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Initiates

Book 1. (50 results) Tarnsman of Gor

Chapter # Sentence # Quote Confidence
17 48 Ubars have always employed the Initiates as tools, some of the boldest even contending that the social function of the Initiates is to keep the lower castes contented with their servile lot.
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2 226 He said, from what he could learn from the Initiates, who claimed to serve as the intermediaries of Priest-Kings to men, that the planet Gor had originally been a satellite of a distant sun, in one of the fantastically remote Blue Galaxies.
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3 56 Oddly enough, there was little religious instruction, other than to encourage awe of the Priest-Kings, and what there was, Torm refused to administer, insisting it was the province of the Initiates.
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3 57 Religious matters on this world tend to be rather carefully guarded by the Caste of Initiates, who allow members of other castes little participation in their sacrifices and ceremonies.
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3 58 I was given some prayers to the Priest-Kings to memorize, but they were in Old Gorean, a language cultivated by the Initiates but not spoken generally on the planet, and I never bothered to learn them.
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3 60 I sensed that a certain distrust existed between the Caste of Scribes and the Caste of Initiates.
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3 61 The ethical teachings of Gor, which are independent of the claims and propositions of the Initiates, amount to little more than the Caste Codes—collections of sayings whose origins are lost in antiquity.
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3 72 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 o...
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4 134 The tier nearest the floor, which denoted some preferential status, the white tier, was occupied by Initiates, Interpreters of the Will of the Priest-Kings.
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4 141 On the other hand, I objected to the Initiates being in the place of honor, as it seemed to me that they, even more than the Warriors, were nonproductive members of society.
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4 142 For the Warriors, at least, one could say that they afforded protection to the city, but for the Initiates one could say very little, perhaps only that they provided some comfort for ills and plagues largely of their own manufacture.
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5 51 The details of the rituals are arranged and mostly executed by the Initiates of a given city.
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8 8 The Initiates have assumed command and have ordered that Marlenus and all members of his household and family are to be publicly impaled on the walls of Ar".
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8 29 "The Initiates have pronounced their sentence," said the officer.
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8 31 In that moment I detested the Initiates of Ar, who, like other members of their caste throughout Gor, were only too eager to seize some particle of the political power they had supposedly renounced in choosing to wear the white robes of their calling.
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9 18 What would happen to Talena if we did, by some outstanding stroke of fortune, reach Ko-ro-ba? Would she be publicly impaled, returned to the mercies of the Initiates of Ar, or would she perhaps spend the rest of her days in the dungeons beneath the cylinders? Perhaps she would be permitted to live a...
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9 51 It seemed we had little to fear, and we had passed several of the pasang stones that line the side of the highway without seeing anything more threatening than a line of peasants carrying brushwood on their backs, and a pair of hurrying Initiates.
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13 74 As an act of charity, Initiates have arranged at various places Dar-Kosis Pits where the Afflicted may voluntarily imprison themselves, to be fed with food hurled downward from the backs of passing tarns.
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15 7 Within the city the Initiates, who had seized control shortly after the flight of Marlenus, would have already tapped the siege reservoirs and begun to ration the stores of the huge grain cylinders.
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15 166 "If the Assassin should take the city," I said, "the rule of the Initiates will be broken, and eventually the horde with its loot will scatter, leaving a garrison".
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15 177 The Initiates can only mumble prayers to the Priest-Kings, arrange the details of their meaningless, innumerable sacrifices.
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15 186 How many would rally to the banner of an outlaw? No, the power of the Initiates must first be broken".
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15 199 "But," said Marlenus, frowning, "if the siege is lifted, the Initiates will be left in power".
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15 218 He will proclaim himself their liberator, their deliverer from the despotism of the Initiates, the restorer of the old order, the glory of the empire".
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16 24 The men of Ar remained within their walls, under their tarn wire, waiting for the attacks to come, while the Initiates of the city sacrificed to the Priest-Kings.
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16 46 It seemed probable that food and water would soon be scarce in the city and that the Initiates, whose resistance had been unimaginative and who were apparently unable to protect the city, would be forced to face a hungry and desperate population.
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16 58 It would surely depend, in part, on the food and water available and on the persistence of the Initiates' attempts to dislodge him.
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17 15 As nearly as I could determine, he and his men had been overcome, and the height of the Central Cylinder was again in the hands of the Initiates.
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17 22 It was Ar's misfortune, at this most critical time in its long history, to be in the hands of the bleakest of all castes of men, the Initiates, skilled only in ritual, mythology, and superstition.
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17 30 I truly believe that the brave men of Ar, in their valorous if blind love for their city, would have maintained the walls until the last slain warrior had been thrown from them to the streets below, but the Initiates would not have it so.
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17 32 This man claimed to be the Supreme Initiate of all Initiates on Gor and to take his appointment from the Priest-Kings themselves.
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17 33 Needless to say, his claim was not acknowledged by the Chief Initiates of Gor's free cities, who regarded themselves as sovereign in their own cities.
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17 42 The bargaining of the Initiates was largely to secure their own safety and, as much as possible, to prevent the utter ravaging of the city.
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17 44 This was typical of Initiates.
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17 47 Any indiscriminate slaughter of Initiates would be regarded by his troops as an ill omen, and, besides, they would be useful in controlling the population.
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17 49 The second major condition requested by the Initiates was that the city be garrisoned by only ten thousand chosen troops, and that the balance of the horde be allowed to enter the gates only unarmed.
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17 50 There were a variety of smaller, more intricate concessions desired by the Initiates and granted by Pa-Kur, mostly having to do with the provisioning of the city and the protection of its tradesmen and peasants.
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17 84 "When Marlenus fell," said the man, "the Initiates decreed the impalement of all members of his family".
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18 58 More significantly, it indicated that the justice dispensed therein was the justice of Initiates.
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18 59 There are two systems of courts on Gor—those of the City, under the jurisdiction of an Administrator or Ubar, and those of the Initiates, under the jurisdiction of the High Initiate of the given city; the division corresponds roughly to that between civil and what, for lack of a better word, ...
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18 60 The areas of jurisdiction of these two types of courts are not well defined; the Initiates claim ultimate jurisdiction in all matters, in virtue of their supposed relation to the Priest-Kings, but this claim is challenged by civil jurists.
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18 61 There would, of course, in these days be no challenging the justice of the Initiates.
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19 22 He had brought his tarn to flight and was descending to the streets below to rally the dispirited citizens of Ar, to call them again to arms, to challenge them to renounce the treacherous authority of the self-seeking Initiates, to strike again their blow for freedom, to die rather than yield their ...
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19 35 I could see the white robes of Initiates and the variegated colors of soldiers, both of Ar and of Pa-Kur's horde.
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19 48 The Initiates themselves do not execute their victims, as the shedding of blood is forbidden by those beliefs they regard as sacred.
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19 70 "Are you truly the men of never-conquered, imperishable Ar? Or are you but slaves who will exchange your freedom for the collar of Pa-Kur?" "Down with the Initiates!" cried one man, drawing his sword.
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19 72 There were shouts from the men of Ar and cries of terror from the Initiates as they cringed or fled.
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19 110 "No!" cried one of the Initiates.
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19 119 The Initiates had vanished from the roof of the cylinder.
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20 22 The sentence of death passed upon him by the usurping government of the Initiates was rescinded, but because his imperialistic ambition was feared, he was exiled from his beloved city.
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Book 2. (13 results) Outlaw of Gor

