manhood cannot be forever denied. The beast will walk at our side, or it will destroy us."
"Fighting Slave of Gor" page 115
"Goreans, I knew, seldom drew steel unless they intended to make use of it."
"Rogue of Gor" page 74
"There is no single humanity, no single shirt, no correct pair of shoes, no uniform, even a gray one, that will fit all men. There are a thousand humanities possible. He who denies this sees only his own horizons. He who disagrees is the denier of difference, and the murderer of the better futures."
"Savages of Gor" page 31
"Too often it seems it is the peaceful and innocent who are slaughtered. In this a lesson may be found that it may not be prudential to be either too peaceful or too innocent. One does not survive with wolves by becoming a sheep. That is only a short-cut to destruction."
"Savages of Gor" page 89"I wondered if barbarisms were civilizations which were not one's own."
"Savages of Gor" page 89"It is pleasant to have one's enemies in one's power."
"Savages of Gor" page 167"A civilization, you see, need not inevitably be a conflict with nature. A rational, informed civilization can even, in a sense, refine and improve upon nature; it can, so to speak, bring nature to fruition. Indeed, a natural civilization might be the natural flowering of nature itself, not an antithesis to nature, not a contradiction to nature, not a poison nor a trammel to it, but a stage or aspect of it, a form which nature itself can take."
"Savages of Gor" page 194
"Too, such things as civilization, and friendship and interchanges depend muchly upon trust."
"Blood Brothers of Gor" page 175"Few things, I suspect, are more real than those which seem most intangible."
"Blood Brothers of Gor" page 182"Truth is not terrible; it is merely real."
"Blood Brothers of Gor" page 218
"Orthodoxy is not invariably equivalent to soundness�Besides, from whence do you think orthodoxy derives? Does it not blossom from the root of heresy? Is it not true that today's orthodoxy is commonly little more than yesterday's heresy triumphant?"
"Players of Gor" page 328
"among masters, Goreans, larls among men, uncrippled, unsoftened, untamed beasts, categorical, uncompromising owners of women..."
"Vagabonds of Gor" page 32"Ritual is important. It is fulfilling, and meaningful. It is beautiful. It is symbolic, mnemonic and instructive. It establishes protocols. It expresses, defines and clarifies conditions. It is essential to, and ingredient within, civilization."
"Vagabonds of Gor" page 213"The most dangerous lies are those which we tell ourselves."
"Vagabonds of Gor" page 468
"It is hard for a man to be great who does not have great enemies."
"Magicians of Gor" page 183"It is often easier to know others than ourselves. Perhaps that is because there is less need to tell lies about them. Few of us recognize the stranger in the shadows, who is ourself."
"Magicians of Gor" page 188"There are good fellows in all cities."
"Magicians of Gor" page 240