Written By Piccola
Sept. 21, 2020, 11:10 p.m.(1/24/1014 AR)
Be subtle, to the point of formlessness.
Be mysterious, to the point of soundlessness.
This way neither spies nor the wise can plan against you.
Be mysterious, to the point of soundlessness.
This way neither spies nor the wise can plan against you.
Written By Piccola
Sept. 19, 2020, 7:10 p.m.(1/20/1014 AR)
The one enemy we cannot truly vanquish is death.
Death is an inevitability in war, but fear of the same is not. To defeat death is to obliterate every trace of its dread from our minds. Once we turn to life and fill the whole horizon of our souls with it, we can perform all the serious tasks which it imposes and enjoy the pure delights which here and there it affords.
We need not fear death because its lips teach us the lessons of life. Let us live truly while we live, live for what is true and good and lasting. And let the memory of our dead help us to do this: they are not wholly separated from us, if we remain loyal to them, and in spirit they are with us. They are the silent, invisible, but real presences in our households which keep and tend to them.
The bitter, yet merciful, lesson which death teaches us is to distinguish the gold from the tinsel, the true values from the worthless chaff. The terrible events of life are great eye-openers. They force us to learn that which it is wholesome for us to know, but which habitually we try to ignore — namely, that really we have no claim on a long life. The Queen of Endings may call for us at any moment, so it matters not how long we live but with what meaning we fill the short allotted span we are given.
Embrace death to embrace life; this is the lesson for war.
Death is an inevitability in war, but fear of the same is not. To defeat death is to obliterate every trace of its dread from our minds. Once we turn to life and fill the whole horizon of our souls with it, we can perform all the serious tasks which it imposes and enjoy the pure delights which here and there it affords.
We need not fear death because its lips teach us the lessons of life. Let us live truly while we live, live for what is true and good and lasting. And let the memory of our dead help us to do this: they are not wholly separated from us, if we remain loyal to them, and in spirit they are with us. They are the silent, invisible, but real presences in our households which keep and tend to them.
The bitter, yet merciful, lesson which death teaches us is to distinguish the gold from the tinsel, the true values from the worthless chaff. The terrible events of life are great eye-openers. They force us to learn that which it is wholesome for us to know, but which habitually we try to ignore — namely, that really we have no claim on a long life. The Queen of Endings may call for us at any moment, so it matters not how long we live but with what meaning we fill the short allotted span we are given.
Embrace death to embrace life; this is the lesson for war.
Written By Piccola
Sept. 16, 2020, 8:41 a.m.(1/13/1014 AR)
Relationship Note on Esme
To the learned Lady Esme of House Fidante,
I feel a reply is warranted to you is fain, even if the matter is on one on which I would not claim a scholar's expertise.
I do not deny the importance of marriage to our people, our culture, and our society. I do not deny the honor that it brings to those who agree to what you have described as a courageous sacrifice. And I do not deny that love is rare and easily torn to pieces.
What I find fault in is how love, for all of its rarity and beauty, seems oft discarded, undervalued, or mistreated.
If marriage is the constancy of the sun rising at the advent of each day, then I say that love is candlelight. I appreciate the security of believing the dawn will come, but I cannot deny the comfort from the flame in a darkened room. Without it, how would we pierce the night? How would I ever see the serene peace of my lover in slumber?
I profess that I may have more in common with the night patrol than the earliest cockerel.
I know you would not forget of love or its importance. I wish I knew more about it so that I would not feel so cold when my bed is empty or the wicks are burned down. What I believe is that, naively or densely, I would rather spend my life holding an eternal flame upon a parapet than to look forlornly from a window at the watch that ends the night.
I think such souls are the rarest and most beautiful of all flowers.
I feel a reply is warranted to you is fain, even if the matter is on one on which I would not claim a scholar's expertise.
I do not deny the importance of marriage to our people, our culture, and our society. I do not deny the honor that it brings to those who agree to what you have described as a courageous sacrifice. And I do not deny that love is rare and easily torn to pieces.
What I find fault in is how love, for all of its rarity and beauty, seems oft discarded, undervalued, or mistreated.