Chapter # Sentence # Quote Confidence
20 61 One might think that some stability would be provided by the Initiates, who must keep a calendar of their feasts and observances, but the Initiates of one city do not always celebrate the same feast on the same date as do those of another city.
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20 92 What of the interminable prayers of the Initiates, the sacrifices, the observances, the rituals, the innumerable shrines, altars and temples to the Priest-Kings? Could it be that the smoke of the burning sacrifices, the fragrance of the incense, the mumblings of the Initiates, their prostrations and...
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2 44 The Goreans generally, though there are exceptions, particularly the Caste of Initiates, do not believe in immortality.
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5 23 Somehow this man seemed different to me from the other Initiates I had met on Gor.
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5 43 It was common, of course, for Initiates to claim to speak for the Priest-Kings; indeed, it was presumably the calling of their caste to interpret the will of the Priest-Kings to men.
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5 45 He was not as other Initiates, though he wore their robes.
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5 46 "Are you truly of the Caste of Initiates?" I asked.
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5 74 I was now only in the presence of a man, a fellow human being even though he wore the sublime robes of the proud Caste of Initiates.
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5 101 I removed the hated robes of the Initiates from the body of the man and carried the naked body far from the road.
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6 4 Four times a year, correlated with the solstices and equinoxes, there are fairs held in the plains below the mountains, presided over by committees of Initiates, fairs in which men of many cities mingle without bloodshed, times of truce, times of contests and games, of bargaining and marketing.
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19 158 The words of the man of Ar, he who had worn the robes of the Initiates, he who had brought me the message of the Priest-Kings on the road to Ko-ro-ba that violent night months before, rang in my ears, "Throw yourself upon your sword, Tarl of Ko-ro-ba!" But I knew then that I would not throw myself u...
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20 62 If the High Initiate of Ar should ever succeed in extending his hegemony over the High Initiates of rival cities, a hegemony which he claims he possesses already incidentally, a unified calendar might be introduced.
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20 63 But so far there has been no military victory of Ar over other cities and, accordingly, free of the sword, the Initiates of each city regard themselves as supreme within their own walls.
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Book 3. (41 results) Priest-Kings of Gor

