David A. Wells > Quotes

“Each and every one of you is a sovereign human being with free will granted to you by the Maker. But he didn’t leave you to wander in this life without guidance. He whispers truth to you in the face of every moral dilemma you encounter. At every turn, with every choice, you have only to listen to your conscience to know the right and just course.”
― David A. Wells, Reishi Adept

“Stop looking back at the past, forget what you used to be, let go of what you wanted for your life and embrace what your life is now.”
― David A. Wells, Blood of the Earth

“Perhaps, but you fail to see the folly of the Reishi,” Bragador said. “The concentration of power that allowed them to ensure peace for so long was the very thing that made them such a potent threat to peace when their power corrupted them, as power inevitably does.” “So what’s the solution?” Alexander asked, a bit more defiantly than he would have liked. “Simple … humans must learn to live without government,” Bragador said. “Government, organized force, is the repository of evil. It is the source of corruption, the enemy of civilization and the problem with the world. As long as there is a place where concentrated power resides, it will attract evil people like dung attracts flies. The only solution is to remove the pile of dung.” “What about crime? What about other countries with powerful governments bent on war? How can there be peace without authority?” Alexander asked. “Therein lies the human dilemma,” Bragador said. “There will always be those who call for greater and greater control, out of fear or ignorance or greed. Until humanity learns restraint in governance, learns how to limit the power it grants to its leaders, learns that those who crave power over others are always deceivers, your kind will know only war and despair.” “If we haven’t learned that lesson by now, I doubt we ever will,” Alexander said. “Some will, most won’t,” Bragador said. “Selfish interest is a powerful motivator. Governments can always be bought or manipulated or blackmailed to set rules that favor some at the expense of others. Evil people see government as a weapon to be used for their own purposes while spreading the lie that it exists to protect the innocent or ensure fairness or defend against some distant threat. The truth is, government has always existed for one single reason … the profit and power of those in government. Of course, there are always those working within government who are good and decent people. But those who vie for power, they can never be trusted.”
― David A. Wells, Cursed Bones

“Sometimes I wonder if the worst crime evil people ever commit is forcing good people to kill them in defense of life and liberty.”
― David A. Wells, Mindbender

“I have no explanation for it, except that there are those who are so selfish and so driven by an insatiable lust for power over others that they will commit unspeakable atrocities to gain that power. But they are few. Most people just want to live their lives and love their families and friends.”
― David A. Wells, Sovereign Stone

“You have a right to your life because you are alive. You have a right to your liberty because you have free will. You have a right to your property because it is the product of your labor. You forfeit these rights when you take them from another.”
― David A. Wells, Thinblade

“Be driven by emotion but ruled by reason.”
― David A. Wells, Thinblade

“Opportunities often come along only once. If you don’t seize them, you may not get another chance.”
― David A. Wells, Mindbender

“We experience only the one moment of the present. The past is only memory and the future only possibility.”
― David A. Wells, Mindbender

“And yet, day in and day out, most people live honorable lives,” Alexander said. “They raise their children, work to provide for their families, help their neighbors and try to do the right thing even when the choice is hard. Human beings are essentially good. We love our children, honor our elders, protect our vulnerable, and give charity to those in need.”
― David A. Wells, Cursed Bones

“Power is as much about perception as it is about capability.”
― David A. Wells, Mindbender

“It was a grim thing, war.”
― David A. Wells, Reishi Adept

“The rules provide them with their wealth and power, and the more complex they can make them, the harder it is for people of lesser means to understand and therefore comply. That way, powerful people can always find some legal justification for persecuting those of lesser rank. Large numbers of complex rules also enables corruption to thrive.”
― David A. Wells, Linkershim

“He had committed no crime. Yet men, armed with steel and magic, were trying to murder him. Alexander had never done anything that justified the forfeiture of his life. He was entitled to live until he had. The man he’d killed had died in the commission of a crime. He’d come to kill and had died instead. Justice done.”
― David A. Wells, Thinblade

“War, tyranny, slavery, genocide, and the soft slavery of taxation were all creations of government, and they were all committed at the urging of self-important political figures who had something to gain by inflicting harm on others.”
― David A. Wells, Sovereign Stone

“Ah … you’ve just stumbled into one of humanity’s greatest conundrums. It’s difficult, maybe even impossible, for a good person to fully comprehend the inner workings of an evil person’s mind. Lacking that comprehension, most people assume that everyone else sees the world in the same way that they do. As a result, far too many people are easily taken in by the carefully crafted deceptions and lies that are told so convincingly by those who crave power.”
― David A. Wells, The Dragon's Egg

“Deal in what is, not what if.”
― David A. Wells, Linkershim

“see the world for what it was and make decisions based on an honest and objective understanding of reality rather than a fantasy created out of hopes, desires, and wishes.”
― David A. Wells, Sovereign Stone

“Simple … humans must learn to live without government,” Bragador said. “Government, organized force, is the repository of evil. It is the source of corruption, the enemy of civilization and the problem with the world. As long as there is a place where concentrated power resides, it will attract evil people like dung attracts flies. The only solution is to remove the pile of dung.”
― David A. Wells, Cursed Bones

“If you feel guilt for things you’ve done, then face it and own it because it truly does belong to you, maybe more than anything else in the world. But also learn from it. Let it guide you to act in a way that doesn’t lead you to feel guilty ever again.”
― David A. Wells, Blood of the Earth

“Obedience to authority does not absolve you of guilt if your actions are immoral.”
― David A. Wells, Mindbender

“These men lived in a world where the meaning of words was fluid, where there were no absolutes. Everything was a matter of interpretation or opinion. Truth and fact mattered little to them. Power was their stock in trade and it was clear after the meeting that most of them didn’t care much how they acquired it.”
― David A. Wells, Thinblade

“Obedience to authority does not absolve you of guilt if your actions are immoral. We must all choose when faced with a moral dilemma. How you choose reveals your nature and your character.”
― David A. Wells, Mindbender

“Government wasn’t a necessary evil, it was necessarily evil. It couldn’t be otherwise given the nature of those who yearned to be a part of it.”
― David A. Wells, Reishi Adept

“Seventy-five years ago, the dragons fell from the sky. We thought they were just meteorites—six terrifying explosions rang the world like a bell. When the dust settled, we went on with our lives as though nothing had happened.”
― David A. Wells, The Dragonfall Trilogy - Box Set

“And accurate facts only came from an honest and unbiased assessment of the situation. Deal in what is, not what if.”
― David A. Wells, Sovereign of the Seven Isles Box Set

“He recalled his father’s advice on the matter: “You’ll know it’s time when you meet the right woman and she tells you it’s time.” As”
― David A. Wells, Thinblade

“Government wasn’t a necessary evil, it was necessarily evil.”
― David A. Wells, Reishi Adept

“Those who accomplished the entire exercise were said to realize the truth of reality—that what we perceive is truly an illusion produced by the mind and that the mind is capable of molding that illusion to suit our needs or desires.”
― David A. Wells, The Dragonfall Trilogy - Box Set

“With love in your heart, anything is possible. Without it, nothing else matters.”
― David A. Wells, Blood of the Earth