1ST, 2ND & 3RD KNOWLEDGES OF GOR

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Gorean culture is much less technologically oriented than Earth society. While the Cylinder Cities of Known Gor – called this because their principle architectural form is large round buildings not unlike Chicago’s Marina Towers – have a fairly sophisticated technological knowledge, because of the Weapons and Technology Laws  they seem what a modern Terran would consider primitive at first glance. However, like Terran cities, they are organized around the principles of common defense (Gorean cities are always walled, for good reason) economic interaction, and social activity.  A citizen of Rome at the Empire’s height would not feel out of place in Ar, Gor’s largest city, although he would be amazed at the general health of the citizenry and the cleanliness of the streets.

 

Most of the Chronicles take place either in the Cylinder Cities, or in areas such as the basin of the Vosk River which are strongly influenced by them. The reader should be aware that when someone refers to how things are done "on Gor" they usually mean in the Cylinder Cities. Exceptions to almost every cultural practise can be found somewhere on Gor in some other culture and this should not be taken to mean that the Chronicles are inconsistent (although at times they are) but rather that Gor is a very complex world, not unlike our own.

 

Gorean society is divided into High and Low Castes. An important difference in this division revolves around the type of education that each group receives. This educational disparity is known as the Double Knowledge, separated into the First and Second Knowledges. The Low Castes are taught the First Knowledge while the High Castes are educated in the Second Knowledge. The First Knowledge includes of a series of falsehoods and deceptions, actively encouraged by the High Castes. The Second Knowledge speaks the truths that are kept from the Low Castes though even the High Castes do not know all the truths of Gor. In addition, even some of the High Castes, who should know better, cling to some of the beliefs of the First Knowledge.

 

The First Knowledge conceals the existence of certain matters from the Low Castes. They are taught that Gor is a broad, flat disk and not an orb. They are also taught that Gor does not move through space, that no other planets exist and that Earth is a myth. Thus, they believe that everything on Gor had a Gorean origin and that nothing came from Earth. Some do believe that Earth exists but they accept it as being a country far away from the rest of Gor. The Low Castes are also encouraged to believe that magic is real and that Initiates, wizards and sorcerers can possess incredible powers. They are even taught that if a Low Caste person should ever become the ruler of a Gorean city, then tragic results will result. This belief is one of the reasons many opposed Pa-Kur, the Master Assassin, when he tried to conquer Ar. It was considered that he was overextending his proper reach by being a Low Caste but seeking to become a ruler. The city of Tharna though has ignored this proscription as Kron, a Metal Worker, eventually becomes the Administrator once Lara abdicates.

 

The First Knowledge is purposefully intended to keep the Low Castes in their place. The High Castes do not want the Low Castes to seek higher positions. They wish to maintain control over them. The First Knowledge contains many lies but these lies are acceptable to the High Castes. But, the High Castes also do not actively try to conceal the truths of the Second Knowledge. The libraries of Gor often contain all of the information of the Second Knowledge. As such libraries are open to all castes, both High and Low, then a literate and determined Low Caste person has the opportunity to learn the truth. This follows the Gorean principles that ability helps to determine one's place on Gor and that one can raise their Caste and knowledge by actively pursuing such a path.

 

The Second Knowledge corrects many of the lies from the First Knowledge but not all High Caste persons apparently receive the same education. Some High Caste persons cling to some of the beliefs of the First Knowledge, especially where they concern the efficacy of magic. Some may not even accept the reality of Earth. Thus, the simply fact that one belongs to a High Caste does not automatically mean that one is free of the beliefs of the First Knowledge.

 

Some Goreans suspect that there is a Third Knowledge, those matters known only to the mysterious Priest Kings. This actually has much validity as the Priest-Kings are aware of a number of matters that are hidden, some intentionally, from the mass of Goreans. Few Goreans know the true nature of the Priest-Kings and few know of the existence of the Kurii. The Priest-Kings also purposefully prevent Goreans from learning about certain areas of technology. Besides a few Initiates and some agents of the Priest-Kings and Kurii, few other Goreans have any clue about these realities. Like the High Castes, the Priest-Kings purposefully conceal some of these matters to maintain control over the populace.

 

As a High Caste, and of course as the Caste of the keepers of information, Scribes hold the Second or Double Knowledge, and are aware of the existence of Earth and the nature of the physical world. Given the love of Scribes for knowledge, any knowledge, it is not impossible that one might find a Scribe who could speak or read one or more Earth languages, pulled from a slave girl, simply for the sake of knowing it. A scroll in English would be treasured by a Scribe every bit as much as one in Gorean, even if he could not read it, simply because it was knowledge.

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GOREAN NOVEL REFERENCES

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The Goreans have a habit of not revealing names easily. For themselves, particularly among the Lower Castes, they often have a real name and what is called a use name. Often only the closest relatives know the real name.

On the level of the First Knowledge, it is maintained that knowing the real name gives one a power over a person, a capacity to use that name in spells and insidious magical practices. Perhaps something of the same sort lingers even on our native Earth, where the first name of a person is reserved for use, by those who know him intimately and presumably wish him no harm. The second name, which would correspond to the use-name on Gor, is common property, a public sound not sacred or to be protected. At the level of the Second Knowledge, of course, the High Castes, at least in general, recognize the baseless superstition of the Lower Castes and use their own names comparatively freely, usually followed by the name of their city. For example, I would have given my name as Tarl Cabot of Ko-ro-ba, or, more simply, as Tarl of Ko-ro-ba. The Lower Castes, incidentally, commonly believe that the names of the High Castes are actually use-names and that the High Castes conceal their real names.Tarnsman of Gor     Book 1     Pages 58 – 59

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I was also instructed in the Double Knowledge - that is, I was instructed in what the people, on the whole, believed, and then I was instructed in what the intellectuals were expected to know. Sometimes there was a surprising discrepancy between the two. For example, the population as a whole, the castes below the High Castes, were encouraged to believe that their world was a broad, flat disk. Perhaps this was to discourage them from exploration or to develop in them a habit of relying on commonsense prejudices something of a social control device.