Chapter # Sentence # Quote Confidence
33 42 There were men in that crowd from Ar, from Thentis, from Tharna, recognized by the two yellow cords in their belt; from Port Kar; from Tor, Cos, Tyros; perhaps from Treve, Vika's home city; perhaps even from fallen, vanished Ko-ro-ba; and the men in that crowd were of all castes, and even of castes ...
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33 66 Let this sacrifice please your nostrils and now consent to hear our pleas! It is offered by Om, Chief among all the High Initiates of Gor!" "No!" cried a number of other Initiates, the High Initiates of various other cities.
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33 67 I knew that the High Initiate of Ar, following the policies of the High Initiate before him, wished to claim hegemony over all other Initiates, and claimed to possess this already, but his claim, of course, was denied by the other High Initiates who regarded themselves as supreme in their own cities...
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33 119 Who would believe them? Who would take the word of scattered vagrants against the word of the mighty Caste of Initiates? And, if he did believe them, who would dare to speak out that he did so? The Initiates, it seemed, had conquered.
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1 63 Sometimes these men are merchants who wish thereby to secure goodwill for their products; sometimes they are practitioners of the law, who hope to sway the votes of jury men; sometimes they are Ubars or High Initiates who find it in their interests to keep the crowds amused.
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1 64 Such contests, in which life is lost, used to be popular at Ar, for example, being sponsored in that city by the Caste of Initiates, who regard themselves as being intermediaries between Priest-Kings and men, though I suspect that, at least on the whole, they know as little about the Priest-Kings as...
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1 66 It was not an action which was popular with the powerful Caste of Initiates.
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1 77 This pilgrimage to the Sardar, enjoined by the Priest-Kings according to the Caste of Initiates, undoubtedly plays its role in the distribution of beauty among the hostile cities of Gor.
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2 11 At the gate I was met by one of the Caste of Initiates, a dour, thin-lipped, drawn man with deep sunken eyes, clad in the pure white robes of his caste.
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3 47 He was clad in a white robe, somewhat resembling those of the Initiates.
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8 32 No wonder the Priest-Kings hid behind their palisade in the Sardar and let the myths of the Initiates build a wall of human terror about them, no wonder they let their nature and ends be secret, no wonder they took such pains to conceal and obscure their plans and purposes, their devices, their inst...
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9 109 "He tried to prevent me but I sought out the Initiates of Treve, proposing myself as an offering to the Priest-Kings.
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12 150 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.
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16 30 "So much the better," said Misk, "for the Men below the Mountains are then confused and fear us even more—but the members of the Caste of Initiates, we have found, will produce an explanation of why the city was destroyed.
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20 124 "You don't understand," she whimpered, "I am an offering to the Priest-Kings from the Initiates of Ar".
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21 40 On the surface it is spoken by none but members of the Caste of Initiates, who use it primarily in their numerous and complex rituals.
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33 13 In the front, several deep, in lines that extended as far as I could see in both directions, were the white robes of the Initiates.
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33 34 The Initiates, hundreds of them, knelt in long lines to the crags of the Sardar, to the Priest-Kings.
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33 37 Behind the Initiates, standing, as befits the men of other castes, I saw men of a hundred cities, joined here in their common fear and plea to the denizens of the Sardar.
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33 39 I looked upon the frightened faces of the Initiates.
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33 40 I wondered if the shaven heads, traditional for centuries with Initiates, held some distant connection, lost now in time, with the hygienic practices of the Nest.
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33 41 I was pleased to see that the men of other castes, unlike the Initiates, did not grovel.
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33 46 He was a tall man, rather heavy, with bland soft features, but his voice was very deep and would have been quite impressive in one of the temples of the Initiates, constructed to maximize the acoustical effects of such a voice.
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33 64 Then he began to mumble prayers very quickly in archaic Gorean, a language in which the Initiates converse among themselves and conduct their various ceremonies.
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33 65 At the end of this long but speedily delivered prayer, refrains to which were rapidly furnished by the Initiates massed about him, he cried, "Oh Priest-Kings, let this our last sacrifice turn aside your wrath.
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33 69 "It is the sacrifice of all of us!" cried one of the other High Initiates.
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33 75 "Our sacrifice!" cried the other Initiates, joyfully.
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33 80 "The Priest-Kings inhale the smoke of my sacrifice!" "Our sacrifice!" insisted the other High Initiates.
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33 89 At that moment I suddenly realized I was ringed by Initiates.
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33 109 We have seen Priest-Kings!" "She blasphemes," said one of the Initiates.
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33 112 Perhaps, if they were silent, they might return to the surface, but even then, probably not to their own cities, for the Initiates of their cities would undoubtedly recall that they had left for, and perhaps entered, the Sardar.
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33 114 The Initiates had their way of life, their ancient traditions, their given livelihood, the prestige of their caste, which they claimed to be the highest on the planet, their teachings, their holy books, their services, their role to play in the culture.
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33 115 Suppose that even now if they knew the truth—what would change? Would I really expect them—at least on the whole—to burn their robes, to surrender their claims to secret knowledge and powers, to pick up the hoes of Peasants, the needles of the Cloth Workers, to bend their energi...
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33 117 I hoped that those humans who returned from the Nest would not be hunted by Initiates and burned or impaled as heretics and blasphemers.
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33 121 Others, perhaps, to keep the skies of Gor over their head, might confess to deceit; but I suspected there would be few of those; yet I was sure that there would indeed be confessions and admissions of guilt, from individuals never within the Sardar, but hired by Initiates to discredit the tales of t...
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33 128 I thought how dangerous might be the Initiates if, intertwined with their superstitious lore and their numerous impressive ceremonies, there had been a truly moral message, something that might have spoken to the nobility of men.
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33 140 "With most," he said, "it is as you think, and they are simple, believing members of my caste, and there are others who suspect the truth and are tormented, or who suspect the truth and will pretend—but I, Om, High Initiate of Ar, and certain of the High Initiates are like none of these".
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33 162 The High Initiate of Ar turned to the other Initiates about.
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33 165 The other Initiates regarded us.
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34 102 "In Treve," I said, "you might be ordered slain by members of the Caste of Initiates".
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35 34 The ships that had sped from the Sardar had now returned, for, as I had feared, they were not made welcome by the cities of Gor, nor by the Initiates, and those who had ridden the ships had not been accepted by their cities.
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Book 4. (4 results) Nomads of Gor

Chapter # Sentence # Quote Confidence
2 51 Some of these men have achieved fortune and fame in various Gorean cities, for their services to Initiates and Ubars, and others with an interest in the arts of detection and persuasion.
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5 13 The Tuchuks and the other Wagon Peoples reverence Priest-Kings, but unlike the Goreans of the cities, with their castes of Initiates, they do not extend to them the dignities of worship.
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9 12 It might be mentioned, for those unaware of the fact, that the Caste of Merchants is not considered one of the traditional five High Castes of Gor—the Initiates, Scribes, Physicians, Builders and Warriors.
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9 20 I say "in effect" because the fairs are nominally under the direction of a committee of the Caste of Initiates, which, however, largely contents itself with its ceremonies and sacrifices, and is only too happy to delegate the complex management of those vast, commercial phenomena, the Sardar Fairs, ...
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Book 5. (22 results) Assassin of Gor

