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and restrict their
diversity and their
}
SECTION PAGE 98
{
range of behaviors, I
quarrel with it. And
thus do I issue this
politic call to
anarchy, whilst
humbly begging for
forgiveness of Lord
British for my
}
SECTION PAGE 99
{
impertinence:
 Celebrate thy
differences. Take thy
actions according to
thy own lights.
Question from what
source a law, a rule,
a judge, and a virtue
}
SECTION PAGE 100
{
may arise. 'Twere
possible (though I
suggest it not
seriously) that a
demon planted the
seed of these
"Virtues" in my Lord
British's mind;
}
SECTION PAGE 101
{
'twere possible that
the Shrines were but
a plan to destroy
this world. Thou
canst not know unless
thou questioneth,
doubteth, and in the
end, unless thou
}
SECTION PAGE 102
{
relyest upon THYSELF
and thy judgment.
 I offer these words
as mere philosophical
musing for those who
seek enlightenment,
for 'tis the issue
that hath occupied
}
SECTION PAGE 103
{
mine interest and
that of Lord British
for some time now.
}

// ============================ Ethical Hedonism: An Introduction
SECTION BOOK 9
{
PAGES 24
TITLE Ethical Hedonism: An Introduction
AUTHOR Richard Garriott
PAGE 104
PAGE 105
PAGE 106
PAGE 107
PAGE 108
PAGE 109
PAGE 110
PAGE 111
PAGE 112
PAGE 113
PAGE 114
PAGE 115
PAGE 116
PAGE 117
PAGE 118
PAGE 119
PAGE 120
PAGE 121
PAGE 122
PAGE 123
PAGE 124
PAGE 125
PAGE 126
PAGE 127
}

SECTION PAGE 104
{
 Societies oft have
common codes of
conduct which it
expects all it's
people to abide by.
Now, while 'tis true
that this can offer
some advantages, most
}
SECTION PAGE 105
{
of the codes I see
today around
Britannia have fatal
flaws. Let us examine
them.
 First, there is
Blackthorn's code of
Chaos or basically
}
SECTION PAGE 106
{
Anarchy. Whereas
this affords the
individual maximum
opportunity for
individuality and eve
pursuit of personal
happiness, it does
not offer even basic
}
SECTION PAGE 106
{
interpersonal conduct
codes to prevent
people from killing
each other.
 Without such basic
tenets, all the
people will need to
spend a significant
}
SECTION PAGE 107
{
portion of their time
and effort towards
personal protection
and thus less time
towards other more
beneficial pursuits.
 Then there are the
moral codes that are
}
SECTION PAGE 108
{
so popular today.
These codes are built
largely on historical
tradition rather than
current logic and
thus are also
antiquated. For
example many moral
}
SECTION PAGE 109
{
codes we see today
include statements
about not eating
certain foods that
once were often
poisonous, but today
can be prepared
safely.
}
SECTION PAGE 110
{
 Many forbid contact
between young people
of the opposite
gender, which can in
fact be hazardous;
but the codes often
have lost the context
as to why this is
}
SECTION PAGE 111
{
done, instead merely
calling it amoral. In
this day and age to
call that a necessary
moral would need a
new reasoning. I put
forth that tradition
is not enough.
}
SECTION PAGE 112
{
 Then there are Lord
British's Virtues. It
strikes me that while
a system of virtues
is wonderful as a
touchstone to guide a
society to good
behavior, these are
}
SECTION PAGE 113
{
but shades of the
underlying truth as
to why one may wish
to live a life
according to certain
rules of conduct.
 On the other hand,
clearly the Virtues
}
SECTION PAGE 114
{
that I have heard
Lord British speak of
are clearly positive
codes of conduct, far
better than the world
of anarchy that Lord
Blackthorn suggests.
Yet, are not these
}
SECTION PAGE 115
{
Virtues still derived
from a set of
principles which
though they sound
good, are difficult
to pin down as
actual, undeniable,
rational truths?
}
SECTION PAGE 116
{
 Worse yet though
imagine a society
who's code of conduct
was based on pure
survival of the
strongest. While this
society may function
and even accomplish
}
SECTION PAGE 117
{
much, it can be
fairly argued that
personal happiness
would suffer greatly
except for those at
the top. To rule that
out, however, we must
first believe that
}
SECTION PAGE 118
{
people have a right
to pursue happiness.
 I hope is a safe
assumption that all
beings wish to be
happy, I will broadly
describe this as
Hedonism. Yet, if all
}
SECTION PAGE 119
{
people did is live a
life of hedonism,
their hedonism might
be in conflict with
those near them, so I
will use the term
Ethics to describe
limits one might put
}
SECTION PAGE 120
{
on one's hedonistic
tendencies to allow
others to pursue
their happiness as
well.
 Allow me to give
this example: If one
were to live alone on
}
SECTION PAGE 121
{
a desert isle, one
could live a life of
pure hedonism, for no
action one might take
could interfere with
another's right to
pursue their
happiness. Poison the
}
SECTION PAGE 122
{
lake if you like,
there is no one to
blame but yourself!
 Now suppose two of
you live on that
island. Thou dost not
want thy neighbor to
feel free to poison
}
SECTION PAGE 123
{
the lake. Would it
not be better to
consider it unethical
to poison the lake
without first
thinking of those
whose pursuit of
happiness might be
}
SECTION PAGE 124
{
affected by this
action?
 I put forth that it
is the fact that we
as a people choose to
live in groups known
as a society that
causes us to
}
SECTION PAGE 125
{
compromise our pure
hedonism with logical
ethics. Likewise we
accept not being able
to kill others
without reason,
because our own
pursuit of happiness
}
SECTION PAGE 126
{
would be greatly
interfered with if we
feared others would
do the same to us.
From this basis of
logic can be formed
the Tenets of Ethical
Hedonism.
}
SECTION PAGE 127
{
 For more on this
subject, see The
Tenants of Ethical
Hedonism, by Richard
Garriott and Herman
Miller.
}

