From: klaus@diku.dk
Date: Fri 05 Aug 1994 - 15:15:51 EEST
From: CHEN190@csc.canterbury.ac.nz (Peter Metcalfe, CAPE Canty) writes
Klaus writes
> But cruelty to animals is a modern concept.
Really I think you are confusing the formulation of a philosopy with the natural long standing sentiments. I know the concept had its roots in victorian times but I feel that it codified already existing abhorrence of sadistic treatment of animals. I mean the romans were appalled by the Carthagian practice of ritual infanticide long before rights of a child were even thought of. Besides the procuration of vellum (which was rare), and the burning of animals at the stake for criminal offenses (which arose from theological reasons, I can't think of a middle ages society which thought the a person who skinned animals alive openly was ok. Thus I think that Tapping animals would be viewed in the same light as people viewed the eithiopan practice of carving meat from a cow while it was still alive.
And Sandy cited st. Francis and hunter societies.
St. Francis is famous because he was unusual. (He is also much later than Nikolos.) Hunter societies are hardly relevant to Byzantium or western Glorantha. The Romans killed animals as entertainment, this continues in some countries even today as bullfighting, where several bulls are tortured and then killed.
And about those hunter societies: there was a tradition in Greenland of hanging dogs in such a way that they would strangle slowly. This would make them raise their hairs, making better furs. This was stopped some time ago (15 years, or something like that) when a Danish court ruled that this was "causing an animal unnecessary suffering", which is a criminal offence in Denmark.
Note the word unnecessary. It is, or was until very recently, considered quite ok to cause any amount of suffering to an animal to gain some greater benefit. Lab animals are a case in point.
Even by todays morals, I would say that tapping an animal to refill your power crystal faster might be frowned on, but tapping an animal when you really need those point is different.
Several sorcery spells must be manipulated above anyones free int to be really useful. When you are sinking a large part of your POW into an enchantment, you want to add your full ceremony skill to your enchant skill. For this you need fatigue points, and there is only one way for a sorceror to get them.
Klaus O K
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