Chapter # Sentence # Quote Confidence
2 179 Kazrak had offended the Caste of Initiates primarily by levying taxes on their vast holdings throughout the city and upon occasion upholding the rulings of the administrative courts over the courts of the Initiates.
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3 69 The fact that the disease tends to strike those who have maintained the observances recommended by the Caste of Initiates, and who regularly attend their numerous ceremonies, as well as those who do not, is seldom explained, though, when pressed, the Initiates speak of possible secret failures to ma...
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18 186 There is little love lost between Physicians and Initiates, even as is the case between Scribes and Initiates.
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1 20 He was surprised for, judging from the colors of the garments of those who marched, it contained men of many castes, perhaps all castes of the city, only that he did not see among them the white of the Caste of Initiates.
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1 21 That puzzled Kuurus, for normally men of the Initiates are prominent in such events.
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2 178 Kazrak, who had been Administrator of the City for several years, had finally been deposed, largely due to the agitations of certain factions among the Initiates and Merchants, who had had their various grievances against the Administrator.
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2 180 The Initiates, in their interpretations of sacrifices and in their preachments, primarily to the low castes, had led many of the city to fear that Kazrak might not long enjoy the favor of the Priest-Kings.
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2 182 Other Initiates wished to examine these omens, being read in the state of the bosk's liver, but Complicius Serenus, as though in terror, had cast the liver into the fire, presumably that such dark portents might be immediately destroyed.
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2 255 "The Administrator is appointed by the High Council of the City and the High Initiate by the High Council of the Initiates of the City".
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3 68 At any rate, disease is now almost unknown among the Gorean cities, with the exception of the dreaded Dar-Kosis disease, or the Holy Disease, research on which is generally frowned upon by the Caste of Initiates, who insist the disease is a visitation of the displeasure of Priest-Kings on its recipi...
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5 611 Each month, containing five five-day weeks, is separated by a five-day period, called the Passage Hand, from every other month, there being one exception to this, which is that the last month of the year is separated from the first month of the year, which begins with the Vernal Equinox, not only by...
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12 26 Before him sat two rows of Initiates, who were intoning prayers to the Priest-Kings, not watching the race.
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13 10 On the roof of the Cylinder of Initiates the High Initiate, Complicius Serenus, offered sacrifices and prayers for the speedy return of the girl and, failing that, that she might be found slain, that she might not be reduced to the shames of slavery.
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18 172 "A teaching of Initiates," said Flaminius bitterly.
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18 176 "Another myth of Initiates," said Flaminius, unpleasantly.
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18 184 The Cylinder of Initiates demanded that the High Council of the Caste of Physicians put an end to our work, not only that it be discontinued but that our results to that date be destroyed.
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18 208 "The men who attacked the Cylinder," I said, "who were they?" "Doubtless henchmen of Initiates," said Flaminius.
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18 209 Initiates, incidentally, are not permitted by their caste codes to bear arms; nor are they permitted to injure or kill; accordingly, they hire men for these purposes.
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18 219 "Besides," said he, "the men of Initiates, did we begin again, would only need bring torches and steel once more".
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18 226 I realized then that I could not combat the Initiates.
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24 154 There were, I noted, no Initiates in the room.
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24 235 "Will there be many who will work with you?" I asked, remembering the dangers of his research, the enmity of the Initiates.
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Book 7. (7 results) Captive of Gor

Chapter # Sentence # Quote Confidence
13 89 On her nineteenth birthday, members of the Caste of Initiates had appeared at the door of the leather-worker's hut.
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13 90 It had been decided that she should now undertake the journey to the Sardar, which, according to the teachings of the Caste of Initiates, is enjoined on every Gorean by the Priest-Kings, an obligation which is to be fulfilled prior to their attaining their twenty-fifth year.
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13 91 If a city does not see that her youth undertake this journey then, according to the teachings of the Initiates, misfortunes may befall the city.
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13 92 It is one of the tasks of the Initiates to keep rolls, and determine that each youth, if capable, discharge this putative obligation to the mysterious Priest-Kings.
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13 94 "Do you wish the piece of gold?" asked the chief of the delegation of Initiates, of the leather worker and his companion.
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13 98 It is a custom of the Initiates of Teletus, and of certain other islands and cities, if the youth agrees to go to the Sardar when they request it, then his, or her, family or guardians, if they wish it, will receive one tarn disk of gold.
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13 107 She agreed to participate in the group then being organized by the Initiates.
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Book 9. (47 results) Marauders of Gor