// ============================ On the Diversity of Our Land
SECTION BOOK 10
{
PAGES 15
TITLE On the Diversity of Our Land
AUTHOR Lord Blackthorn
PAGE 128
PAGE 129
PAGE 130
PAGE 131
PAGE 132
PAGE 133
PAGE 134
PAGE 135
PAGE 136
PAGE 137
PAGE 138
PAGE 139
PAGE 140
PAGE 141
PAGE 142
}

SECTION PAGE 128
{
 While I deplore the
depredations of the
misguided and
belligerent races
with which we share
our fair Britannia,
and alongside the
populace do morn the
}
SECTION PAGE 129
{
needles deaths that
their raids cause, I
can not countenance
the policy of
wholesale slaughter
of these races that
seems to be the habit
of our soldierly
}
SECTION PAGE 130
{
element.
 Can we not regard
the ratmen, lizard
men, and orcs are
fellow intelligent
beings with whom we
share a planet? Why
must we slay them on
}
SECTION PAGE 131
{
sight, rather than
attempt to engage
them in dialogue?
There is no policy of
shooting at wisps
when they grace us
with their presence
(not that an arrow
}
SECTION PAGE 132
{
could do much to
pierce them!).
 To view these
creatures as vermin
denies their obvious
intelligence, and we
cannot underestimate
the repercussions
}
SECTION PAGE 133
{
that their slaughter
may have. If we
regard the slaying of
fellow humans as a
crime, so must we
regard the killing of
an orc.
 At the same time,
}
SECTION PAGE 134
{
should a lizardman
slay a human, should
we not forgive their
ignorance and
foolishness? Let us
not surrender the
high moral ground by
descending to
}
SECTION PAGE 135
{
bestiality.
 Now, I say not that
we should fail to
defend ourselves in
case of attack, for
even amongst humans
we see war, we see
famine, and we see
}
SECTION PAGE 136
{
assault (though we
owe a debt of
gratitude to our Lord
British for
preserving us from
the worst of these!).
However, incursions
such as the recent
}
SECTION PAGE 137
{
tragedy which cast us
the life of Japheth,
Guildmaster of
Trinsic's Paladins,
are folly.
 I had met Japheth,
and like all
paladins, he burned
}
SECTION PAGE 138
{
with an inner fire.
Yet though I had the
utmost respect for
him, none could deny
the hatred that
flashed in his eyes
at the mere mention
of orcs. And thus he
}
SECTION PAGE 139
{
carried his battle to
the orc camps, and
died there, unable to
rise above his own
childhood experiences
depicted in his book,
"The Burning of
Trinsic". 'Tis a
}
SECTION PAGE 140
{
shame that even our
mightiest men fall
prey to this
ignorance!
 Are there not
legends of orcs
adopting human
children to raise as
}
SECTION PAGE 141
{
their own? Tales of
complex societies
build underground by
races we regard as
bestial?
 Let us not repeat
the mistake of
Japheth of the
}
SECTION PAGE 142
{
Paladins, and let us
cease to persecute
the nonhuman races,
before we discover
that we are harming
ourselves in the
process.
}