If marriage is the constancy of the sun rising at the advent of each day, then I say that love is candlelight. I appreciate the security of believing the dawn will come, but I cannot deny the comfort from the flame in a darkened room. Without it, how would we pierce the night? How would I ever see the serene peace of my lover in slumber?
I profess that I may have more in common with the night patrol than the earliest cockerel.
I know you would not forget of love or its importance. I wish I knew more about it so that I would not feel so cold when my bed is empty or the wicks are burned down. What I believe is that, naively or densely, I would rather spend my life holding an eternal flame upon a parapet than to look forlornly from a window at the watch that ends the night.
I think such souls are the rarest and most beautiful of all flowers.
Written By Piccola
Sept. 15, 2020, 1:16 p.m.(1/12/1014 AR)
Relationship Note on Iseulet
I appreciate your thoughts on the matter.
If marriage requires compromise, it is perhaps not for me. I have been told that compromise is an adjustment of conflicting interests as gives each adversary the satisfaction of thinking she has got what she ought not to have, and is deprived of nothing except what was justly his due. If so, I believe I've neither the authority to demand from someone what I ought not have nor to the temerity withhold from another what is justly theirs.
I wish you nothing but joy in discovering that which I have neither the time nor the inclination to seek.
If marriage requires compromise, it is perhaps not for me. I have been told that compromise is an adjustment of conflicting interests as gives each adversary the satisfaction of thinking she has got what she ought not to have, and is deprived of nothing except what was justly his due. If so, I believe I've neither the authority to demand from someone what I ought not have nor to the temerity withhold from another what is justly theirs.
I wish you nothing but joy in discovering that which I have neither the time nor the inclination to seek.
Written By Piccola
Sept. 14, 2020, 7:33 p.m.(1/10/1014 AR)
I spoke the other night on marriage; I speak now again on the same.
I am reminded of a fable from my youth. Once, there was a man who said 'it is not good for a man to be alone,' and so he found himself a woman that was his equal. After they decided to marry, she told him, plainly, 'I will not lie below,' and he said, 'I will not lie beneath'. She told him angrily, 'but we are equal', and to her he said, 'I am stronger; you yield to my rod; so I am the superior one'. On and on they went until the woman stormed away, but in his anger the man took up his sword and stabbed her. And so she died without resentment or regret, and he passed away alone.
The curse which lies upon marriage is that too often the individuals are joined in their weakness rather than in their strength. Too often, they ask from each other instead of finding pleasure in giving. It is even more deceptive to dream of gaining through the child a plenitude, a warmth, a value, which one is unable to create for oneself, for the child brings joy only to the woman who is capable of disinterestedly desiring the happiness of another, to one who without being wrapped up in self seeks to transcend her own existence.
So it is that marriage, as a community of interests, means the degradation of the interested parties. It is the perfidy of the world's arrangements that no one, even if aware of it, can escape such degradation. Marriage is used to seal an alliance because those who enter it expect to subordinate their freedom to a custom which, being witnessed and celebrated, is seen instead as a joyous shackling to an endless endeavor. In a society of the free, it is a necessary and bold sacrifice to accept a permanent injury in the name of society.
This is why we celebrate when love precedes or follows marriage. Though love is scorned as a precursor to marriage, there is no doubt that the fascination the Peerage has with the poetry and songs of love arises from a seemingly-unconscious recognition of the thankless labor that arises from marriage. And while many of the Peerage have been led into perdition in the desperate pursuit of feeling within our shackles, there is not a doubt in my mind that love, however defined, ought to be praised in hope or tolerated in silence.
I find talks on war far less horrific than discussions on marriage.
I am reminded of a fable from my youth. Once, there was a man who said 'it is not good for a man to be alone,' and so he found himself a woman that was his equal. After they decided to marry, she told him, plainly, 'I will not lie below,' and he said, 'I will not lie beneath'. She told him angrily, 'but we are equal', and to her he said, 'I am stronger; you yield to my rod; so I am the superior one'. On and on they went until the woman stormed away, but in his anger the man took up his sword and stabbed her. And so she died without resentment or regret, and he passed away alone.