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2 89 The Initiates have their own laws, and courts, and certain of them are particularly versed in the laws of Initiates.
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2 105 What if some of the claims of Initiates should be correct? What if they do have influence with Priest-Kings? The common Gorean tends to play it safe and honor the Initiates.
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2 111 Incidentally, it is a teaching of the Initiates that only Initiates can obtain eternal life.
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2 115 The Gorean feeling generally is that there is no reason why Initiates, or only Initiates, should live forever.
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2 5 The High Initiate of Kassau, a town at the northern brink of the forest, sat still in his white robes, in his tall hat, on the throne to the right, within the white rail that separated the sanctuary of Initiates from the common ground of the hall, where those not anointed by the grease of Priest-Kin...
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2 18 This claim, like many of those of Initiates, is disputed by few, and ignored by most.
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2 21 The religion of the Priest-Kings, institutionalized and ritualized by the caste of Initiates, had made little headway among the primitive men to the north.
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2 23 Initiates often used their influence and their gold, and pressures on trade and goods, to spread their beliefs and rituals.
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2 27 Sometimes, too, the religion of the Priest-Kings, under the control of the Initiates, utilizing secular rulers, was propagated by fire and sword.
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2 36 He was flanked by minor Initiates, in their white robes, with shaven heads.
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2 37 Initiates do not eat meat, or beans.
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2 45 I was never much fond of the meetings, the services and the rituals of Initiates, but I had some special interest in the service which was being held today.
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2 56 Such a conversion, even though it be in death, would be a great coup for the Initiates.
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2 58 Now Initiates to one side of the sanctuary, opposite the throne of the High Initiate, began to chant the litanies of the Priest-Kings.
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2 84 The Initiates are an almost universal, well-organized, industrious caste.
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2 86 An Initiate may often travel for hundreds of pasangs and, each night, find himself in a house of Initiates.
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2 91 It tends to bind Initiates together, making them interdependent, and muchly different from common men.
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2 95 Whereas Initiates tend not to be taken with great seriousness by the high castes, or the more intelligent members of the population, except in matters of political alliance, their teachings and purported ability to intercede with Priest-Kings, and further the welfare of their adherents, is taken wit...
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2 96 And many men, who suspect that the Initiates, in their claims and pretensions, are frauds, will nonetheless avoid coming into conflict with the caste.
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2 97 This is particularly true of civic leaders who do not wish the power of the Initiates to turn the lower castes against them.
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2 102 That is where the role of the Initiates becomes most powerful.
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2 108 The attitude of Priest-Kings toward Initiates, as I recalled, having once been in the Sardar, is generally one of disinterest.
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2 113 This particular teaching of the Initiates, it is interesting to note, is that taken least seriously by the general population.
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2 114 No one, except possibly, Initiates, takes it with much seriousness.
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2 116 Initiates, though often feared by the lower castes, are also regarded as being a bit odd, and often figure in common, derisive jokes.
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2 119 I have often thought that the Initiates, if somewhat more clever, could have a much greater power than they possess on Gor.
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2 123 But the Initiates, like many Gorean castes, were tradition bound.
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2 183 The litany and responses of the congregation were now completed and the Initiates, some twenty within the rail, began to sing in archaic Gorean.
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2 187 Their heads were shaved and they wore robes resembling those of the Initiates.
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2 189 They were young male slaves, purchased by Initiates, castrated by civil authorities and, in the monasteries, trained in song.
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2 220 The Initiates claim they have no size or shape or form.
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2 221 This is incorrect but the Initiates are just as well off, I expect, in their conjectures.
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2 259 There were the golden bowls used to gather the blood of the sacrificed animals; cups used to pour libations to Priest-Kings; vessels containing oils; lavers in which the celebrants of the rites might cleanse their hands from their work; there were even the small bowls of coins, brought as offerings ...
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2 261 How rich they were, the Initiates, and how little they did.
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2 278 Inside the Initiates, and the boys, at a sign from the High Initiate, a lifted, clawlike hand, were silent.
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2 282 I now heard the singing, the chanting, of Initiates from outside the door.
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2 285 All eyes craned to see the procession which now, slowly, the Initiates singing, entered the incense-filled temple.
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2 296 The Initiates, chanting, now filed into the temple with their candles.
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2 297 The chant was taken up by the initiates, too, within the sanctuary.
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2 310 To the amazement of the crowd, at a sign from the High Initiate of Kassau, two lesser initiates opened the gate to the white rail.
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2 314 It was the chrism of temporary permission, which, in the teachings of Initiates, allows one not consecrated to the service of Priest-Kings to enter the sanctuary.
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2 324 The High Initiate then began to intone a complex prayer in archaic Gorean, to which, at intervals, responses were made by the assembled Initiates, those within the railing originally and now, too, those twelve, still carrying candles, who had accompanied the body from the ship through the dirt stree...
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2 325 When the High Initiate finished his prayer, the other Initiates began to sing a solemn hymn, while the High Initiate, at the altar, his back turned to the congregation, began to prepare, with words and signs, the grease of Priest-Kings, for the anointing of the bones of Ivar Forkbeard.
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2 345 "Praises unto the Priest-Kings," responded the Initiates.
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2 351 With a roar of laughter, hurling the shroud from him, to the horror of the High Initiate, and other Initiates, and the congregation, Ivar Forkbeard, almost seven feet in height, leaped to his feet, in his right hand clutching a great, curved, single-bladed ax of hardened iron.
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3 12 The interior of the sanctuary was strewn with dead Initiates, many hacked to pieces.
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4 54 The board has no Initiates, but there are corresponding pieces called Rune-Priests.
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Book 11. (3 results) Slave Girl of Gor

Chapter # Sentence # Quote Confidence
5 143 The Companion Journey, then, when the auspices had been favorable, as they promptly were, these determined by the inspection of the condition and nature of the liver of a sacrificial verr, examined by members of the caste of Initiates, had begun.
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5 195 In taking companionship with one of the Warriors she would raise caste, for the Warriors on Gor are among the high castes, of which there are five, the Initiates, Scribes, Physicians, Builders and Warriors.
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7 29 Initiates, inept and cowardly, then holding power in Ar, had surrendered the city, an act which to this day in Ar has tended to damage the prestige of that caste.
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Book 12. (3 results) Beasts of Gor

