The Greatest Jedi Code: “Peace over anger. Honour over hate. Strength over fear.”
Or what should have been the Jedi Code
I know I should finish covering the official Jedi Code, which has appeared over the course of several decades, from video-games, books, to comics and so on. Such is the role of the code that it could almost be considered a character within its own right. The problem is that it may as well be a droid, or an iceberg of a character colder than the worst of Hoth’s winters.
The code as designed by Jude Watson in her Jedi Apprentice mystery novels however is totally different. Simpler, it seems far more straightforward and with greater emphasis on virtue and on the the notion of ‘Honour’.
Where the OG Code says, there is no emotion, this one instead of saying such a possibly troublesome notion says; ‘Peace over Anger’.
The reason for this is because the Jedi are supposed to be keepers of the peace, the guardians of righteousness. The protectors of the Old Republic, they have as often served it as they have been betrayed by it, with the Jedi keeping to a very moralistic ideal, one that means they ought never to seek power, or to seek vengeance.
Peace is meant to symbolise harmony and self-discipline in this context (well obviously), with anger being as we all know what leads one to the Dark Side. Peace therefore is not only the idea of internal peace but that which exists externally to the Jedi.
What does this mean? It means that the Jedi must always seek to disarm conflicts, to resort to diplomacy and to keep situations as calm as possible. They are bound according to the Jedi in this series, to try to avoid violence (whether it be in intemperate words or physical violence as these are likely to escalate anger, rather than lessen it and conflict). Conflict is the enemy, and to be avoided even if others perceive the Jedi to be a coward.
Naturally this isn’t easy, and requires immense self-discipline and poise the likes of which few people could ever fully master. Do Jedi have tempers, oh heck yeah but what is the secret to their goodness? That they maintain incredible self-discipline and calm, where others might resort first to anger and conflict.
This also means that many find them incomprehensible and somehow distant, as the Jedi are eternally conscious of just how dangerous violence is to others, and how they dance on a knife’s edge. They must always keep from giving into weakness and anger, less they become Dark Jedi & Sith. The threat exists as much within themselves as it does without, and this is what makes their ability to fight better than the Mandolorians & Sith could ever dream of, while still remaining calm and poised. It is why in many ways Mace Windu, Siri Tachi & Obi-Wan Kenobi, Luke Skywalker & Kyle Katarn are so much more interesting than their rivals.
The next line is Honour over Hate. This one is the most fascinating line of all, as it shows that the Jedi feel that they should never strike someone down in anger, should never dishonour another in actions or words, and that they must set an impossible standard and example to the rest of the galaxy. They must also always keep a certain code, a certain sense of chivalry alive and carry with them the sense that they should be kind, should be considerate of others and should be as a buckler or a hauberk against all that threatens others.
Hate is something that if they’re honest the Jedi fear. They fear it on some level, because they know it can pervert an individual into a shadow of their former selves. It is the enemy of their Order, and the enemy of their entire philosophy. It is for this reason that they also resist it, with all the ferocity they have in their bodies.
Honour is something integral to them, also because it exists outside of hatred, it is an antithesis to it. Hatred is an emotion that could subvert an individual into something they are not (and by this I do not mean things like hatred of evil), they know that hatred could cause an individual to transform into something they are not. It can darken the very greatest of champions into the very worst of monsters.
It is what transformed Morgoth from the brightest of the Ainur, into their very enemy. It is what utterly destroyed the likes of Edward I into the Hammer of the Scots, what ruined Mordred in the Arthurian myths. It is hate that utterly transformed the gentle, filial Anakin into the wicked, greedy and sadistic Darth Vader.
Hatred kills goodness. This is fact. Honour redeems them.
It is this element in the universe that the Jedi fight against not just within themselves but within others. This does not mean they seek to dominate the wills of others, but in reality they wish to elevate the people of the universe. They wish to help them be the best versions of themselves they can be, and to protect them from the evil of others.
Though Yoda never believed in redemption (despite all the examples in the history of the Jedi), the core teaching of the Jedi should have been the value of redemption. This is what Luke and even Kyle, and even Obi-Wan understood that the likes of Yoda, (in life I mean) never fully grasped. Redemption of others is crucial, domination of others and revenge are destroyers that can drive even the best of men to madness. So that the Jedi should seek not to destroy their enemies, but rather to reach out to them, to redeem them.
By seeking to subdue the hatred in another, seeking to make friends of enemies and to undo evil’s work, the Jedi could be the ultimate force of good in an uncaring galaxy. But by attaching themselves to the corrupt, decaying Republic they were to bind themselves and their honour to the greed and folly of the odious Senate. Some Jedi may have sought to mitigate its evils and defied it to a large extent, Jedi such as Mace, Obi-Wan, Plo and Siri. But their efforts were undermined by the evils and depravities of the Republic, as much as by the subservience and lack of defiance of Jedi such as Qui-Gon Jinn, Yoda and even Anakin, who loved the Republic more than they did the Jedi. To them the ‘Will of the Force’ was tied in with the will of the Senate, in contrast to the views of Mace and Obi-Wan, who felt that the Jedi ought to serve a higher ideal.
Strength over Fear is a great phrase, one that smacks of courage in the face of darkness. It speaks of hope over despair, and goodness over evil. Fear in the context of Star Wars is something that ‘leads to anger, which leads to hatred and which leads to suffering’ (one of Yoda’s best proverbs), so that the duty of the Jedi is to never give into fear.
They are people so they are bound to have their own insecurities, and therefore they must always seek to project strength, and to bolster their internal weaknesses with goodness, love and hope.
The Jedi are supposed to help comfort and soothe the fears of the commons, and to shield them from the likes of the Republic’s worst, the Hutts, the Neo-Crusader Mandolorians and the Sith. They are supposed to defend all from these external forces of evil, with fear being something that some struggled with all their lives (i.e. Anakin) others were never all that vulnerable, being of a naturally courageous and valiant disposition (Kyle & Luke).
Fear is also code for weakness, and internal vice so that the Jedi must have virtue, must be valiant and must be mighty in the face of the worst of the galaxy. This is the ideal. The question is how many of the named, leading Jedi actually properly uphold it throughout the entirety of their lives?
Interesting read! Thank you!
It seems to me that the Jedi follow the four Platonic virtues: prudence, temperance, courage and justice.
I suspect the Jedi don't fear hate. I think they understand their courage and strength comes from their faith and belief in the Force. I am one with the Force and the Force is one with me :)
Once again I find myself disagreeing with this:
“Peace over anger. Honour over hate. Strength over fear.”
These don't seem right to me. Here is what I think.
Peace and anger. The antidote to anger is discipline of the self, not peace which is an effect not something an individual can control. Unless it is some kind of inner peace.
Honour and hate. The counterbalance to hate is not honour, it is understanding. Insight into their mindset, to understand where they have went wrong.
Strength and fear. I can see a link here, but the emphasis is wrong. The strong can resist fear, but it is really courage that does the job.
So, “Discipline over anger. Insight over hate. Courage over fear.”
🤓