Posted by Robert Ruork on July 27, 1999 at 03:33:32:
In Reply to: Re: The Connatic as the perfect Taoist posted by Nickj on July 13, 1999 at 15:50:00:
: : One small note of dissonance: in "The Faceless Man", Jack Vance discusses the limits of that approach; where the Faceless Man only enforces the rules the people make themselves, he ends up enforcing some very nasty and unjustifiable things.
: Exactly, Jance in a nutshell. The ppl are complict.
Funny you should mention the Faceless Man. He is faceless because he is no specialist and only specialists can be named. It is in virtue of his knowledge of the way (rules) of his people that the ruler is able to rule over his officials, who being specialists, can only be entrusted with departmental duties(his agents through the torc -- though few -- are imagined by all as omnipresent).
"This is called subtle discernment: The submissive and weak wil overcome the hard and strong.
The fish must not be allowed to leave the deep; the instruments of power in a state must not be revealed to anyone."*
(Tao te Ching, Lao Tzu, Book I,XXXVI:79a,81)
* This section is quoted and commented upon elsewhere, but unfortunately the comments are somewhat obscure because the text is probably corrupt. The general point seems to be this. The 'fish' is the symbol for the ruler, and the 'deep' his power. For a ruler to allow the power to slip out of his hands is for the 'fish' to be 'allowed to leave the deep'. Reward and punishment are 'the twin instruments of power in the state', and 'must not be revealed to anyone', lest, in the wrong hands, even (and especially in "The Faceless Man" ) the knowledge of how they are dispensed can be turned into a source of power.
Remember the meekness of the man Sarajano once identifed by Gastel Etzwane.
I really do believe that J.V. (amongst so many other things) was a serious student of the way.