The curse which lies upon marriage is that too often the individuals are joined in their weakness rather than in their strength. Too often, they ask from each other instead of finding pleasure in giving. It is even more deceptive to dream of gaining through the child a plenitude, a warmth, a value, which one is unable to create for oneself, for the child brings joy only to the woman who is capable of disinterestedly desiring the happiness of another, to one who without being wrapped up in self seeks to transcend her own existence.
So it is that marriage, as a community of interests, means the degradation of the interested parties. It is the perfidy of the world's arrangements that no one, even if aware of it, can escape such degradation. Marriage is used to seal an alliance because those who enter it expect to subordinate their freedom to a custom which, being witnessed and celebrated, is seen instead as a joyous shackling to an endless endeavor. In a society of the free, it is a necessary and bold sacrifice to accept a permanent injury in the name of society.
This is why we celebrate when love precedes or follows marriage. Though love is scorned as a precursor to marriage, there is no doubt that the fascination the Peerage has with the poetry and songs of love arises from a seemingly-unconscious recognition of the thankless labor that arises from marriage. And while many of the Peerage have been led into perdition in the desperate pursuit of feeling within our shackles, there is not a doubt in my mind that love, however defined, ought to be praised in hope or tolerated in silence.
I find talks on war far less horrific than discussions on marriage.
Written By Piccola
Sept. 13, 2020, 1:18 p.m.(1/8/1014 AR)
Beware of the rhetoric of tyrants: those who seek to go to war for personal reasons always find a way to substitute dehumanizing abstractions for human beings.
Beware of the rhetoric of warlords: those who defend war as the only way to settle differences have devised pleasant sounding abstractions to describe the process of mass murder.
But heed the words of the wise general who has spent her life defending their nation: the first casualty of war is the truth, for victory often requires the obfuscation of the horrors necessary to seize it.
Beware of the rhetoric of warlords: those who defend war as the only way to settle differences have devised pleasant sounding abstractions to describe the process of mass murder.
But heed the words of the wise general who has spent her life defending their nation: the first casualty of war is the truth, for victory often requires the obfuscation of the horrors necessary to seize it.
Written By Piccola
Sept. 10, 2020, 8:44 a.m.(1/1/1014 AR)
Remember that it is not easy for the free to organize for war.
Those who are free are not accustomed to follow the orders of commanders and experts. Their strength lies in an ability to improvise, which is the exercise of one's free will against the constraint of tried ideas. Although such freedom is necessary to flow with the changes occasioned by circumstances and terrain, it is anathema in situations where brothers and sisters in arms must advance or retreat in and out of engagements on the battlefield.
Remember therefore that it is easier for slaves to be organized for war.
Those who know no freedom are accustomed to follow the orders of their masters. Their strength lies in a lack of individuality and an absolute devotion wrought from abuse to march themselves into the face of certain death and fight as they are instructed. Although such uniformity makes them easier to command, it is anathema in situations where their opponents are able to invent new strategies to defeat them on the battlefield.
But always remember this: war remains between people.
There are no masters without slaves, and slaves without masters soon learn that without the veil of lies they are trained to believe that they are free people. Free people will always fight for their homes, but so too will masters always fight for their throngs without which they would have no power. Consequently, in a war against the free and slaves, the purpose of the war is not to break the slaves' bodies or will -- indeed, these things do not belong to them -- but to liberate the slaves and bring to them taste the sweetness of the liberty promised by Skald.
Once that happens, the masters will lose their homes and thereby be utterly crushed.
Those who are free are not accustomed to follow the orders of commanders and experts. Their strength lies in an ability to improvise, which is the exercise of one's free will against the constraint of tried ideas. Although such freedom is necessary to flow with the changes occasioned by circumstances and terrain, it is anathema in situations where brothers and sisters in arms must advance or retreat in and out of engagements on the battlefield.
Remember therefore that it is easier for slaves to be organized for war.
Those who know no freedom are accustomed to follow the orders of their masters. Their strength lies in a lack of individuality and an absolute devotion wrought from abuse to march themselves into the face of certain death and fight as they are instructed. Although such uniformity makes them easier to command, it is anathema in situations where their opponents are able to invent new strategies to defeat them on the battlefield.