// ============================ Virtue
SECTION BOOK 11
{
PAGES 20
TITLE Virtue
AUTHOR Lord British
PAGE 143
PAGE 144
PAGE 145
PAGE 146
PAGE 147
PAGE 148
PAGE 149
PAGE 150
PAGE 151
PAGE 152
PAGE 153
PAGE 154
PAGE 155
PAGE 156
PAGE 157
PAGE 158
PAGE 159
PAGE 160
PAGE 161
PAGE 162
PAGE 163
}

SECTION PAGE 143
{
 Within this world
live people with many
different ideals, and
this is good. Yet
what is it within the
people of our land
that sorts out the
good from the evil,
}
SECTION PAGE 144
{
the cherished form
the disdained?
Virtue, I say it is,
and virtue is the
logical outcome of a
people who wish to
live together in a
bonded society.
}
SECTION PAGE 145
{
 For without Virtues
as a code of conduct
which people maintain
in their relations
with each other, the
fabric of that
society will become
weakened. For a
}
SECTION PAGE 146
{
society to grow and
prosper for all, each
must grant the others
a common base of
consideration.
 I call this the base
the Virtues. For
though one person
}
SECTION PAGE 147
{
might gain personal
advantage by
breaching such a
code, the society as
a whole would suffer.
 There are three
Principle Virtues
that should guide
}
SECTION PAGE 148
{
people to
enlightenment. These
are: Truth, Love and
Courage. From all the
infinite reasons one
may have to found an
action, such as greed
or charity, envy or
}
SECTION PAGE 149
{
pity, the three
Principle Virtues
stand out.
 In fact all other
virtues and vices can
be shown to be built
from these principle
and their opposite
}
SECTION PAGE 150
{
corruption's of
Falsehood, Hatred and
Cowardice. These
three Principles can
be combined in eight
ways, which I will
call the eight
virtues. The eight
}
SECTION PAGE 151
{
virtues which we
should build our
society upon follow.
 Truth alone becomes
Honesty, for without
honesty between our
people, how can we
build the trust which
}
SECTION PAGE 152
{
is needed to maximize
our successes.
 Love alone becomes
compassion, for at
some time or another
all of us will need
the compassion of
others, and most
}
SECTION PAGE 153
{
likely compassion
will be shown to
those who have shown
it.
 Courage alone
becomes Valor,
without valor our
people will never
}
SECTION PAGE 154
{
reach into the
unknown or to the
risky and will never
achieve.
 Truth tempered by
Love give us Justice,
for only in a loving
search for the truth
}
SECTION PAGE 155
{
can one dispense fair
Justice, rather than
create a cold and
callous people.
 Love and Courage
give us Sacrifice,
for a people who love
each other will be
}
SECTION PAGE 156
{
willing to make
personal sacrifices
to help other in
need, which one day,
may be needed in
return.
 Courage and Truth
give us Honor, great
}
SECTION PAGE 157
{
knights know this
well, that chivalric
honor can be found by
adhering to this code
of conduct.
 Combining Truth,
Love and Courage
suggest the virtue of
}
SECTION PAGE 158
{
Spirituality the