On the other hand, the High Castes, specifically the Warriors, Builders, Scribes, Initiates, and Physicians, were told the truth in such matters, perhaps because it was thought they would eventually determine it for themselves, from observations such as the shadow of their planet on one or another of Gor's three small moons during eclipses, the phenomenon of sighting the tops of distant objects first, and the fact that certain stars could not be seen from certain geographical positions; if the planet had been flat, precisely the same set of stars would have been observable from every position on its surface.

I wondered, however, if the Second Knowledge, that of the intellectuals, might not be as carefully tailored to preclude inquiry on their level as the First Knowledge apparently was to preclude inquiry on the level of the Lower Castes. I would guess that there is a Third Knowledge, that reserved to the Priest-Kings.
Tarnsman of Gor     Book 1     Page 41

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The city-state," said my father, speaking to me one afternoon, "is the basic political division on Gor - hostile cities controlling what territory they can in their environs, surrounded by a no-man's land of open ground on every side."

"How is leadership determined in these cities?" I asked. "Rulers," he said, "are chosen from any High Caste."

"High Caste?" I asked.

"Yes, of course," was his answer. "In fact, in the First Knowledge, there is a story told to the young in their public nurseries, that if a man from Lower Caste should come to rule in a city, the city would come to ruin."

I must have appeared annoyed.

"The caste structure," said my father patiently, with perhaps the trace of a smile on his face, "is relatively immobile, but not frozen, and depends on more than birth. For example, if a child in his schooling shows that he can raise caste, as the expression is, he is permitted to do so. But, similarly, if a child does not show the aptitude expected of his caste, whether it be, say, that of physician or warrior, he is lowered in caste."

"I see," I said, not much reassured.

"The High Castes in a given city," said my father, "elect an administrator and council for stated terms. In times of crisis, a war chief, or Ubar, is named, who rules without check and by decree until, in his judgment, the crisis is passed."

"In his judgment?" I asked skeptically.

"Normally the office is surrendered after the passing of the crisis," said my father. "It is part of the Warrior's Code."

"But what if he does not give up the office" I asked. I had learned enough of Gor by how to know that one could not always count on the Caste Codes being observed.
Tarnsman of Gor     Book 1     Page 42

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The caste system was socially efficient, given its openness with respect to merit, but I regarded it as somehow ethically objectionable. It was still too rigid, in my opinion, particularly with respect to the selection of rulers from the High Castes and with respect to the Double Knowledge. But far more deplorable than the caste system was the institution of slavery. There were only three statuses conceivable to the Gorean mind outside of the caste system; slave, outlaw, and Priest-King. A man who refused to practice his livelihood or strove to alter status without the consent of the Council of High Castes was, by definition, an outlaw and subject to impalement.
Tarnsman of Gor     Book 1     Pages 45 - 46

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Those of the High Castes of Gor are permitted by the Priest-Kings only the Second Knowledge, and those of the lower castes are permitted only the more rudimentary First Knowledge.
Priest-Kings of Gor     Book 3     Page 39

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A mystery did remain, of course, to the west, even for those admitted to the Second Knowledge, usually those of the higher castes.Swordsmen of Gor     Book 29     Page 437

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I was also instructed in the Double Knowledge—that is, I was instructed in what the people, on the whole, believed, and then I was instructed in what the intellectuals were expected to know. Sometimes there was a surprising discrepancy between the two. For example, the population as a whole, the castes below the High Castes, were encouraged to believe that their world was a broad, flat disk. Perhaps this was to discourage them from exploration or to develop in them a habit of relying on common-sense prejudices— something of a social control device.
On the other hand, the High Castes, specifically the Warriors, Builders, Scribes, Initiates, and Physicians, were told the truth in such matters, perhaps because it was thought they would eventually determine it for themselves, from observations such as the shadow of their planet on one or another of Gor's three small moons during eclipses, the phenomenon of sighting the tops of distant objects first, and the fact that certain stars could not be seen from certain geographical positions; if the planet had been flat, precisely the same set of stars would have been observable from every position on its surface.
I wondered, however, if the Second Knowledge, that of the intellectuals, might not be as carefully tailored to preclude inquiry on their level as the First Knowledge apparently was to preclude inquiry on the level of the Lower Castes. I would guess that there is a Third Knowledge, that reserved to the Priest-Kings.
"The city-state," said my father, speaking to me late one afternoon, "is the basic political division on Gor—hostile cities controlling what territory they can in their environs, surrounded by a no-man's land of open ground on every side."
"How is leadership determined in these cities?" I asked. "Rulers," he said, "are chosen from any High Caste." "High Caste?" I asked. "Yes, of course," was his answer. "In fact, in the First Knowledge, there is a story told to the young in their public nurseries, that if a man from Lower Caste should come to rule in a city, the city would come to ruin."
I must have appeared annoyed. John Norman, Tarnsman of Gor, pp. 44-46

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