But always remember this: war remains between people.
There are no masters without slaves, and slaves without masters soon learn that without the veil of lies they are trained to believe that they are free people. Free people will always fight for their homes, but so too will masters always fight for their throngs without which they would have no power. Consequently, in a war against the free and slaves, the purpose of the war is not to break the slaves' bodies or will -- indeed, these things do not belong to them -- but to liberate the slaves and bring to them taste the sweetness of the liberty promised by Skald.
Once that happens, the masters will lose their homes and thereby be utterly crushed.
Written By Piccola
Sept. 8, 2020, 8:29 p.m.(12/26/1013 AR)
Strategy is a system of expedients.
It is more than a mere scholarly discipline: it is the translation of knowledge to practical life, the refinement of original thought into suit continually changing situations, and the implementation of ideas into reality. It is the difference between thinking of how best to tackle a problem and actually doing so successfully. It is what separates those who act from those who act efficiently.
And it is very straightforward: pick a general direction and implement it with every breath one has.
It is more than a mere scholarly discipline: it is the translation of knowledge to practical life, the refinement of original thought into suit continually changing situations, and the implementation of ideas into reality. It is the difference between thinking of how best to tackle a problem and actually doing so successfully. It is what separates those who act from those who act efficiently.
And it is very straightforward: pick a general direction and implement it with every breath one has.
Written By Piccola
Sept. 5, 2020, 4:48 p.m.(12/20/1013 AR)
There are two kinds of freedom: freedom as a means; and freedom as an end.
By the first we mean freedom to direct one's own life, to choose between good and evil as one understands them. By the second the freedom which consists in liberation from one's lower nature for the service of what is highest and best. Because the word has these two meanings it is implied that these two concepts, though distinguishable, are interwoven.
So it is that the initial, irrational freedom which precedes all choices is linked to the intelligent freedom in truth and goodness.
By the first we mean freedom to direct one's own life, to choose between good and evil as one understands them. By the second the freedom which consists in liberation from one's lower nature for the service of what is highest and best. Because the word has these two meanings it is implied that these two concepts, though distinguishable, are interwoven.
So it is that the initial, irrational freedom which precedes all choices is linked to the intelligent freedom in truth and goodness.
Written By Piccola
Sept. 2, 2020, 10:01 p.m.(12/14/1013 AR)
Both in fighting and in everyday life you should be determined though calm. Meet each situation without anxiety yet not recklessly. Even when your spirit is calm do not let your body relax; when your body is relaxed do not let your spirit slacken. Be neither insufficiently spirited nor over spirited; do not let the enemy see your spirit. Be unrestricted and fluid like rainwater flowing down a mountain path.
With your spirit open, look at things from the highest point of view. Cultivate wisdom and spirit through practice: learn public justice; distinguish between good and evil; and study the arts one by one. When you cannot be deceived by men you will have found the wisdom of strategy, for all warfare is based on deception, and makes victims of the foolish and closed-minded.
See distant things as if they were close and to take a distanced view of close things. It is important in strategy to know the enemy's sword and not to be distracted by insignificant movements of his sword. The gaze is the same for single combat and for large-scale combat; to master strategy one must therefore master the duel.
With your spirit open, look at things from the highest point of view. Cultivate wisdom and spirit through practice: learn public justice; distinguish between good and evil; and study the arts one by one. When you cannot be deceived by men you will have found the wisdom of strategy, for all warfare is based on deception, and makes victims of the foolish and closed-minded.
See distant things as if they were close and to take a distanced view of close things. It is important in strategy to know the enemy's sword and not to be distracted by insignificant movements of his sword. The gaze is the same for single combat and for large-scale combat; to master strategy one must therefore master the duel.
Written By Piccola
Sept. 1, 2020, 8:35 p.m.(12/12/1013 AR)
If this is a kingdom of freedom, let it be a kingdom of freedom.
When facing an enemy who believes otherwise one must commit to war. Freedom comes to those who show their enemy that they will do anything to get your freedom. Nobody can give you freedom, just as nobody can give you equality or justice. Freedom is as much taken as it must be secured against those who will take it from you, and we are only so free as we are prepared to kill and die for it.
