Diax’s Rake

First Appearance and Context

In kitchen conversation guided by Fraa Orolo, an avout repeats "Diax's Rake" as a steadying reminder to keep thoughts and wording clear. In that same exchange, "Diaxan" phrasing is invoked to prefer neutral wording such as "changes" over loaded terms like "reforms," in a discussion that also touches on past calamities known as The Three Sacks and pressures from the Saecular Power. Later, during Decennial Apert as the gates open, the narrator notes letting imagination run by momentarily setting aside Diax's Rake when drawn to a fanciful story about a math that might drift through time.

While traveling extramuros with volunteer drivers, a senior avout explicitly says they should "get out the Rake" to frame a straightforward account of a recent chain of actions involving the Saecular Power and an Ita intermediary, using the maxim to prune away preferred, elaborate motives in favor of what the known facts require.

Roles/Actions and Affiliations

• Serves as a practical check on thought and speech among avout, encouraging neutral, content-bearing formulations rather than value-laden language.
• Expressed succinctly as not believing something just because one likes it; repeated as a reminder not to let preference or emotion cloud judgment.
• Used informally as part of the mathic habit of mind; invoked to rein in speculative leaps and keep attention on what is presently known or shown. Avout treat it as a standard of soundness; propositions that would not survive Diax's Rake are set aside. In shorthand, avout sometimes refer to it simply as "the Rake," as in saying an idea "would not make it past the Rake."
• Explicitly invoked by Fraa Jad as a check against conspiracy‑minded elaborations: applied to prefer the minimal set of assumptions behind the Saecular Power’s quiet effort to obtain telescope images via an Ita, without adding motives that are only attractive to believe.

Relationships

• Frequently referenced in conversations led by Fraa Orolo; "Diaxan" is used as the adjectival form for phrasing that follows the principle.
• Senior avout such as Fraa Jad bring it out in active debate; some companions without mathic training appear unfamiliar with it.
• Appears in contexts where avout discuss institutional memory (e.g., the Three Sacks) and how to describe outside authorities like the Saecular Power without smuggling in judgments.
• Sometimes contrasted with other rhetorical habits, such as joking about someone "going" Kefedokhles, highlighting Diax's Rake as a discipline of clarity.

Descriptions/Characteristics

Diax's Rake is described as a linguistic and reasoning "rake": clearing a claim or description of loaded connotations. In practice it urges choosing neutral terms and avoiding wording that presupposes approval or blame. For example, calling a shift "changes" is more Diaxan than calling it "reforms," which implies a prior fault. "Diaxan" serves as the adjective for such neutral phrasing.

Current Status/Location

Active as a living habit of speech and thought within the maths. It is applied informally as a self‑check when framing arguments or interpreting events, and remains part of everyday practice among avout.