Chapter # Sentence # Quote Confidence
3 136 I stepped to one side to make way for a procession of initiates, who, with a ringing of bells, and shaking of bowls on chains, containing burning incense, passed me on their way to the palisade.
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3 139 The caste of initiates is rich on Gor.
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4 29 Initiates moved about, and many others.
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Book 13. (1 results) Explorers of Gor

Chapter # Sentence # Quote Confidence
32 238 It is hard not to be reminded of the columns in one of the great, shaded temples of Initiates, as in Turia or Ar.
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Book 19. (3 results) Kajira of Gor

Chapter # Sentence # Quote Confidence
30 228 For example, "the street where the Initiates have their temple" is not unlikely to become "Temple Street"; "the street where you can find the brewery" may well become "Brewery Street," and so on.
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31 65 "They have required a common language of us for their own purposes, that they may the more easily communicate with us, and, through the Initiates, a high caste, and those sleen think themselves the highest caste, make known to us their will".
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33 753 "We are not Initiates," said another man.
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Book 20. (3 results) Players of Gor

Chapter # Sentence # Quote Confidence
6 546 There was now great laughter for, strolling across the stage, swinging censers, mumbling in what was doubtless supposed to resemble archaic Gorean, in the guise of Initiates, came Tarsk-Bit's Lecchio and Chino.
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6 549 "They were Initiates!" "I am sorry," said Boots, apologetically.
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13 331 Too, however, I knew the urt people could, and did upon occasion, as in their rare contacts with civilized folk, communicate in a type of Gorean, many of the words evidencing obvious linguistic corruptions but others, interestingly, apparently closely resembling archaic Gorean, a language not spoken...
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Book 22. (6 results) Dancer of Gor

Chapter # Sentence # Quote Confidence
17 31 The Chief Initiate of Ar claims to be chief of all the Initiates of all the cities, but the other Chief Initiates, in the other cities, do not, it seems, at least on the whole, acknowledge this claim.
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17 19 The only Gorean caste which, as far as I know, officially believes in an afterlife is that of the Initiates, and they believe in it, it seems, only for themselves, and seem to believe it is connected with such things as the performance of secret rites, the acquisition of secret knowledges, mostly ma...
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17 20 Initiates commonly wear white and have their heads shaved.
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17 30 It depends on the city, I suppose, or the tastes of the community of Initiates, those who care for the temples, in a given place.
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17 32 I have gathered that in these temples there are no chairs or pews, or such, unless for Initiates near the altars.
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17 37 The teachings of the Initiates, their recommendations, exhortations, and such, seem to be taken most seriously by the lower castes.
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Book 23. (4 results) Renegades of Gor

Chapter # Sentence # Quote Confidence
21 350 The traditional high castes of Gor are the Initiates, Scribes, Builders, Physicians and Warriors.
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24 755 Most Goreans, save for occasional sacrifices, observations, donations to temples, and such, called for by the caste of Initiates, who claim to mediate between men and Priest-Kings, live their lives without much concern for Priest-Kings, and seem to hope that the Priest-Kings will return the favor, w...
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24 761 Certainly Initiates commonly warn gravely of this possibility.
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24 763 Much of the largesse gathered in by the caste of Initiates, one might observe, is accrued from these pilgrimages.
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Book 24. (1 results) Vagabonds of Gor

Chapter # Sentence # Quote Confidence
36 48 "I am of high caste!" Ina was, I had learned, of the Builders, one of the five high castes on Gor, the others being the Initiates, Physicians, Scribes and Warriors.
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Book 25. (19 results) Magicians of Gor

Chapter # Sentence # Quote Confidence
1 335 "Initiates," I said to Marcus.
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1 340 It surprised me that the people were kneeling, for, commonly, free Goreans do not kneel, even in the temples of the Initiates.
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1 342 The hands are sometimes lifted, and this is often the case with praying Initiates.
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1 354 He was followed by some ten or so Initiates, in double file.
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1 357 It is forbidden for Initiates to touch women, and, of course, for women to touch them.
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1 358 Initiates also avoid meat and beans.
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1 366 But the Initiates took no note of these not inconsiderable pledges.
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1 430 Then, shuddering, she turned about and went down the street, to our left, in the direction from whence the Initiates had come.
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1 439 "Where do you suppose the Initiates were bound?" I asked Marcus.
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10 13 There had been demands by minor Initiates, of smaller temples, outside the pomerium of the city, first, for the ceremonies to be conducted, and, later, these ceremonies not taking place, for the Home Stone to be produced.
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13 50 "The Initiates do not seem as welcome in the streets now," he said.
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13 72 Perhaps that is why Marcus disapproved so sternly of the Initiates.
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13 90 "But what is the relation of the Initiates to the Priest-Kings, if there are such?" he asked.
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13 92 "You do not think the Priest-Kings are on intimate terms with the Initiates, do you?" "Would you wish to be on intimate terms with an Initiate?" I asked.
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13 102 "In any event," said Marcus, "the power of the Initiates is certainly less now than before in the city".
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13 106 "Initiates are not needed for such a purpose," he said.
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13 109 "The Initiates might have provided a core of resistance to Cos," he said.
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13 115 "I hate Initiates," he said.
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19 985 "A slave girl, Master," she said, "only that!" "Who initiates these relationships?" I asked.
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Book 26. (27 results) Witness of Gor