So it is that there can be no peace without freedom, for those who are not free must always be at war.
When facing an enemy who believes otherwise one must commit to war. Freedom comes to those who show their enemy that they will do anything to get your freedom. Nobody can give you freedom, just as nobody can give you equality or justice. Freedom is as much taken as it must be secured against those who will take it from you, and we are only so free as we are prepared to kill and die for it.
So it is that there can be no peace without freedom, for those who are not free must always be at war.
Written By Piccola
Aug. 31, 2020, 8:37 p.m.(12/10/1013 AR)
To be prepared for war is how a kingdom preserves peace.
Further a free people ought not only to be armed but disciplined. The latter requires a plan and that plan's maintenance requires the manufacture of and training with arms, that each person may be independent of others and yet capable of depending on the same for their mutual defense. So it is that a wise ruler should keep professional soldiers at hand to supervise and manage the creation and teaching of such arts.
This is the first step to maintain commerce.
Further a free people ought not only to be armed but disciplined. The latter requires a plan and that plan's maintenance requires the manufacture of and training with arms, that each person may be independent of others and yet capable of depending on the same for their mutual defense. So it is that a wise ruler should keep professional soldiers at hand to supervise and manage the creation and teaching of such arts.
This is the first step to maintain commerce.
Written By Piccola
Aug. 28, 2020, 8:01 p.m.(12/4/1013 AR)
Let those with a sword at their side and a quill in their hand fear no one.
There is an irrational fear as war looms which provokes us to see spies among our allies and threatens to burn down our own villages. With it comes a creeping fear of doubt of what we have been taught, of the validity of so many things we take for granted, and of the loyalties wrought from centuries of trust. In times of war, it is becomes more difficult than ever to distinguish black from white, good from evil, and right from wrong.
But if we remember that we are not descended from fearful people or from those who were afraid to write, speak, associate, and defend unpopular causes, then we shall never be driven by fear into an age of tyranny.
There is an irrational fear as war looms which provokes us to see spies among our allies and threatens to burn down our own villages. With it comes a creeping fear of doubt of what we have been taught, of the validity of so many things we take for granted, and of the loyalties wrought from centuries of trust. In times of war, it is becomes more difficult than ever to distinguish black from white, good from evil, and right from wrong.
But if we remember that we are not descended from fearful people or from those who were afraid to write, speak, associate, and defend unpopular causes, then we shall never be driven by fear into an age of tyranny.
Written By Piccola
Aug. 27, 2020, 7:46 a.m.(12/1/1013 AR)
Nobody has ever gotten their freedom by appealing to the moral sense of the people who were oppressing them.
And there will always be oppression; that is why freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. Freedom does not pass to our children; it must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same. Should they fail, we shall spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like to live where men were free.
The people owe their freedom -- indeed, all the political rights and privileges they enjoy -- not to the good will of their governments, but to their own strength; and, for these reasons, one must always be prepared for war.
And there will always be oppression; that is why freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. Freedom does not pass to our children; it must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same. Should they fail, we shall spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like to live where men were free.
The people owe their freedom -- indeed, all the political rights and privileges they enjoy -- not to the good will of their governments, but to their own strength; and, for these reasons, one must always be prepared for war.
Written By Piccola
Aug. 26, 2020, 10:10 p.m.(11/28/1013 AR)
A slave owner is not a man but a master; by denying the humanity of his slaves he also abrogates his own humanity.
Written By Piccola
Aug. 26, 2020, 12:38 a.m.(11/27/1013 AR)
Freedom without equality is a pretense, a fraud, and a lie.
Liberty that recognizes no restrictions other than those determined by the laws of our own individual nature, which cannot properly be regarded as restrictions since these laws are not imposed by any outside force, but are inherent, forming the very basis of our material, intellectual, and moral being. They do not limit us but are the real and immediate conditions of our freedom.
Even the most wretched individual of our present society could not exist and develop without the cumulative social efforts of countless generations. Thus the individual, his freedom and reason, are the products of society, and not vice versa. Society is not the product of individuals comprising it; the higher, the more fully the individual is developed, the greater his freedom.