Chapter # Sentence # Quote Confidence
19 407 Certainly, of the raiders and the Initiates, it seemed the Initiates had had the safer, easier part of things.
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11 95 There is a considerable difference between the killing charge of such a beast, direct, ferocious, energetic, savage, violent, ravening, once, after exploratory sallies, it initiates it, and this approach.
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11 1607 The high castes are normally accounted five in number—the Warriors, the Builders, the Physicians, the Scribes, and the Initiates.
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11 1608 The Initiates are sometimes thought of as the highest of the five high castes, and the Warriors as the least of the five high castes.
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12 466 What other choice have they? "And it did not matter," said she, "what his caste might be, assuming it was high, for I was of the Merchants, one of the highest of castes, there being none higher, I insist on that, saving perhaps that of the Initiates".
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12 467 I knew little or nothing of the Initiates, but I had heard that such as I were not allowed in their temples, lest we profane them.
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12 470 Why should I not, in virtue of my beauty, attain to the highest of castes, assuming the Merchants was not already regarded, correctly, of course, as such—yes, to the very highest of castes, saving only that of the Initiates, of course".
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12 492 Had she no slave in the cellars of her heart? Had she no concept as to where her true happiness might lie? "Yes," she said, "to the very highest of castes—saving only that of the Initiates, of course".
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12 493 The Initiates, as I understood it, were celibate, or putatively so.
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19 268 These were, I gathered, "Initiates," supposedly the highest of the high castes.
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19 270 If there were Priest-Kings, I wondered if they knew about the caste of Initiates.
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19 278 Those in the crowd, too, with but few exceptions, exhibited extreme deference to these robed individuals, whom I took to be "Initiates," both free men and women assuming attitudes of deference, most standing with heads respectfully inclined.
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19 323 Now it seemed that these Initiates or at least he who appeared to be chief amongst them was implicitly suggesting that the success of the expedition might well be attributed to their offerings, doubtless ultimately supplied by the faithful, and their prayers, uttered in the safety of their temple pr...
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19 347 The caste of Initiates, incidentally, provides a socially acceptable refuge for men who may not wish, for one reason or another, to relate to women.
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19 350 It is my surmise, incidentally, that the great majority of Initiates, for better or for worse, abide by, and respect, the regulations of their caste.
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19 381 Half of the twenty or so Initiates went then to the raiders, moving amongst them, holding up the golden bowls.
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19 383 The other half of the Initiates then began to move amongst the crowd.
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19 387 One of the Initiates was then in our vicinity.
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19 401 What if, for example, as an outside possibility, but one they were not willing to discount, there might be some mysterious connection between the Initiates and the Priest-Kings? Why not, then, put a coin in the bowl, particularly if it were not too valuable a coin? As far as I can determine, most pe...
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19 404 The Initiates then reformed their double line and, bells ringing and smoke wafting about, fragrant, from the censer, took their way from the docking area.
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19 411 For the most part the Initiates would have to make do with what they could obtain from other sources, such as the wages of workers.
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19 412 While not engaged in obtaining their livelihood from more productive elements in society, Initiates, as I understand it, spend a great deal of time in self-purification.
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19 414 It is not only women, incidentally, which are forsworn by Initiates but also, interestingly, beans.
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19 417 The presence of Initiates, I have noted, tends to have a somewhat depressing effect on most people.
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19 420 The uneasiness which many feel in the presence of the Initiates is that which, or is very similar to that which, I think, many feel in the presence of forces, explicit or implicit, which they sense are inimical to life.
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19 463 I wondered if some of the raiders might go this night alone to the temples, to place there a private offering, no Initiates about.
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19 467 The Initiates, I suspect, understand it as little as anyone else.
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Book 27. (7 results) Prize of Gor

Chapter # Sentence # Quote Confidence
27 691 High Initiates might receive gold from Ubars, low Initiates copper from the poor.
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16 829 Though this was not known to Ellen at the time, the scarlet denoted the caste of Warriors, one of the five high castes of Gor, the others being the Initiates, Physicians, Builders and Scribes.
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26 1174 How different things are for the slave and free! The free male, should he have an interest in free women, perhaps he has no access to slaves, usually initiates the sexual encounter.
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27 685 It is clear, now, that the myths and legends of Priest-Kings have been invented by the caste of Initiates, in order to exploit superstitious terror and live as parasites on the earnings of others".
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27 686 "Few would deny that the caste of Initiates are parasites," said Portus Canio, who held no great brief for that caste.
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27 687 Supposedly the caste of Initiates praised Priest-Kings, offered regular and special sacrifices, interceded with them on behalf of men, interpreted their will to men, and such.
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28 385 "If they do exist, perhaps in the Sardar Mountains, as many claim," said Portus Canio, "I think it is clear that we have little to fear from them, indeed far less to fear from them than from the caste of Initiates, which claims to speak in their name.
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Book 28. (4 results) Kur of Gor

Chapter # Sentence # Quote Confidence
46 137 Cabot may have had in mind the caste of Initiates, on Gor, who claim to speak in the name of the Priest-Kings, to be privileged in such ways, and so on.
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75 46 The name, together with a given command, initiates the sleen's behavior.
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80 88 It is felt by Initiates, the alleged representatives and servants of Priest-Kings, understandably enough, that the presence of a slave in such a place would be a profanation of sacred precincts.
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81 119 "Initiates?" asked Cabot, skeptically.
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Book 29. (9 results) Swordsmen of Gor

Chapter # Sentence # Quote Confidence
4 83 Too, the caste of Initiates, which claims to mediate between humans and Priest-Kings, with their sacrifices, and such, would obviously prefer for Priest-Kings to remain as invisible and mysterious as possible.
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4 85 To be sure, many Initiates doubtless take themselves seriously.
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5 42 "Are they not the lords of us all," he said, "are they not the gods of Gor?" "And are the Initiates not their ministers and servitors," I said.
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5 85 Such circles are often carried by high Initiates, on golden chains about their necks.
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5 87 Staffs surmounted with this symbol are often carried by Initiates, as well, and such staffs invariably figure in their ceremonial processions.
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5 90 The blessings of Initiates are accompanied by the sign of Priest-Kings, a circular motion of the right hand.
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5 93 The favor of Priest-Kings is not easily obtained, and Initiates, as other castes, must live.
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7 27 Too, in the Gorean high culture, certain colors tend to be associated with certain castes, for example green with the Physicians, red, or scarlet, with the Warriors, yellow with the Builders, blue with the Scribes, white with the Initiates, and so on.
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33 56 "Initiates," I said.
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Book 30. (5 results) Mariners of Gor

Chapter # Sentence # Quote Confidence
2 199 But such stories must be false, as they were denied by Initiates, the white caste, highest and worthiest of all the castes, as they were intermediaries between Priest-Kings and mortals.
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21 198 By their mysterious power, and secret sky ships, it seems they had long ago placed Initiates amongst the Pani, perhaps centuries ago, who had taught them Gorean.
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21 199 These Initiates, as the legends went, had sought to exploit their prestige in an attempt to secure power, and had been done away with.
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36 180 I saw two Initiates in their snowy white, with their golden pans held out, to receive offerings.
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36 184 The Pani, discovering that the Initiates were not marketing their golden pans but expected to receive something for nothing, as it were, or nothing tangible, asked them to step aside, as they were impeding the way of honest tradesmen.
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Book 31. (3 results) Conspirators of Gor

Chapter # Sentence # Quote Confidence
8 1189 The caste of Initiates, it is said, act as the intermediaries between Priest-Kings and men, appointing festivals, prophesying, uttering oracles, accepting offerings, selling blessings, performing sacrifices, and such.
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8 1190 Much remains unclear, however, as I understand it, concerning the actual relationship, if any, between the Initiates and the Priest-Kings.
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10 663 The five traditional high castes are the Initiates, the Scribes, the Builders, the Physicians, and the Warriors.
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Book 32. (3 results) Smugglers of Gor

Chapter # Sentence # Quote Confidence
7 282 The Merchants regard themselves, with justification I would think, as a high caste, but few Goreans number them amongst the high castes, which, traditionally, are taken to be five in number, the Initiates, Builders, Physicians, Scribes, and Warriors.
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14 378 "Initiates," said he, "are frauds and hypocrites, living off the superstition of the lower castes".
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25 142 Slave wine has been developed by the green caste, the caste of Physicians, one of the five high castes of Gor, the others being the Initiates, the Builders, the Scribes, and the Warriors.
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Book 34. (16 results) Plunder of Gor

Chapter # Sentence # Quote Confidence
49 54 Many individuals, particularly in the lower castes, need, or think they need, their Initiates, which view, it seems, is encouraged by the Initiates.
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9 129 The colors of the five high castes were white, yellow, blue, green, and red, for the Initiates, Builders, Scribes, Physicians, and Warriors, respectively.
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49 35 Commonly, popularly, there are five high castes, the Warriors, which claims sword right to the status, and who would deny that right to armed men, the Physicians, Builders, Scribes, and Initiates.
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49 36 Of the five "high castes," I saw no representative of the Initiates.
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49 38 I do not know whether Priest-Kings exist or not, or, if they do, if they are aware of the existence of the Initiates.
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49 39 Initiates are easily recognized by their shaven heads and white robes.
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49 42 If one wishes good fortune and success for oneself or one's enterprises, or woe, even disaster, to one's enemies and their projects, or such, one need only contact Initiates, whose fees are, I gather, commensurate with the amount of good fortune, or woe, or such, desired.
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49 44 Whether one is interested in the success of a supper, a happy outcome at the tarn races, or merely wishes to melt the heart of some aloof free woman, or such, the Initiates, humble in their holiness and concern, earnest and sympathetic, stand ready to take action, notifying the Priest-Kings of the m...
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49 46 Too, even in the best of cases, it must be admitted that the will of the Priest-Kings is sometimes inscrutable, even to Initiates.
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49 47 The awesomeness of the caste of Initiates is further enhanced by the fact that they refrain from sex, devote themselves to mathematical studies, and eschew meat and beans.
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49 48 Some Initiates dabble in signs, omens, and such, the formations of clouds, the flights of birds, the eating habits of sacred fowl, the livers of sacrificial animals, and so on, but that work, which commonly pays less well, is usually surrendered to augurs, haruspices, and such.
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49 49 In any event, there were no Initiates present.
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49 51 Initiates do sometimes have, however, a certain political power in various municipalities, largely in virtue of their influence on the lower castes, in virtue of their hints, warnings, demands, exhortations, denunciations, and so on.
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49 53 In any event, whatever one thinks of Initiates, many of them, particularly in the larger, urban temples, make a good living at their business.
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49 70 I have spoken of the five high castes, as they are usually understood, the Warriors, Physicians, Builders, Scribes, and Initiates.
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54 118 Many humans do not believe in the existence of Priest-Kings, supposing them to be no more than an invention of Initiates, to deprive the simple and trusting of their coins, but no Kur doubts their existence.
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Book 35. (1 results) Quarry of Gor

Chapter # Sentence # Quote Confidence
12 59 Generally it is taken that there are five high castes, the Initiates, Scribes, Physicians, Builders, and Warriors, whose colors, respectively, are white, blue, green, yellow, and red.
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Book 36. (1 results) Avengers of Gor

Chapter # Sentence # Quote Confidence
2 125 Indeed, hire Initiates to petition the Priest-Kings that you do not do so".
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