Freedom therefore is the absolute right of every sentient being.
Liberty that recognizes no restrictions other than those determined by the laws of our own individual nature, which cannot properly be regarded as restrictions since these laws are not imposed by any outside force, but are inherent, forming the very basis of our material, intellectual, and moral being. They do not limit us but are the real and immediate conditions of our freedom.
Even the most wretched individual of our present society could not exist and develop without the cumulative social efforts of countless generations. Thus the individual, his freedom and reason, are the products of society, and not vice versa. Society is not the product of individuals comprising it; the higher, the more fully the individual is developed, the greater his freedom.
Freedom therefore is the absolute right of every sentient being.
Written By Piccola
Aug. 24, 2020, 11:38 a.m.(11/23/1013 AR)
The most extravagant idea that can be born in the head of a noble is to believe that it suffices for a dignitary to enter with armed soldiers among a foreign people and expect to have their beliefs embraced.
No one loves armed missionaries; the first lesson of nature and prudence is to repulse them as enemies. The Compact may yet be nascent, but there are souls which are feeling and pure therein. Despite our past crimes and missteps, there exists a tender and irresistible passion that screams in horror against tyranny, feels zeal for the oppressed, and carries love for its homeland. Above these things, those souls which profess a more sublime and holy love for humanity, seek the one thing denied to all under the hands of oppressors: freedom.
And the Compact yet remains the best hope for that against forces which would enter under white banners with the goal of enlightening us as to how to best administer to that objective.
No one loves armed missionaries; the first lesson of nature and prudence is to repulse them as enemies. The Compact may yet be nascent, but there are souls which are feeling and pure therein. Despite our past crimes and missteps, there exists a tender and irresistible passion that screams in horror against tyranny, feels zeal for the oppressed, and carries love for its homeland. Above these things, those souls which profess a more sublime and holy love for humanity, seek the one thing denied to all under the hands of oppressors: freedom.
And the Compact yet remains the best hope for that against forces which would enter under white banners with the goal of enlightening us as to how to best administer to that objective.
Written By Piccola
Aug. 23, 2020, 4:05 p.m.(11/22/1013 AR)
Tyrants call themselves apostles of evolution and condemn everything that has a hint of rebelliousness.
They appeal to fear and make pathetic patriotic calls. They resort to ignorance and go so far as to advise the people to let themselves be murdered and insulted. They warn against the peaceful exercise of speech and expression of ideas, which they mock and then quell.
To evolve we must be free, and to be free we must be ready for war. No tyrant has respected passive people; never has a flock of sheep instilled the majesty of its harmless number upon the wolf that craftily devours them. Thus to guarantee freedom we must arm ourselves not with ideas but with weapons.
We must train as hard as we teach; we must sweat as hard as we study; we must endure as hard as we debate.
They appeal to fear and make pathetic patriotic calls. They resort to ignorance and go so far as to advise the people to let themselves be murdered and insulted. They warn against the peaceful exercise of speech and expression of ideas, which they mock and then quell.
To evolve we must be free, and to be free we must be ready for war. No tyrant has respected passive people; never has a flock of sheep instilled the majesty of its harmless number upon the wolf that craftily devours them. Thus to guarantee freedom we must arm ourselves not with ideas but with weapons.
We must train as hard as we teach; we must sweat as hard as we study; we must endure as hard as we debate.
Written By Piccola
Aug. 21, 2020, 10:19 a.m.(11/17/1013 AR)
War makes people wicked because, to take part in it, one must harden oneself against all regret, all appreciation of delicacy, and sensitive values. In war, one must live as if those values did not exist, and when many who return lack the resilience to return to those values. It is far easier to breach all mores of society and live like a monster than to reclaim one's humanity and forego the easiest solutions to pressing needs.
Written By Piccola
Aug. 21, 2020, 10:10 a.m.(11/17/1013 AR)
Relationship Note on Ida
Will you make armor with pockets for me? I have the materials and I want pockets for my pants.
Please note that the scholars may take some time preparing your journal for others to read.